Today’s Sermon in a Nutshell:

 Today’s Sermon in a Nutshell:

A man and wife were driving through the country on their vacation, when they came upon a large sign that read, “Road Closed. Do Not Enter. Use Alternate Route.” The man, however, not wanting to waste time and miles decided to ignore the warning and proceeded to go around the sign despite his wife’s pleading. After successfully driving a few miles, the man confidently bragged about his decision, that is until he came upon a washed-out bridge. Unable to proceed further, the man let out an embarrassed, angry grumble, turned the car around, and drove back the way he came. When he arrived at the original warning sign, he noticed that someone had written on its backside, “Welcome back, stupid!”

You and I are a lot like that man. We go through life not always paying attention to the rules of our Faith. We become cocky or over-confident in our judgements and traverse roads we should stay well clear of. More-often-than-not, we too, hit dead ends and need to turnaround lest we become stranded or trapped by our wrong choices.

In the Akathist Service to the Precious, Life-Giving Cross, the Cross is poetically praised as being a “Signpost” and a “Guide;” showing and leading us in the direction we must travel to attain salvation. It is both, a “starting point and the goal.” Yet, the Cross not only shows us the road and path to traverse, but also warns us against going down those are paved by Satan, which are cleverly designed to look easy and attract us, but are designed to lead us away from God, and even to our own demise!

Brothers and sisters: don’t make the mistake of the man who had the utmost confidence in himself. Heed the true sign and symbol of our salvation. Stay upon and follow the Way of the Cross; for it will not only lead us towards our salvation, it will keep us from us to straying from the Sheepfold of the Good Shepherd. 

Fr. John