In this sermon, Fr. Stephen reflects on Holy Friday and the painful truth revealed at the Cross. The message is not simply about what happened long ago in Jerusalem. It is about what our own sins, our pride, and our excuses still do to the soul. This sermon asks listeners to stop standing at a distance and to see themselves honestly before the Crucifixion.

The heart of the sermon is a call to repentance. Orthodox Christianity teaches that the Cross shows both the seriousness of sin and the mercy of God. We often blame Judas, Pilate, or the crowd, but the deeper question is how we still choose ourselves over God in daily life. Anger, lack of forgiveness, self-centeredness, and spiritual laziness all become part of that same story.

This matters because the Orthodox spiritual life is not about becoming slightly better people. It is about ...