День Седьмой. Alexey Uminskiy
YouTube
Taking Up the Cross as a Joyful Response to Love
7:57
What the video says
The homily for the Exaltation of the Cross interprets Christ's call to deny oneself and take up the cross not as a burdensome command but as a voluntary invitation rooted in love. The speaker explains that true self-denial occurs naturally and joyfully when one loves deeply, forgetting oneself for the beloved. The "cross" Christians are called to bear is not worldly suffering but the Gospel itself—the good news of Christ's sacrificial love and resurrection which brings joy to the world. Therefore, following Christ means embracing a life of selfless love according to the Gospel, which is a light and liberating burden.
Key moments
- The feast of the Exaltation of the Cross concludes; the Gospel reading (Mark) states that to follow Christ one must deny oneself, take up the cross, and follow Him.
- These words are described as the most troubling and severe in the Gospel, similar to the command to love Christ more than family, because they seem alien to human nature.
- The concepts of self-denial and the cross are hardest to accept; the cross is usually perceived negatively as something heavy, gloomy, and frightening.
- Christ's appeal is a calling, not a command; no one is forced or handed a cross—God does not send crosses, a person voluntarily takes it up.
- Self-denial is explained through the experience of deep love: when one truly loves, they forget themselves joyfully, making the beloved the center of life.
- Selflessness is identified as happiness and the lightness of love; divine self-denial brings joy, light, and freedom, not cruelty or heaviness.
- The cross offered by Christ is not life's misfortunes or illnesses; the Church sings 'Through the Cross joy has come to all the world,' identifying the Cross with the Gospel of resurrection and eternal life.
- Taking up the cross means taking up the Gospel and a life according to it (imitation of Christ); one cannot deny Christ but only oneself, and this burden is light and joyful.
Fr. Alexey Uminsky's homily for the Exaltation of the Cross reinterprets Christ's call to deny oneself and take up the cross not as a heavy obligation but as a voluntary invitation born of love. The priest explains that the Gospel words — "deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me" — are often perceived as the most severe and frightening in Scripture because they seem contrary to human nature. However, Fr. Alexey argues that true self-denial happens naturally and joyfully when one loves deeply: the lover forgets themselves, making the beloved the center of life. This divine self-denial brings happiness, light, and freedom, not cruelty or heaviness. The "cross" Christians are called to bear is not worldly suffering, illness, or misfortune; rather, it is the Gospel itself — the good news of Christ's sacrificial love and resurrection. As the Church sings, "Through the Cross joy has come to all the world." Therefore, taking up the cross means embracing a life according to the Gospel, imitating Christ in selfless love. This burden is light and liberating because it is chosen freely in response to love, not imposed by force. God does not send crosses; a person voluntarily takes them up. The homily concludes that following Christ means denying only oneself, not Christ, and that such a life is marked by the joy of the resurrection.
Main points
- The call to take up the cross is an invitation, not a command; God does not send crosses, we voluntarily take them up.
- Self-denial is the natural fruit of deep love: when we truly love, we forget ourselves joyfully.
- The Christian cross is not worldly suffering but the Gospel — the good news of Christ's love and resurrection.
- "Through the Cross joy has come to all the world": the cross brings joy, light, and freedom, not gloom.
- Following Christ means living the Gospel in selfless love, a light burden chosen freely.