Holy Cross Day: Early in the fourth century the emperor Constantine took the Christian Church under his protection, and to show his imperial benevolence he ordered a grand church to be built in Jerusalem. The site he chose was Gol’gotha, the hill where Jesus of Nazareth was crucified and buried. It had once stood outside the city walls, but before the time of Constantine the hill had been levelled and buried under tons of debris. The entire area had to be excavated for Constantine’s new church, and the emperor put his mother Helena in charge of the work. In the course of digging the labourers discovered a large beam; and the authorities soon decided that it was a remnant of the very same cross on which the Lord had been crucified. Portions of this beam were enshrined near the altar of the new church when it was dedicated in honour of the Resurrection on September fourteenth in the year 335; and ever since then, in the East and in the West, Christians have kept this date as Holy Cross Day.

Season of Creation: The ecological disaster points to the devastating consequences of human disobedience. A similar note of judgement is heard in Psalm 14: “They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.” Yet God will not make a full end. God is a God of deliverance, mercy, and restoration, beyond anything we have a right to expect. What does it mean to “take up one’s cross and follow Jesus” regarding Creation?

Prayer: Ever present God, whose Son our Savior was lifted high upon the cross that he might renew all Creation through himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery of our restoration, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him on his way to bring new life to all things; through Jesus the Wisdom of Creation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.