A Bundle of Myrrh

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Cross or Holy Cross Day.

“Although there will always be some question concerning the origins of Holy Cross Day, this festival invites an appropriate and salutary focus on the Cross as the means by which our Lord Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of the world, defeated death and the devil, reconciled the world to God, obtained our salvation and glorified the Father’s name. Though His Cross is a foolish scandal to the world, to us who are being saved it is the power and wisdom of God, unto salvation. Thus, with St. Paul, we know nothing but the Cross, preach nothing but the Cross, and boast in nothing but the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. ” source

I’ve been sick this week. A long week with many sleepless nights. I stayed home from church with the two littlest who have been sick too for weeks now. As I prepared the bread for our cross the church bells rang and Ephraim said, “Da Da!” I smiled but my thoughts were full of the ways sickness steals your days from you, full of recent disappointments, full of potential possibilities gone. Full of the ways I have failed and all the ways I will fail.

We Lutherans often talk about Crosses, bearing crosses, being given crosses. Disappointments, sickness, today these were my crosses. All the days of this earthly life will be filled with these crosses, some perhaps, will become very heavy.

But this Cross Day is not one for mourning loss it’s for exalting. Exalting in what Christ lost on His cross in order to lavish upon us everlasting life, forgiveness and love. Today we see the Cross as our glorious trophy, our triumph.

“Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle,
Sing the ending of the fray;
Now above the cross, the trophy,
Sound the loud triumphant lay:
Tell how Christ the world’s Redeemer,
As a victim won the day.”
Sing My Tongue, The Glorious Battle

Blessed Holy Cross Day to you all!

August 20th is the day the Church remembers Samuel. Occasionally while the babies are eating breakfast I’ll read to them whatever I’m reading from Treasury of Daily Prayer. I recently was reading about Saul and David and Samuel. So on this day as things were rushing and children were fussing I just gave them a “remember Samuel who anointed David to be king and who lived with Eli for a while? That’s who we remember today.” It was deep.

But I did tell them the story of the Ebenezer stone Samuel set up in I Samuel 7:

“Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel and the Lord answered him. 10 Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a great [a]thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were [b]routed before Israel. 11 The men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as below Beth-car.

12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it[c]Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.” 

We had to dip our Ebenezer stones in chocolate.

source

On August 10th the Church remembers St. Lawrence “who kept and distributed the church’s goods and alms. When the prefect of Rome demanded that Lawrence turn over the church’s treasury, Lawrence made a faithful confession, showing the prefect the widowed and orphaned, the blind and lame, saying, “These are the treasures of the Church.” For his fidelity, Lawrence was burned — roasted alive — over a gridiron.” source

The stories of the martyrs are kept in our memory by the Church for good reason. Lawrence was killed over a 1000 years ago. We can read his story and sigh at the sadness, cruelty and be awed by his faithfulness, then go along with our day. We are reminded how God can give His children great suffering but also great strength to face it, even if it means their death.

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