THE SON OF MAN LIFTED UP
The Cross of
Jesus gives us many things to reflect on: pain, suffering, sacrifice. But most
importantly, it leads us to reflect on justice, humility and love.
Today, we celebrate
the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. We read, in the first reading, that the
people of Israel were afflicted with serpents in the wilderness because of
their sin. God instructed Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a
pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live" (Nm 21:8).
The bronze serpent points to the Cross of Christ which defeats sin and death
and obtains everlasting life for those who believe. The result of Jesus
"being lifted up on the Cross" and His rising and ascension to the
Father's right hand in heaven, is our "new birth in the Spirit" and
adoption as sons and daughters of God. God not only redeems us, but He fills us
with His own divine life and power that we might share in His glory.
All three readings
come together very well today. St. Paul speaks often about the Cross in his
letters. He says that his only boast is in the Cross of Jesus (cf Gal 6:14). He
frequently reminds us that there is no work we do that earns us redemption.
Rather, through the Cross, God has done the work of uniting Jews and Gentiles.
He preached that God has nailed our sins and their resulting guilt to the
Cross; when Jesus died on the Cross so did our guilt. The mystery Paul preached
is that it was the very instrument that put Jesus to death that was also the
means of our new life. What we could not do, God did. Paul would conclude that
we have reason to exalt because the power of sin and death are conquered through
the Cross.
Jesus said in the
Gospel of John, "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that
he who believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16).
Jesus came to this world to help us through life, to teach us how to truly
live. By becoming human like us, He showed us it can be done. He wants to have
a relationship with us, to dwell within us. Paul also told us today that Jesus
emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, human in likeness; humbled
Himself, and being obedient even to death for us (cf Phil 2:7).
Here are questions
I asked myself during my reflection on these readings: What about denying
ourselves; losing our life and following the crucified One? How do these
teachings fit into the picture? Well, God wants us to love because that is His
purpose for us; He has built it into our nature. We want to love. We feel
terrible if we don't love. Now anyone who has ever loved knows that it costs,
but they still want to do it. They want to give things to those they love, do
things for them. They help them bear their burdens. They stick with them
through difficult times. It hurts. That is the denying of self, the losing of
life.
Sr. Marsha Sinetar
said in an article, "If your love is broad and deep, so that, for example,
you want to change the system to help those who are being squashed by it, you
might get threatened, beat up, or killed. It happened to many like, Martin
Luther King, Mohandas Gandhi, Jesus of Nazareth." This is all for love and
relationships, and we are all called to this cross. The Cross of Jesus gives us
many things to reflect on: pain, suffering, sacrifice. But most importantly, it
leads us to reflect on justice, humility and love.