Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever wants to
be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow
me.” (Luke 9:23) What does it mean
to take up our cross daily? This is a question that St. Theophan the Recluse
addressed in a series of homilies in 1885.
First, let's examine what is meant by the Cross.
St. Theophan says the following:
The Lord accomplished our salvation by His death
on the Cross; on the Cross He tore up the handwriting of our sins; through the
Cross He brought upon us grace-filled gifts and all heavenly blessings.”
But there is more, as the above is Christ’s
Cross, and we must take up our personal cross. St. Theophan says:
When the personal cross of each of us is united
with Christ’s Cross, the power and effect of the latter is transferred to us
and becomes, as it were, a conduit through which “every good gift and every
perfect gift” (James 1:17) is poured forth upon us from the Cross of
Christ.
The message is clear that there is more to our
salvation than just believing in Christ, His Incarnation, His Crucifixion and
Resurrection. In addition to His Cross, our personal cross is equally essential
for our salvation.
But, what is our personal cross? Saint Theophan
outlines three kinds. One is outward, another is inward and a third is spiritual.
1. The outward cross involves the trials and
tribulations of our life. St. Theophan describes them as follows:
These are sorrows, misfortunes, the loss of
loved ones, failures at work, every sort of deprivation and loss, family
troubles, adversities related to outward circumstances, insults, offenses,
wrongful accusations, and, in general, our earthly lot… Neither eminence, nor
riches, nor glory, not any kind of earthly greatness will deliver one from
them.
He makes the important point that we must make
use of these difficulties in life in accordance with God’s intention
for our salvation. So, why does God allow us these difficulties in life? Saint
Theophan says he gave them to us “so that we would live on earth, not as
someone in his own land, but as a stranger and a foreigner in a foreign land.”
As foreigners, we are to seek our return to His kingdom. To understand
this we must refresh our understanding of the story of Adam and Eve told in
Genesis, and how they were originally living in Paradise in union with God. But
they disobeyed Him and suffered the consequences of death and sorrow and
sickness, and were ousted and banned from Paradise. This is our outward cross
to bear, the difficulties of a mortal life outside of Paradise. And how are we
to bear them? St. Theophan tells us to “endure them and don’t be
annoyed...bear your lot with equanimity.”
Remember, these
difficulties encountered in life are similar for all of us. We are
all subject to misfortune and sorrow. God allows them for our benefit.
St. Theophan tells us,
The Lord wants to wash away some sin, or to lead
us away from a sinful deed, or to cover up a greater sorrow with a smaller one,
or to give us an occasion for patience and for demonstrating faithfulness to
the Lord, so as to show forth the glory of His mercy on us later… If you don’t
clearly see precisely what God wanted to give you through sorrow that has
overwhelmed you, raise up in your heart the general, non-speculative
belief that everything that comes from the Lord is for our good, and give a
shove to your disturbed soul: this is what is pleasing to God. Endure! He whom
punishes is like a son to Him!
Enduring your sorrows with faith are what it
means to bear your personal cross. Enduring with the love of God, giving thanks
for all He gives us, you are bearing your cross in a way that will bring
salvation. Saint Theophan says,
"Arouse gratitude within yourself, humble
yourself under the mighty hand of God, repent, and correct your
life."
2. The second kind of cross is inward. This is the struggle
against the passions. Saint Paul says, “They that are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Gal 5:14). Saint
Theophan says,
There is a cross upon which these passions and
lusts are crucified. To crucify the passions means to weaken them, suppress
them, and uproot them… When someone is fighting against the passions, sometimes
it seems as if his hands were nailed, as if he is wearing a crown of thorns on
his head, as if his living heart is pierced.
The culprit is self love, advises Saint
Theophan. He writes,
Anger burns, envy dries one up, lust enfeebles
one, miserliness does not let one eat or sleep, and offended pride murderously
eats away at one’s heart… Everyone has them. As soon as there is self love,
there are all the passions, for this is the mother of the passions…
So what is one to do? Saint Theophan says,
One has only to turn the knife around and,
instead of satisfying the passions, to strike oneself with it, to strike the
passions with it, beginning the fight against them and contradicting them in
everything… One must say to every passionate person: “You're perishing on the
cross of passions. Destroy that cross and set up another: the cross of the
fight against it. And you’ll be crucified on it unto salvation!”…. go
courageously to the cross of self-crucifixion, through the crucifixion and
uprooting of the passions and lusts. Let us turn away from self-pity and become
inflamed with zeal for self-accusation… the Cross is the tree of life.
3. The third cross is the devotion to the will
of God.
It is not enough to crucify the passions. This is only preparatory for this
step which involves our obedience to God’s will. We are now ready to offer
ourselves up as a sacrifice to God. We follow Christ’s example in
the Garden of Gethsemane before His Crucifixion. Christ prayed that He be
spared, but was resolute in saying, “Nonetheless not as I will, but as Thou
will” (Mark
26:39). CHrist as fully man
bound his will with that of God. It is as Paul says, “I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lies in me” (Gal 2:20). Saint Theophan says
this is the “height of Christian perfection… It is the beginning of he
future state after the resurrection, when God will be “all in all” (1 Cor 15:28). Those who are perfect
live and act through God alone."
Saint Theophan further says,
Many
have the idea that Christianity is the same as other kinds of life, but this is
not so. It begins with repentance, ripens through the fight against passions,
and is perfected when the pure, inner man, immersed in God, is crucified
with Christ… If Christians do have pleasures they are purely incidental. The
most distinguishing characteristics of their existence are sufferings and
sickness––inward and outward, voluntary and involuntary. We must through much
tribulation enter into the kingdom, and into that which is within it.….If you
want good for yourself, get rid of pleasures and enter on the path of the cross
of repentance, burn up in the fire of self-crucifixion, be tempered in tears of
heartfelt contrition––and you’ll become gold, or sliver, or a precious stone,
and in due time you’ll be taken by the Heavenly Householder as an adornment for
His most bright and most peaceful mansions.
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