A note from Pastor regarding his sermon:

The Gospel reading for Holy Cross Day is also familiar to us as one of the readings we hear each Lent as we draw close to Good Friday and Easter. The request that the Greeks ask Philip – “Sir, we wish to see Jesus,” – points us toward an important question about the way we understand Jesus and His work on earth, but also the way we present Christ to the world around us today: What is the central purpose of Christ’s life among us, and where do we see that work most clearly?

For many Christians, Jesus is depicted as a great teacher or miracle-worker. His life is then understood in the way people like to see Him: giving people instructions about how they must live if they want to earn everlasting life, or cleansing people of all of the problems they encounter in this world. But Scripture is clear: the Christ that the world needs to see is hanging on the cross, suffering for our sins, and reconciling us with God. The cross is not just a symbol of a faith in a story that includes the crucifixion as one episode among many; the cross was the plan, all along!