The Festival of the Holy Cross | 14.09.2025 | John 12:20-33 | David M. Wendel |

 “Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle!”

Scripture texts from English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles

Numbers 21:4-9

From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient on the way. ⁵ And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” ⁶ Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. ⁷ And the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. ⁸ And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

I Corinthians 1:18-24

¹⁸ For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” ²⁰ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach^[a] to save those who believe. ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

John 12:20-33

²⁰ Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. ²¹ So these came to Philip, who was from Beth-sa′ida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew went with Philip and they told Jesus. ²³ And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵ He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him. ²⁷ “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify thy name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd standing by heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰ Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. ³¹ Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; ³² and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” ³³ He said this to show by what death he was to die.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Westerville, Ohio, we’re dedicating a new church organ. And that may very well be seen as one of the most foolish of all foolish endeavors in a church, at least today, in the 21^st century. And why is that? Because some claim that organ music and old, outdated hymns are the opposite of what people are looking for today. Because a rather mistaken assumption today says that if you want your church to grow, scrap the organ, as so many churches are doing, and go in a different direction—away from Bach and Buxtehude, away from hymns and liturgy that are hard to sing, too complex musically and theologically, and don’t speak to the untrained ears of modern man in 2025. So, purchasing a new organ, even if it wasn’t a million bucks, still seems foolish, in the eyes of many today. And you know what else may be seen as foolish? The cross! The cross of Jesus Christ!

As you may have read in the newsletter piece about the Festival of the Holy Cross, this lesser festival day on the liturgical calendar was quite popular in western Christianity, including in Lutheranism, in Germany, northern Europe and Scandinavia! Often it was known as the Festival of the Triumph or Exaltation of the Holy Cross, focusing on the victory won for us through the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Holy Cross Day is always September 14^th, because on September 13^th, 335, the Constantinian Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem was dedicated, and on the next day, September 14^th, the relic of the True Cross was exposed for veneration. And that date was reinforced in 614, when, according to tradition, the Emperor Heraclius recovered the Holy Cross from the Persians. So, observing the festival of the Holy Cross would usually mean a midweek service for Lutherans and, well, that doesn’t fly with most Lutherans who prefer to come to church on Sunday, and maybe on Christmas Eve and Good Friday. So, it’s not so common or familiar anymore. Which is just as well in our day and age, because, as we said, if there’s anything which may be considered, by the world, more foolish in a church than an organ, it’s a cross!

One of the most popular mega church pastors, also known for writing books about church growth, once wrote, „Be careful not to overdo mystical, religious symbols in your facilities…they confuse the unchurched.“ In George Barna’s book, „User-Friendly Churches“, Barna suggests the church do an inventory and assessment of the church and sanctuary, so that, if there are negatives, visually, the church can consider substituting something more „upbeat“ and „affirming“. And he actually suggests crosses, especially crosses with the corpus of Jesus displayed, may be seen as negative and can be too graphic, especially for unbelievers—so, perhaps consider removing them! And some newer churches are doing just that–removing crosses from their worship spaces and replacing them with modern art–fabric swatches showing life-movement; abstract paintings on the chancel wall that are considered calming; and then, of course, some just fill the space with plants! Plants that project life and living and that don’t carry any kind of an un-friendly message. In a consultation with an architect in one of the building programs I was overseeing, this firm told us they specialize in building churches that don’t look like churches, don’t have sanctuaries, but simply design plush auditoriums where people are comfortable, without distinctively religious symbols. We didn’t hire that firm! But, given the fact that some, at least, consider the cross of Christ to be offensive, why be foolish enough to have two crosses in your sanctuary? Why?

Because we preach Christ crucified! Because we have no other message for salvation, than the message of the cross. St. Paul writes to the Corinthian Christians, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

We have crosses in our churches because if you remove the cross, then it won’t be long until you remove the word of the cross, the preaching of Christ crucified, and once that is gone, why have a church? There is no worldly, agenda-driven, self-help message which will bring people forgiveness of sins and so eternal salvation, other than the cross of Jesus Christ. And though the world and even some Christians today may see it as foolish, it is, as Paul says, the power of God unto salvation. For it is through the death and resurrection of Jesus, only, that the world may be saved. Jesus Himself proclaims, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through me.” Jesus also says, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live.” There is no other saving message, even as there is no other Savior, but Jesus Christ. Remove the cross or the preaching of Christ crucified from the church, and you might as well close the doors. And if you think about it, there would be no resurrection, without the death of Jesus on the cross. So, can a church be the Church, without a cross?

You hear the lessons for today, and you wouldn’t think so. Our first lesson, and gospel reading, both point to the connection, between God saving the Israelites at the foot of Mount Hor, having Moses fashion a bronze pole, lifting it up, so that everyone who looks at it is saved, and God saving the world, by having his Son, offered as a perfect sacrifice for sin, lifted up on the cross so that everyone who looks to him, again, will be saved–for God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life! God’s plan for salvation involved Jesus being lifted up, just as the bronze serpent was lifted up–and Jesus was lifted up, on the cross–so that the cross became, indeed, the means of our salvation. It doesn’t appear Holy Scripture could abide the removal of the cross from the Church–even if it is a stumbling block to some! And Dr. Martin Luther says that, as well.

In his treatise „On the Councils and the Church“, Luther describes Seven Marks of the Body of Christ, seven signs by which all could know, as Luther says, „What, where, and who the holy Christian church is, that is, the holy Christian people of God; and we can be certain that it cannot fail us.“ So, Luther writes of the seventh mark of the Body of Christ, „The holy Christian people are externally recognized by the holy possession of the sacred cross. This is a holy possession whereby the Holy Spirit not only sanctifies his people, but also blesses them.“ Ponder that for a minute. Luther says, not only is the holy cross one of the essential marks of the Body of Christ–but through the cross, the Holy Spirit sanctifies his people and blesses them. How does this sanctification, this blessing through the cross take place?

Well, the cross is about self-denial, self-discipline and yielding to the will of God the Father. The cross of Jesus Christ teaches us that salvation was won for us, as Jesus submitted himself to the Father’s will, denied his own desire for safety, security, and success, and gave himself in sacrifice and service, for the sake of the world, and for your sake and for my sake. Jesus calls us to respond with lives of discipleship, shaped by his cross, when he says, „If any would be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.“ Thus, the Christian life, is one of denying oneself; it involves a radical obedience to the will of God which takes precedence over one’s own personal desires and interests; it involves suffering the opposition and resistance of the world, if need be, to the point of death. And that is what sanctifies us. That’s what sets us Christians apart, from the world—our service and sacrifice. That’s what we are preaching, when we, with St. Paul, „preach Christ crucified.” That’s what we mean, as well, when we say the cross is the power of God, unto salvation…the power of God, for saving us!

I’m reminded of the experience of the pagan Roman Emperor, Constantine in the 4th century, when, against great odds, he set out for battle, and some say it was in the sky, others record that it was in a dream, that Constantine saw the cross of Christ, in a symbol we call the Chi-Rho, a stylized cross that includes the first two letters of the name „Christ“ in Greek–Chi–Rho; and Constantine heard the words, „By this, conquer.“ And Constantine did, indeed, conquer.

When we look to the Holy Cross of our Lord and Savior Christ, let us also hear these words, „By this, conquer!“ When we make the sign of the cross, let us hear these words, „By this, conquer!“ By this cross, is conquered, sin, death and the devil. By this cross, is conquered fear, shame, and despair. By this cross, is conquered the effects of abuse and neglect. By this cross is conquered struggles in our relationships, challenges in raising our kids, struggles in our job situations. By this cross, is conquered drug and alcohol abuse. By this cross is conquered our sinful selves and our disobedience. By this cross, is conquered–all that needs to be put to death in us–so that we may then have victory, and new life, and life to the full–in and through, Jesus Christ, crucified, and risen. In and through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, sent into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him! So, now we sing the hymn of the day—we sing, with tongues and voices, with the new organ, of the glorious battle, as Christ the world’s redeemer, as a victim, won the day! And we say, “Thanks be to God!”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

©David M. Wendel
d.wendel@grace43081.org
  Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
Westerville, Ohio USA