Today is the Sunday following the Exaltation of the Cross, the most important Feastday of the Fall season and one of the 12 Great Feastdays of the Orthodox Church.

There are two Gospel readings for this Sunday, the first being the lesson assigned for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost, which is the story of the Rich man and eternal life. This lesson is a dialogue between the rich young man and Jesus concerning the steps necessary to inherit eternal life.

This lesson is somewhat confusing and contradictory but basically it concludes that the Kingdom of God is always a gift but it is given to those who do something beginning with a permanent commitment of faith and followed by an ongoing obedience to Christ’s Teachings. We must remember that God always provides the saving grace: we cannot save ourselves!  We can only receive salvation but we must receive it actively and energetically in faith, prayer, and loving deeds.

The second Gospel for this Sunday is the reading for the Sunday following the Exaltation of the Cross, from the Gospel of Mark 8:34-9:1, which instructs us to do three things: the first, one must deny himself, the second to bear one’s Cross and the third and final, one must follow Christ. The Cross frees us from the bondage of selfish love.  By the experience of the Cross we emerge from that prison of self and enter into the immense liberty of God.  Full surrender to God is full peace in the midst of affliction!