Tag: crucifixion

The Cross

The Cross

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Augustinos Nada

Crucifixion started in about 600 BC by the Babylonians who were crucifying people on trees. The person would be nailed to the tree and their body would be left for the animals and birds to prey on. Very barbaric!

The Romans modified this method of punishment and became experts in crucifying people. The word excruciating comes from a Latin word which means crucifixion, and it describes the severe pain which is exactly what the Lord endured. A very severe pain both on the cross and leading to the cross. In icons, you notice that a lot of the crosses are very high and tall, but in reality, some of the scholars say that Roman crosses were not that high, only about two meters or so. This allowed for anyone to approach the person on the cross to slap, spit, curse or abuse them. It was quite humiliating, in addition to the pain.

Christ was crucified outside Jerusalem as the Jews believed that if anyone was to die, especially criminals, they should not to be executed or put to death in Jerusalem, in their holy city, because that was regarded as defiling the land. They wanted Christ to be crucified in accordance to the law in Deuteronomy that said anyone who hangs on a tree is, “cursed by God” (Deut. 21:22-23). The Lord was crucified outside the city and on a place called Golgotha. Some traditions say that this is the place where Adam was buried and this is quite ironic. The second Adam, the one who lifts the curse from us and opens the doors of Paradise outdoes the consequence of the first Adam’s actions.

The greatest miracle witnessed on the Cross was the acceptance of the right hand thief, who acknowledged and accepted the true faith. In itself, this is the greatest miracle. The Lord rose many people and performed countless miracles, including Lazarus, but all those died again. The situation with the right hand thief was the raising of the spiritually dead person who was granted everlasting life. Even while on the Cross, the Lord was still giving and performing miracles.

More still, there was darkness all over the land from the sixth hour (Matt 27:45). In 55 AD, a Jewish historian recorded that there was some kind of eclipse during the year of the Lord Jesus Christ although it was later confirmed that there was no eclipse, as this was not the time for it. Something clearly dramatic happened at this time that had the appearance of the darkness of an eclipse but was beyond what Science could explain. This is why the church switches off the lights from the sixth hour to commemorate this unusual darkness at the time Christ gave up His soul.

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). A lot of people think that He is praying to the Lord because He is in agony. He was in fact directing us to Psalm 22. Psalm 22 describes the Lord’s crucifixion and all the things that happened to Him in those hours. When the Lord says, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me,” He was simply directing them to the Psalm. In those days, psalms were not numbered and so, the people would know the psalm by its opening line.

The Lord also said “I thirst.” In response to this, they gave Him sour wine, which is very old wine. The aim of this was to lessen the pain, as an analgesic but instead, the Lord refused it. The reason for this was because Christ didn’t want to soften the blow. He wanted to feel the full extent of the pain. He wanted to feel the pain and the suffering for the salvation of humankind. He was not forced to die, He went to the Cross willingly and accepted every bit of suffering for our sakes.

In the Gospel of St John, it says that the Lord bowed His head, and gave up His soul (John 19:30). Normally, at death, a person will die and then bow their head. Christ did the opposite. It was almost a display of honour to the Father as He gave up His soul. Christ was in full control throughout all His suffering. The Lord was so unique and so wise in all these happenings. If the Jews still could not see this, the veil of the Temple was torn, a declaration that the self-righteous Jews were not worthy of the Holiest of Holies.

The splitting of the veil of the Temple was a prophecy about the destruction of the Temple while Christ opened the Holies of Holy for all mankind to enter into the joy of the Lord. This allows Christians to come and partake of the Holies of Holy. It is no longer only the Jews that were God’s chosen people but all people.

We are so privileged to be Christian! We are so honoured to be Christians; to know and understand what the Lord did for our sake. To see how much suffering and how much pain He experienced, the nails, the scourging, the humiliation, that was on the Cross and all this was for our salvation.

✝️ Full Sermon ✝️

Not One Bone Broken

Not One Bone Broken

By Shery Abdelmalak

The climax of the greatest love story ever told with the ultimate sacrifice of the most perfect Bridegroom. Every moment of human history came down to this one fateful day. The final covenant between God and His creation, a promise of salvation and freedom for the faithful.

Every little detail on this day had profound meaning and a tremendous cost. Nothing was by accident, all the prophecies led to this final moment of the Lord’s crucifixion. Our God, the author of Love, orchestrated every little detail to show us His Love truly knows no bounds. While there were moments that seemed unnecessarily harsh, these were glimpses into His everlasting love. For it was in His affliction that we hear His call, “I am my beloved’s, And my beloved is mine” (Song of Solomon 6:3). 

The Jews were relentless, but they stopped short in one instance. When they went to break the legs of the crucified, they found that Jesus had breathed His last and there was no need. Some early church fathers have contemplated the question, why the legs? Why not the head, for a swift death? Breaking the legs caused the greatest pain, while speeding up death slightly. They wanted them to die faster, but not without pain. They needed the bodies to be taken down before the Passover so that the stench of the dead bodies did not defile the atmosphere. God-forbid they appeared to be an unclean nation. They were completely blinded to reality and fixated on an honourable appearance, and so, our Bridegroom still had more ways of showing His love to soften even the hardest hearts.

To their surprise, Christ had died already. Could it be that this was a sacrificial death? Could He really be the Saviour they had waited for? We know He died out of free will, out of love. This was His choice to grant us freedom. By His death, He overcame death so that it could no longer have dominion over us. Through His victory in love, He gave up His Spirit at a time He chose, at the fulfilment of all the prophecies, and not at the expected time.  

The Jews knew their prophecies and maybe it was in this moment that they recalled the sacrifice the Israelites offered in remembrance of their freedom from the Egyptians. The one sacrifice that the Lord commanded, “nor shall you break one of its bones” (Ex 12:46), was Christ the sacrifice of freedom; 

He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. – Ps. 34:20

If Christ had endured the height of suffering already, why stop at the breaking of bones? Beyond the prophecies, there is more the Bridegroom has to offer to you and I, His bride. We are the bones of Christ. We may endure suffering, but we do not break away from Him. We remain in Christ and by His stripes we are healed (Is. 53:5). For it was in the crucifixion that we were freed from the death of sin and united with Christ for eternity, so how could any one of His bones be broken?

We may leave Christ, but Christ will never leave us. There were so many signs, calling out to the hardest of hearts. When we look upon the hidden brokenness of the heart, the pain almost physical yet unseen. The brokenness we experience, caused by our own accord or otherwise, represents a detachment from the Bridegroom. 

When a bone is broken, modern medicine teaches us that it will never be as strong as it was before. If you repeatedly break the same bone, extra precautions are taken to prevent future breakages. To protect a heart that has been broken, we harden its surroundings, we don’t let people in, just in case it breaks in the same way it broke before – just in case that the next time it breaks, it is beyond repair. 

Don’t show love. Don’t show weakness. Don’t show any sign of humanity that can lead to being hurt.  

‘There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.’

C.S. Lewis

That is option one. 

Option two, the option that Christ gives us on the Cross – choose love. Choose love that breaks. When a broken heart is given to God, He heals it so that it is stronger than it ever was before. 

“I am dark, but lovely” (Song of Solomon 1:5). I may be tainted by mistakes, sin, brokenness, but this does not cause God to love me any less. On the contrary, He calls for the one lost sheep among the hundred. For every mistake I make and the subsequent hurt I feel, He heals my heart, He makes me capable of loving more than I ever could before. He helps me fight the reflex to harden against things that hurt me. To harden against pain is to choose a bandaid over the healing Hands of God. He can only heal wounds that are given to Him as they are, as wretched as they may be. May we always remember that on Good Friday, Christ endured all suffering but did not allow His bones to be broken, He did not allow His children to be broken away from Him. There is no hurt too great that He cannot repair.

Our brokenness is a calling to love, to be reunited with Christ in repentance. When we come back to Christ in repentance, we are not just healed, but renewed. Let it break, let it be renewed, for this is the purpose of His Crucifixion. On the day of Resurrection, we are renewed. We put to death all that leaves us feeling broken and we prepare to be risen in Christ. 

“A broken and a contrite heart, these O God, You will not despise.” Ps 51:17

The Silent Lamb

The Silent Lamb

by Marina Giurgius

‘Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.’

Isaiah 53:7

A solider completely silent in the midst of war. Not a single war cry or victory scream. That same solider later forgives his enemy on the battlefield, in the midst of his agony. You and I can both agree that this all sounds somewhat unrealistic, unbelievable perhaps?  Well this solider was Christ and his battlefield was Golgotha. Does that make it any more comprehendible? As we journey into Holy Week, let’s try to make sense of it.

Every aspect of death on the Cross had a ghastliness about it. It was the most agonising of Roman capital punishments and to make it crueller it was not a direct road either. Christ first underwent a patronising trial, excruciating torture and a mockery and all whilst remaining silent. He did not speak during these events and spoke only 7 things on the Cross, all of which were not for his own profit.

Lord, what stopped You from crying out to defend Yourself against the affliction? What satisfied Your heart so much, that it was worth the suffering?

It is not you and I alone questioning His silence. Many at the time and to this day may say that Christ was silent as a means of escaping His tribulation however, it is in fact the complete opposite. It was simply a still submission to the will of His Father and a depiction of His great love for mankind as ‘Love does not seek its own’ (1 Corinthians 13:5).  Just as He left to go to the wilderness, the abyss of silence it was rather a spiritual battlefield than a means of an escape. His silence is perhaps one of the most overlooked lessons on forgiveness given from the Cross. His silence was not fear, but sacrifice.

When we speak many words it only satisfies our hollow weaknesses within us but serves little purpose to our soul belonging to God. It is a challenging task to ask someone to accept an injustice without getting caught up in a confrontation or an argument. Is this not what Christ did on the Cross when He paid the price for our sins in silence? The most difficult of tasks is to not speak in the midst of chaos “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).  This is the first step to forgiveness as we begin to silence our anger and resentment with silence itself.

The word ‘give’ makes up the word FORGIVE and so it is no surprise that this is moreover at its centrality. The Silent Lamb broke His silence only to give. He gave his enemies and persecutors forgiveness. He gave the Right-Hand Thief the keys to paradise and eternal life. He gave the solider who speared his side a kindness that later made him a great saint. He gave His blessed mother a son and carer. He gave his Father a ransom paid in full and He gave humanity redemption and salvation from an eternal inferno. He gave only to receive a gift of humiliation, grief, suffering and pain embellished with a crown of thorns. 

The first words of Christ at the Cross:

“Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34)

St John, the Mother of Christ and the three Mary’s are all at the foot of the cross and before speaking to them, Christ breaks his silence with a request of forgiveness for his enemies. He prays for his enemies before He addresses His own Mother and His own anguish. Not only was it a simple request of forgiveness on behalf of His enemies but a firm shield of defence and an exemption of their ignorance. How comforting is it to know that Christ is our chief advocate before the throne of God, for there is no earthly defender that can compare to such. Christ continually provides us with the benefit of the doubt for our sins, excusing our sins but how often do we do this with others?  St John Chrysostom explains that waiting for your enemy to come to you seeking forgiveness is vain and a heavenly reward will only come to those who make peace with their enemy on the same day despite criticism. Setting an excuse for your enemy will allow you to forgive before they ask and is an ultimate expression of love, the core lesson from the cross.

Even the pain of the Cross did not amount to the pain He felt one night earlier in the garden of Gethsemane. Upon Christ’s great anguish kneeling before the Father with sweat dripping from his holy temple in the form of blood, He requests,‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done’ (Luke 22:42). We can be comforted knowing we have been promised condition-less forgiveness without needing to ask,“If you are willing, forgive me”.

St Anthony the Great says “If we remember our sins, God forgives them but if we forget our sins, God remembers them.”  It is with a continual remembrance of our sins that it becomes impossible for us to say our own sins are lesser than those committed against us and this too will help us forgive.

Our ultimate role-model Jesus Christ even on the Cross in the peak of His torment did not cease to guide and inspire us to forgive. So here are the four things taken from the Cross that we can use to forgive.

  1. Spend time with God in silence
  2. Make excuses for people that you feel may have wronged you
  3. Give whenever you can to the best of your ability
  4. Always remember your own shortcomings and sins 

Because of sinfulness, man lost the crown of perfection that God had granted him in the Garden of Eden, and instead crafted at Golgotha a new crown made of thorns, of that very earth that God cursed when man fell.  Forgiveness is the love that compelled our creator to bear this crown and cross whilst silencing its suffering on our behalf.

Glory be to God forever.

A Love Like No Other

A Love like No Other

By Marianne Wilson

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

The scene opens to a hill, high up and with a view of the entire wall of Jerusalem. It really is the perfect location for a marriage. A place where all can see the most sacred, holy, intimate and beautiful relationship known to man about to unfold. The Bridegroom laying His life down for His bride, promising His unfailing love. As the view becomes clearer though, I become acutely aware of something extremely unusual; shocking even.

This marriage is different.

Markedly different.

Rather than holding His bride’s hands; the Bridegroom’s arms are outstretched.

Rather than being clothed in the finest robes; He is naked.

And rather than standing; He is hung.

Confused, I look around to find the bride but she is nowhere to be seen. Concerned, I turn back and head towards the city, my pace slowing only for me to catch my breath. I search the streets, frantically asking everyone if they have seen the bride- certain that there has been a mistake.

Most ignore me, some ward me away angrily while others stare at me blankly, completely oblivious to what I am talking about. The sky turns from blue to a dark eerie grey, the rain begins to beat down cutting through me like knives and the lightning explodes lighting up the evening sky. The streets quickly become silent and barren. Soaked, freezing and helpless I am convinced that all hope is lost. As I tread along, head down, feet barely lifting up off the ground, I notice something out of the corner of my eye, something that catches my attention. It is a man, he looks familiar. As I move closer I realise that he is a friend of the Bridegroom. But he is kneeling oddly in a hidden corner, seemingly unaware of the raging storm around him. As I approach I notice that he is shaking, ‘weeping bitterly’ and mumbling words I cannot make out. Embarrassed but desperate, I move closer and almost whisper the question I had spent the last hour asking.

Wearily he raises his head. Even in the darkness I can see his bloodshot eyes and dampened face. With a shaky voice and trembling hand he directs me to an alleyway just a mile down the road. Filled with a new sense of optimism I quicken my pace, the rain no longer bothering me and the cold almost unnoticeable.

Arriving, I look down the pitch black alleyway and notice the poorly concealed shadows lurking in the darkness, the smell of cheap perfume and the sound of coins tinkling.

Immediately. I know where I am.

Frightened of what I might see, I turn, ready to run; positive the man had made a mistake.

But then I see her.

I see the bride.

Rather than holding her Bridegroom’s hands; she is wrapped around the waist of a strange man.

Rather than a pure white dress, she wears an article; stained with the stench of sin.

And rather than a virgin bride she is a soiled dove.

Enraged, confused and hurt I turn and run. Not even stopping to catch my breath. I stumble up the hill, desperate. Desperate to get to the Bridegroom in time. He needed to know. He needed to know the truth about His bride. Even from a distance I can hear His laboured breathing. I drag my feet, every part of my body aching.

Finally, I make it, its not too late. I look at Him, hanging, beaten, bruised and bleeding. Desperate, so desperate, I tell Him the truth. The truth about His bride. I tell Him she’s not worth it. That she loves another man. That she may never return to Him. That the price was too high. That all this was a mistake. That I, was the bride.

But it doesn’t phase Him, not at all! Rather, with a knowing smile and a sweetness in His eyes, He looks at me with a love unfathomable. A love unfailing, intimate and unrelenting. A love so full of mercy and forgiveness it pierces through my very soul. A love reserved only for a Bridegroom and His bride.

And softly, oh so softly, between bruised lips, utters three simple words- “It is finished!”

And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

“And it shall be, in that day, Says the Lord, That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ And no longer call Me ‘My Master’… I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy;I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the Lord.”

Hosea 2:14-20

He Did it For You

He Did it For You

By Marc Eskander

When you think of sinning, remember the Lord’s suffering. 

When your life takes you away from the path of Christ, remember the path of Calvary.

When your feet begin to wander into sin, remember the nails driven into the feet of Christ.

When your actions take a sinful turn, remember the actions of the Jews against Christ.

When your hands are used for evil instead of good, remember the nails in both Christ’s wrists. 

When your thoughts become sinful, remember the excruciating pain radiating from the thorns piercing the scalp of Christ. 

When you’re thinking of humiliating someone, remember the humiliation and mockery Christ endured innocently for you. 

When you’re about to betray someone, remember the pain Christ felt at his closest friend betraying him to die, for you. 

When your integrity and faith is shaken, remember Peter’s denial of his master because of the shame of crucifixion, for you.

When your actions and words leave scourges on the back of your neighbor, remember the flesh being ripped from the body of Christ over and over again. For you. 

When your cross becomes heavy, when you start to tire, remember Christ dragging his cross, the one He would be killed on, through the streets of Jerusalem, while being mocked and spat on, bleeding from His open wounds, sleepless…facing his impending crucifixion. For you. 

When your life becomes difficult, exhausting, painful, sorrowful. When it has stripped everything away from you. When it has stretched you to your limit. When your friends have become your enemies. When you feel alone, outside Jerusalem, crucified to your cross.  Think of Christ on the cross. His thoughts were for his executioners. For the criminals. For his mother and disciples. 

Pray. Pray for God’s will in your life to be done. Pray that God strengthens you. Pray for others. Pray for your enemies, the ones that hate you speak evil of you. Mock you, spit on you. Think of others, suffer with others and allow your pain to help others carry theirs.

When you’re in the depths of sin. When you don’t feel like there’s a way out, when you feel like you’re too far gone for Christ. Remember the Resurrection. Remember that moment the disciples hopes and dreams were made alive when they saw Christ Risen. Remember the redemption of Peter from his denial and the love Christ showed, remember the rescue of Adam and Eve from Hades, remember the triumph of Christ over death and sin. That His arms are outstretched just for you. For you to return.

Love by the Foot

Love by the Foot

by Michael Tadros

An ominous darkness is ushered in when the doctor comes back with the latest MRI results. After weeks of testing, the results all point to cancer that will not stop spreading. Yesterday the pancreas, today the liver, tomorrow the lungs. She gathers your mother and loved ones around the hospital bed and informs you it is time to start contemplating your end-of-life plans. She stumbles to say the words: “…a few days, maybe a week.”

What would that patient do in that situation? In the 1980s, psychologists at Skidmore College sought to discover how individuals would behave when given a fictional day and time of their death. In over 1,000 experiments, researchers found that people tended to cling harder to their cultural beliefs by boosting their sense of self-worth. Those individuals, with a hypothetical date and time of death in mind, tended to treat others more contemptuously and violently while caring to fulfil their own desires through nihilistic practices. They gravitated towards drinking, smoking, shopping, and eating in excess, while pushing other people away—sometimes, even their loved ones. The psychologists called this behaviour Terror Management Theory; death anxiety drives people to adopt a defensive mindset and behaviour that protects their own self-esteem.

Essentially most individuals, when armed with the knowledge that their time is limited, will want to conclude their time focusing on themselves and their “happiness.” What would you do after knowing your time on this earth is ending? Generally, no one knows when their final breath will be. Sure, as intellectuals we know the moment is coming, but not precisely when. Christ knew. He knew the exact moment He would be hanging on the Cross and committing His Spirit into the hands of the Father.

Knowing that, then, what did He do before He “breathed His last?” (Mark 15:37). Like a lamb, “He opened not His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). In front of the scourging and the shame of spitting, “He gave no answer” (Matthew 27:12). Not only did He deny Himself, He took it one step further—the opposite of what individuals normally do in their final hours—He loved. He forgave (Luke 23:24). He took care of His mother and His disciple (John 12:26). He comforted His children who were in tears (Luke 23:28). He was a peacemaker between two kings previously at enmity with each other (Luke 23:12). He healed the ear of one who came to capture Him (Luke 22:51). He even “instituted for us a great mystery” which is, “the partaking of His flesh in bread and wine” (Liturgy of St. Basil the Great).

But He did not stop there. With less than 24 hours remaining in the flesh, Christ washed feet (Liturgy of St Gregory). Why would He, who has the heavens as His throne and the earth as His footstool (Isaiah 66:1), stoop so low in His final moments? The Church teaches us that after washing and drying their feet, He gave His disciples “the ordinance of love and humility, and the remembrance of [His] love for mankind.” (Liturgy of the Waters for Covenant Thursday)

It was a lesson never witnessed before! The Master explained to them “if I then, your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example” (John 13:14-15). By becoming a servant, the Master set a standard for His servants on how to love each other. Not a superficial love centered on the self, but a love that befits how the Master loves us—wholeheartedly, even to the point of death.

Should I not be humbled in front of Him who suffered on my behalf and reciprocate that same love towards my brothers? Rather than being grounded in egotistical practices, I ought to love because He first loved me. Rather than boosting my own self-interest, I ought to wash my brother’s feet because He first accepted to wash mine. As Abba Shenouda the Archimandrite teaches, “We ought to fear Him who poured the water in a bowl and washed the feet of His disciples with His impeccable hands. Let us present Him with good deeds that deserve this great modesty which He carried out for our sake.” (Homily by St. Shenouda the Archimandrite on Covenant Thursday)

The only gesture I can present to Him that is deserving of His great modesty is my love towards my neighbour; a true and faultless love that is completed when I bend down and show my brother the love Christ showed me.

Regardless of whether it is my last few days on earth or I have a lifetime to go, in the realities of my day-to-day life, my Christ-washed feet must be a mirror of the love He first showed me, as “the One who created the world never stops loving His creation, even when that creation does not return His love” (P. Meyendrof, 2019).

Now that I am washed by Christ, my feet are no longer mine, but rather they are “feet that preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15). Instead of pouring water into a bowl, I should be pouring good deeds of love towards my neighbor, as St. John Chrysostom said, “your Master loved those who hated Him…emulate Him” (St John Chrysostom). I can imitate Christ by making every encounter with my neighbour an encounter with their Master as “theology is most convincing, palpable, and best told in the lives of those who lived theology in the truest sense of that word, as an encounter with God” (Fr Daniel Fanous, 2019) When God encountered me, He loved me by washing my feet, likewise, my encounter with you must also be of love, one foot at a time.