I am so delighted to be back in your midst and Pat and I look forward to worshipping with you this Sunday! It promises to be a delightfully busy fall, with many opportunities for fun, formation and fellowship.
This coming Sunday we will be celebrating "Holy Cross Day." What is that exactly, you ask? Its historical roots date back to Helena, the mother of Roman Emperor Constantine, who claimed to have discovered the empty tomb and true cross of Christ during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. According to tradition, the discovery was made on September 14th, 330 A.D., and then, after the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built on the site, it was dedicated on September 13th or 14th, 335 A.D. From as early as the seventh century, the Church commemorated September 14th each year with a Feast of the Holy Cross. It is now recognized as a festival day (with differing emphasis, to be sure) by Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Episcopalians alike.
At the time of the Reformation, Martin Luther was not keen on the idea of venerating relics, even something as profoundly important as the wooden cross upon which Christ may have been crucified. Even so, Luther believed that Holy Cross Day was worth observing if we focus less on the relic and more on what Christ accomplished on the cross.
One of the traditions of this day is to sing the great hymn "Lift High the Cross" as our Hymn of the Day. The hymn was written by George Kitchin in 1887, while he was the Church of England Dean of Winchester for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. It has been suggested that the hymn was inspired by the story of Constantine the Great’s conversion to Christianity after seeing a cross with “In hoc signo vinces” on it. It was first sung in Winchester Cathedral and more recently has been adopted in our Lutheran hymnals.
We will also sing as our Sending Hymn, "The Old Rugged Cross." Although not in the Lutheran hymnal, it is an immensely popular hymn across American Protestant denominations.
I look forward to reconnecting with you all on Sunday!