As we reach the midpoint of Great Lent, I am reminded of the story we hear from the 14th and 15th chapters of Exodus, when Moses leading the children of Israel out of Pharoah’s grasp into the midst of the Red Sea. They all watched as God carried back the waters and made it so that they could walk on dry ground. With a wall of water to their right and to their left, they made their way to the other shore and then watched as the waters swallowed up Pharoah’s army. The children of Israel thus were delivered from years of tyranny and slavery. They sang a beautiful hymn of thanksgiving and praise to God, saying things like:
“Thy Right-hand O Lord is glorified in strength! Thy Right-hand O Lord has shattered thy enemies. In the greatness of your majesty, you have overthrown your adversaries! Who is like You o Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorified in holiness, marvelous in praises, doing wonders…The Lord reigns forever and ever!”
It only took 3 days for this enthusiasm from the miracle at the Red Sea to wear off for the Children of Israel, as they went into the wilderness of Shur. They began to run out of water to drink, and when they came to a place called Marah, they found water that they could not drink because it was too bitter. So, the people began to complain to Moses, who was then told by God to go to a nearby tree, and cast it into the water. Immediately, the waters became sweet, allowing the Israelites to drink and be refreshed on their long journey.
This small episode from Exodus is a perfect image of where most Christians find themselves on our journey through Great Lent. We received so much Grace during those first 7 days of clean week. Our hearts were open. Our fasting came easy. The services were packed as we all sang from the depths of our hearts that humble verse: “Have mercy on me O God, have mercy on me!” Like the Israelites witnessing and giving thanks to God for the incredible miracle of crossing the Red Sea, so we too met the beginning of our journey with such enthusiasm and joy!
With the guidance of the Church, we looked for ways in our life to “deny ourselves” …to say “no” to ourselves and “yes” to God:
“I’m going to watch more closely what I eat.”
“I am going to double my prayer time at home.”
“I have three spiritual books that I want to get through.”
“I am going to guard the distractions that come about from the news and social media.”
“I am going to make sure that I do not miss a single Lenten Service.”
But after 3 weeks, just like the Israelites after 3 days, many of us begin to lose a little steam. Our prayers can sometimes become a little dry. We only cracked a few chapters of those books we wanted to read. The temptation to watch the news, to participate in various entertainments, as well as a myriad of other distractions began to take hold of us. If we aren’t used to fasting, we began to crave the foods which we have been denying ourselves. A wise monk once told me: “I never understand why they call it “Great Lent”, because I have never met a sincere Orthodox Christian who has ever truly had a “Great” lent!”
After a short time, Lent can easily become like the bitter waters of Marah. So, just as Moses was instructed by God to throw a tree into the waters to make them sweet, so too does the Church give us the wood of the cross to throw into the midst of our Lenten Journey! We bow down low to this instrument of our salvation, reminding us of the sweetness that awaits us in just a few short weeks!
I shared a story with you several years ago that I heard while I was in seminary, about an atheistic woman who once told a priest who was walking in the street: “Someone who I loved very dearly was shot and murdered in their home. I would think it stupid for me to immortalize them, by wearing a piece of jewelry shaped like the gun that they were killed with.”
That woman would be correct if the cross was simply a piece of jewelry that reminded us Christ’s mode of death! But for a true Christian, who truly understands the magnitude of the cross, the cross is EVERYTHING! It is our rock and our support as we wade through the troubling waters of life. In order to support the weight of those who were crucified on them, the base of the cross had to be buried deep beneath the earth so that it would remain firm. It acts in the same way for us, as a way to keep our own lives grounded.
When we are in the presence of the cross, there is no movement. There is no change. It demands of us that we concentrate our attention into the depths of our own souls, and in its simplicity, its stillness, and its silence…the bottomless depth of its meaning is opened to us.
Listen to what St. Gregory of Sinai says the cross is for us: “O Cross, Be unto me the might, the strength, and the power…the deliverer and foremost defender against my enemies…the shield and protector…my victory and establishment…ever preserving and sheltering me.”
The Cross is Everything dear ones. For those of us who might have hit a bitter Lenten wall, or have failed in our attempts to deny ourselves, today we are given hope. The cross serves as so many things, but above all, it stands as a symbol of hope. When we learn to place our trust in it, when we remember what it means for our lives, not only here on earth but for all eternity, we gain not only hope, but VICTORY.
May our Lord, by His Precious and Life-Giving Cross, sweeten the waters of our Lenten Journey, which will take us to the foot of Golgotha itself…and after three days, will allow us to gaze inside an empty tomb in order to witness and proclaim the ultimate victory that “Christ is Risen”!