H.H. Pope Tawadros II: Five Blessings of Enlightenment Through the Cross: Steadfastness, Freedom, Healing and Salvation from Sin, Transformation, and the Continuous Call

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II delivered his weekly Wednesday sermon this evening at the Church of St. Mary and St. Athanasius the Apostolic in Al-Rabia, El Shorouk City. The sermon was broadcast on Christian satellite channels and on the C.O.C channel of the Church’s Media Center via the internet.

In his sermon, His Holiness continued his series “Spiritual Laws for Life,” speaking on “The Law of Enlightenment Through the Cross.” He read from Psalm 34:1–5 and reflected on the verse: “They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed” (Ps. 34:5), on the occasion of the celebrations of the Feast of the Discovery of the Wood of the Holy Cross.

His Holiness explained that enlightenment means having light within the human heart, and that the source of this light is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross.

His Holiness outlined the blessings of enlightenment through the Cross as follows:

1. Steadfastness:
A person should not be unstable in life, but should keep their eyes fixed solely on the Cross of Christ. His Holiness referred to the example of St. Peter walking on the water while his eyes were fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ. When he looked at the raging sea and took his eyes off Christ, he began to sink.

Therefore, looking daily to the Person of Christ gives a person steadfastness: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Heb. 12:2).

2. Freedom:
Continually looking to the Cross in all its dimensions gives a person freedom. This freedom opens the mind, enabling a person to be creative and to have a positive outlook on life. It also enlarges the heart to embrace everyone and accept differences. A person who is connected to God in the Person of Christ has an open and embracing heart and attains freedom, while this freedom also makes the human spirit humble.

3. Healing:
A person is healed from the sickness of the spirit, which is sin. Nothing can erase human sin except Christ through His salvation and the Cross upon which He was crucified: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:14–15).

The path to eternal life is through the Cross, and the Cross alone is the key to Heaven.

4. Transformation:
The Cross is capable of shaping and transforming a person’s inner thoughts, giving them a positive outlook and vision for life, together with a combination of joy and inner peace: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord… are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18).

The Cross makes a person’s thoughts and outlook, throughout both night and day, holy in Christ, so that their entire life becomes sanctified in the Person of Christ.

5. The Continuous Call:
At the time of the Lord Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, those present looked upon Him with a profound gaze of faith: “The world rejoices in receiving salvation, while my inward parts burn as I look upon Your Crucifixion.”

The continuous call that comes through the Cross is a call to joy. This is why we repeatedly chant “Alleluia,” as it is a call to rejoice and the principal hymn of praise with which we glorify God in Heaven. This joy is then transformed into acts of love in our daily lives.

His Holiness concluded by saying that looking to Christ and being enlightened by Him fills a person with steadfastness, so as not to be hesitant; freedom, so as not to be bound; healing and salvation, so as not to remain in sin; transformation toward a better life; and joy through a continually renewed call.

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