Metr. Saba Reflects on the Cross of Spiritual Struggle

ENGLEWOOD, NJ — Metr. Saba (Isper) of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese has published the fourth part of his series “The Cross in Our Life,” focusing on the spiritual struggle against sin and the transformation of suffering through participation in Christ’s Cross.

Metr. Saba describes the human person as experiencing an ongoing conflict between good and evil, citing St. Paul’s words in Romans 7 about the struggle between desiring to do good and falling into sin. He explains that the word “sin” in Greek carries the meaning of “missing the mark,” reflecting humanity’s failure to live according to its divine purpose.

The Metropolitan also emphasizes that spiritual struggle involves not only an inner battle but opposition to what St. Paul calls the “spiritual hosts of wickedness.” Through God’s grace and perseverance, he writes, Christians can gain strength against evil and grow in goodness, joy, and peace. The difficulties encountered in this struggle can become occasions for purification, growth, and spiritual maturity.

Metr. Saba contrasts this struggle with Christ’s Cross, noting that Christ alone bore the Cross without guilt. While Christians bear their crosses because of their own sins and, following Christ’s example, for the sake of others, Christ bore His Cross entirely for humanity’s perfection and salvation. When believers understand their suffering as participation in Christ’s Cross, he writes, it becomes a path not merely of suffering but of “resurrection, freedom, maturity, and glory.”

The Metropolitan further stresses the importance of acknowledging personal failures and accepting responsibility. He warns that refusing to recognize one’s errors can become a “cross of selfishness and ignorance,” preventing spiritual growth. He concludes with an Arabic proverb: “Whoever seeks the heights must keep vigil through the nights,” connecting the willingness to bear one's cross with the pursuit of new life in Christ.

Previously, the UOJ reported that Metr. Saba examined the cross of human relationships.