If you, O Jew, reproach me saying that I adore the wood of the Cross as God, why do you not reproach Jacob, who worshipped on the point of his staff? Now it is evident that he was not worshipping wood. So with us; we are worshipping Christ through the Cross, not the wood of the Cross.
St. John Damascene
Apology Against Those Who Decry Holy Images
Quoted from Leo of Neapolis, Against the Jews