Forgive me a sinner
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This morning’s gospel lesson comes from St Mark. In that passage, Christ Jesus heals a boy who is possessed by a demon, and then He talks to the apostles about the cross.
Now, to us, those are two separate subjects, but that’s because we are out of touch with what the Church teaches about the cross. In Holy Orthodoxy, we proclaim that when our Lord and Master goes to the cross He triumphs over the demons; He casts down the kingdom of darkness, and He frees us from our bondage to Satan.
So, here, in the Church, there is this very close connection between what happens on the cross and the defeat of the demons. But Western Christianity has mostly lost that connection, and that not only makes it difficult to properly interpret passages like this morning’s gospel lesson—it also generates problems that are far more serious.
For example, this is the standard way that the cross is explained in Western Christianity: Because we all have sinned, God the Father is going to punish us. However, God the Son agrees to take that punishment upon Himself, and so, through the power of God the Holy Spirit, God the Son becomes the man Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus goes to the cross; God the Father is satisfied, and, through the power of God the Holy Spirit, our sins are forgiven.
Now that’s very simple language, but that’s also a very accurate description of what you will find the doctrinal statements of all the major groups in Western Christianity. But what you do not find in that short summary or in any of those doctrinal statements is any direct connection between the cross and the demons.
So here’s what the Church teaches concerning the cross: Because we all have sinned, we are in bondage to the Devil. However, the Most Holy Trinity could not bear to see us in that kind of servitude, so, by the will of God the Father, and through the power of God the Holy Spirit, God the Son comes to this earth as the man Christ Jesus. The Devil tries to destroy Christ Jesus through the cross, but, through the power of God the Holy Spirit and by the will of God the Father, our Lord and Master rises from the dead, defeating Satan and forgiving all sins.
So what the Church teaches is a profound contrast to what we find in Western Christianity. In those communities, there’s almost a disagreement within the Most Holy Trinity: God the Father wants to punish us; Christ Jesus wants to save us, and the cross is the means by which that disagreement gets worked out. But in Holy Orthodoxy, there is no tension at all between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the Most Holy Trinity is fully united, and the cross is the means by which we are set free from Satan and his demons.
And there are additional differences: In Western Christianity, God the Father is angry with us, and the cross is a symbol of just how intense that anger is. But in Holy Orthodoxy, the wrath of the Most Holy Trinity is directed at Satan and his demons, and the cross symbolizes the victory that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have won.
Most of us are so accustomed to that Western Christian perspective, we figure that it must somehow be grounded in Holy Scripture. But no one—let me repeat that—no one read the Bible that way until the 16th century. Eventually, both Protestants and Roman Catholics ended up talking about the cross in the very same way, but it you’ll take the time to actually look at Holy Scripture, you’ll see that perspective just isn’t there.
For example, think about this morning’s gospel lesson: In that passage our Lord and Master talks to the apostles about the cross. Now if the perspective of Western Christianity was true, then Christ Jesus should have said something like this: ‘Hey, guys, God the Father is really, really upset with you, and, to be honest, you really have messed up big time. But don’t worry; I’ve got a plan. I’m going to die on the cross, but I’ll rise again, and, after that, everything will be OK.
But that’s not what happens. Our Lord and Master lays out the basic facts for all the apostles—He’s doing to die; He’s going to rise again—but this conversation takes place right after that young boy has been set free from the demons, so the apostles get the connection, and we should, too.
Now you would think that because we Orthodox understand the connection between the cross and the demons we would therefore be obsessed with these evil creatures. But we’re not. We do exorcisms when folks are made catechumens, and, if there is a need down the road for some kind of further intervention, we get a blessing from out bishop, and we do an additional exorcism. But that’s it. We don’t pay much attention to the demons because they have been completely routed. They just aren’t that big a factor in our lives.
But Western culture is obsessed with the demonic. And it is a well-documented historical fact that this obsession began in the 16th century—right about the same time that Western Christianity was losing the connection between the cross and the demons. The 16th century and 17th centuries were filled with mass possessions and witch trials and that’s also the very first time we see these long and involved and very dramatic exorcisms. And then, in the early 19th century, we get the appearance of horror literature, and that genre has been with us ever since. So it’s one of the huge ironies of history: because Western Christianity no longer understands the connection between the cross and the demons, Western culture has become fixated on these evil creatures.
Mothers and Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, Holy Week is now just fourteen days away. And if we’re going to get the most out of those profound and glorious observances, then we need to know exactly what it is that we are celebrating. So let’s say it one more time with absolute clarity: When Christ Jesus goes to the cross, He’s not placating God the Father. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, He’s defeating the Devil; He’s throwing open the gates of hell; He’s routing the demons. And that is not only how our sins are forgiven, that is how we are brought into full union with the Most Holy Trinity; that is how we are all able, with one mouth and one heart, to praise and glorify the all honorable and majestic Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.