On the Feast of the Discovery of the Cross, the last of the Armenian Church's cross feasts, this sermon asks how we truly experience God.
Drawing on St. Paul, Fr. Nareg notes that some people look for signs and miracles, while others pursue wisdom and theology. He says the real experience of God is different. It is a mystical encounter that signs can't prove and human wisdom can't fully explain.
Reading Matthew 27, he looks at what happens before the crucifixion. Jesus is stripped, echoing the shame of Adam and Eve, and crowned with thorns, a reminder of humanity's fall. Guilt is knowing you made a mistake, he explains, while shame is feeling that you are the mistake.
Jesus takes that burden on himself, as a loving parent steps in when a child's struggle is too much.
Simon of Cyrene shows that we can willingly share in the cross, because life without pain isn't realistic, and love without sacrifice isn't real love.
The invitation is to make space in your heart and daily routine to experience God's love.
