A HOMILY FOR THE GREAT FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION AND THE SUNDAY OF THE VENERATION OF THE CROSS
About the Two Feasts, and the Path Indicated by Both
Brothers and sisters,
On the third Sunday of the Great Fast, our Holy Church presents the Lifegiving Cross of the Lord to the faithful so that they may kiss and revere it. Her primary purpose in so doing is to console and encourage her children amid their Lenten struggles and to stir up true repentance in the hearts of those who have not yet attained it. Besides this, the sight of the Holy Cross serves to remind us of what came to pass on the Cross, a most needful purpose in and of itself. And what was it that came to pass? On the Cross, our Lord Jesus Christ, after enduring almost inconceivable suffering, willingly died for us sinners.
Many are they who have sacrificed their life for their homeland, their family, an innocent person in mortal danger, or even for a charismatic leader. But it is unheard-of for anyone to sacrifice his life voluntarily for a sinner, a criminal, an enemy, which is exactly what Jesus Christ has done for us. This astonishing feat of holy love was carried out on the Cross. As we prostrate ourselves before the Cross, we ask the Lord to permit us to share in this love, even if only to the smallest degree. We ask Him to allow us to share it, if not in the form of love for criminals and inveterate enemies, then at least in the form of love for Him, the Lord Himself, the One Who offered up His life for us while we were yet sinners,[1] as Saint Paul says. And if our hearts are so hardened that the sight of the Cross does not kindle in us even such love, then hopefully it will aid us, for the rest of the Fast, to lay aside a little the sin that doth so easily beset us.[2] Venerating the Cross today, remember, Christian, that after the Saviour was nailed to it and the Lord’s body was sealed within the tomb, and everything seemed lost, it was then that Christ arose in glory. For such recollection imparts to us faith and inspires us with joyful hope that we shall not only arise to a bright eternity, but shall in the present life escape the dark abyss of indifference, sloth, despondency, and sin, and that, God helping us, we will begin to lead a truly Christian life.
This year, brothers and sisters, the joy of the Cross is doubled because its Lenten feast coincides with the great feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. My mind is perplexed about what to say to you about the feast of the Annunciation, the “fountainhead of our salvation.” Shall I repeat the glad tidings brought by the great archangel? Or should I attempt to tell how God came down from heaven and became man, so that man might mount on high and become god, as it says in one of the stichera of the feast? Perhaps I should praise the happiness brought by the angelic salutation, not only to the All-Pure One, but to the whole world and to every generation? Or, possibly, I could speak in praise of the All-Pure One herself… But what human tongue can worthily tell of the excellences of her who is “more honourable than the cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim”?
For thousands of years, the human race awaited the tidings of the Annunciation. For thousands of years, it waited for the Saviour to come and unite earth to heaven, and to teach man how to live in accordance with the will of God and attain spiritual salvation. Today this coming of the Saviour is proclaimed to mankind through its finest representative, the flower of perfection, the humble Virgin of Nazareth Mariam. Today the pre-eternal Word of God becomes incarnate in the womb of the All-Holy One. The Archangel Gabriel appears and tells the Virgin that she is to conceive in her womb, and bring forth a son, and call His name Jesus. But how could this be, seeing she knew not a man? The angel explained it to her, saying, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: therefore also, that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Try to imagine what faith the All-Holy Virgin must have had, what humble submissiveness to the will of God, for her to answer these wondrous, astonishing words with the simple reply, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.
This day will turn to night in a few hours, and then our thoughts will turn from the glad tidings of the Annunciation to the somber themes of fasting, spiritual struggles, and repentance. But let us not forget our guide, the “shower of the way,” our Odegitria, the All-Holy, All-Pure Virgin. Before us lie two paths, one her path and that taught by her Son: the path of faith, humility, chastity, righteousness, and love. The other is the path of doubt, unbelief, haughtiness, impurity, sin, and coldheartedness, taught by the perennial adversary.
Which shall we take?
May the Lord grant that each of us choose the first, the way of self-crucifixion, the way of the Lord’s Cross, the way exemplified by the Holy Virgin, the way of Holy Lent, the way of salvation. Amen.
[1] Rom. 5:8
[2] Heb. 12:1
