Page 123 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

These we are called to bear with patience and trust, knowing
that each carries within it the possibility of our healing and
salvation. Even when another’s burden seems lighter, we are
called to accept our own as the path entrusted to us.
But beyond these, there is a second and greater form: the
voluntary Cross. Christ was not compelled to be crucified. He
chose the Cross freely. Though innocent, though sinless, He
embraced it willingly. In this, He reveals the highest measure
of freedom. And so He calls us not only to endure what is
imposed, but to choose what is given in love.
Every voluntary sacrifice—fasting, almsgiving, forgiveness,
self-restraint—becomes a participation in this mystery. To
refrain from asserting one’s rights, even when justified; to
forgive when one could condemn; to give from one’s lack
rather than abundance—these are not imposed burdens, but
chosen offerings.
This is the path of the saints. No one forced them into
ascetic struggle, into the desert, into martyrdom. They chose
it. And in this freedom, they found grace.
Thus, when we venerate the Cross, we do not simply receive
strength from it—we are measured by it.
We may find ourselves lacking before its standard. Yet God
does not measure only the fullness of our deeds, but the
direction of our heart. Do we desire to follow? Do we wish to
take up the Cross?
If so, grace will not be withheld. What we must never do is
reduce the Cross to a source of comfort alone, or turn away
from it when it calls us to sacrifice. The Cross is not given
merely to be admired, but to be lived.
And so the Church places it before us—not only as a sign
of victory, but as a path to be walked.