Thoughts for the Day

See, my servant shall prosper;
he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high.
Just as there were many who were astonished at him
—so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of mortals—
so he shall startle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him.....

He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account.

Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all....

Because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Tomorrow (14th September) we celebrate a major feast day - Holy Cross Day - and in many Anglican and Episcopal churches tonight services will celebrate the Eve of Holy Cross Day. For Lutherans, for example, Holy Cross Day is the only holy day they observe that concerns a thing – not a person or event! The Eastern church knows this as "The Exaltation of the Holy Cross" and the Roman Catholic Church as "The Triumph of the Church", and it celebrates Christ's offering of himself to save us.

The history of this day goes back to at least 335 CE when the Emperor Constantine dedicated a series of buildings in Jerusalem on the sites of the crucifixion and Christ's tomb. This included a large public building (a basilica) and a circular church. Constantine's mother, Helena, had supervised the shrine. A relic believed to be the cross was discovered during the work of excavation. Although the alleged relic may be questionable, Holy Cross Day gives us the opportunity to celebrate with joy that Jesus underwent such a sacrifice - to die as a man on a real physical tree; to lay down his life for us.

Lord Jesus,
we celebrate today the Eve
of Holy Cross Day,
remembering with joy
Your selfless offering of Yourself,
as a sacrifice for our sin,
in order to make us one with You.
Help us to be worthy of this gift,
and may we grow ever closer to You.
Amen.