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14th September 

Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

READ: (Num 21:4-9; Phil 2: 6-11; Jn 3:13-17)

REFLECT:  Cross – an expression of Love, Power and Humility

Dear friends today we commemorate and celebrate the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross recalls three events: One: The finding of the True Cross by St. Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. Two: The dedication of two churches built by Constantine on the site of the Holy Sepulcher and Mount Calvary. Three: The restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem in 629 AD by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius II from the Persians. More than these historical facts, the feast day invites the love of God expressed in and through Jesus Christ, who carried, hung and died on the cross.

We learn from the history that in the ancient world cross was often synonymous with Crucifixion. The crucifixion was a capital punishment to the victim who was tied or nailed to a wooden cross or beam and left to hang until death.  It was used as an execution or punishment by the Persians. It was later appropriated by Alexander the Great, adopted by Romans and finally abolished by Constantine. Till the time of Christ, the cross was considered as an instrument for executing criminals, but cross gains its importance after the death and resurrection of Christ. Therefore the significance of the cross of Christ, the power, the love, the grace and the beauty that the cross of Christ gained becomes a focal point and a source of strength for us Christians. Therefore, basing ourselves on the liturgy of the word, I would like to share with you three points of reflection.

1.     Love  made manifest on the cross:

Jerry bridges very beautifully expresses the God’s love by saying, “If we want proof of God's love for us, then we must look first at the Cross where God offered up His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Calvary is the one objective, absolute, irrefutable proof of God’s love for us.” Yes, there are many ways of expressing love to one another. We can express our love for another by living and by dying as well. But dying manifests far greater love than anything else. That’s what we hear in the gospel of John, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends,” (Jn 15:13). Yes death of Jesus has a greater value and meaning because Jesus even calls us friends. It signifies that the death of Jesus for love of us is real, eternal and unconditional. Jesus did it for nothing in return except our returning to God.   As a God, Jesus taking a human form like us, living like us except in sin and ultimately dying for our redemption is what unique and special.

That’s what we hear from today’s Gospel in Jn 3:16-17, God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that we all will be redeemed and not condemned. Yes, this is the perfect love of God expressed in and through his son Jesus Christ, giving up his own Son for our sake. The death of Jesus on the cross is a perfect love shown by Jesus to all of us. The death was not a show but rather showed how much he loved us. The expression of Jesus’ love on the cross inspires each one of us to love our brothers and sisters even to the extent of death for that matter. Today, even if we don’t suffer for others to the extent of dying but if we could just love each one as God created, as we are, I am sure there would peace and joy in each one of us. Jesus accepted us as we are and showed the most perfect love of all in the world by dying on the cross for love of us. So Christ crucified on the cross is the embodiment of love and a perfect love expression for us.

2. Power of Jesus from the cross:

The importance of the cross was realized and began to use it commonly from 4th C onwards from the time of Constantine, the roman emperor, who made Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. The cross became a powerful weapon or tool after Jesus carried the cross or died on the cross. The cross gained power by Christ’s power. Although there are accusations against us that we Christians cheat people by the use of the cross, till today, there are lots of miracles taking place by the cross of Christ is an undeniable fact and we need to accept it.  The cross in itself has no power without the presence of Christ. Today the word cross is used synonymously for the sufferings and pains that we go through. Some of the references we have in the synoptic gospels as well (Matt 16:24; Mk 8:34; Lk 9:23). The references point to taking up our own cross to follow Jesus.

The cross did not have power over Christ when he carried, similarly, the cross we go through or we experience cannot overpower us, because we carry with us Christ crucified or Christ carries us all the time.  If we believe in the power of the cross, we will be saved. That’s what we see in the readings of the day. The first reading from the book of numbers gives us a glimpse of God’s saving act that all those who looked at the bronze serpent that was lifted up were saved. So let us believe in Jesus who was lifted up on the cross, he will take away our crosses and give us the strength to overcome the daily crosses of life. That’s what very beautifully St. Teresa of Avila would say, “When we are overcome by sadness, fear, or suffering; when the pains of loss overwhelm us; when evil seems to have taken power; let us look to the cross and be filled with peace, knowing that Christ has walked this road and walks it now with us and with all our brothers and sisters.” So let us believe in the power of the cross Christ crucified and be saved from eternal damnation.

3.     Humbled to exalt on the cross:

The feast of the exaltation of the cross is an invitation for all of us to be exalted above the cross of life by an act of humility. Jesus time and again reminded apostles and disciples to be humble to be exalted (Lk 14:11), the greatest among you must be servants (Matt 23:11) those who are first will be last and the last will be first (Matt 19:30), do not take the seats of honor or in front but behind (Lk 14:8). These are the invitations of Jesus during his ministry to his apostles and disciples to humble themselves to be exalt in life. That’s exactly we see in Jesus’ life too. Jesus humbled himself from birth till death. The second reading from St. Paul’s letter to Philippians we hear, Jesus did not count equality with God but he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are and being in every way like a human being, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross. So Jesus did not only teach us in words but lived and proved his words by deeds as well.

The life of humility will exalt each one of us as God’s children. We all of us have our own crosses to carry, we can’t avoid or deny or run away but what we can do is to humble. In the first reading we hear, the people of Israel spoke ill of God and Moses. They forgot all that God did, they did not even have the humility to ask God for help, their immediate reaction was to blame God and Moses. They were bitten by snakes and were at the point of death but God saves them by making look at a bronze serpent lifted up. The letter of Jas 4:10 we would hear, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Yes, we need to believe in the croos of Christ and in the crucified Saviour, who gave up his life for our salvation.

That's what Pope Leo very powerfully shares about Jesus’ cry on the cross saying, “In the difficult moments of life, Jesus’ cry on the cross shows us not to be afraid to do the same. A cry is never pointless, if it is born of love, stressing that if addressed to God, a cry will not be ignored. Crying means rejecting cynicism and carrying on the belief that a different world is possible.” Yes, we go through lots of crisis and cry for relief, let us hope and trust in God, the crucified savior, he will give us relief and redemption from every pain and sorrow.

 Yes, sometimes our reactions to crosses and cries go beyond limits and it doesn’t go well with us as God’s children. Although it is difficult to humble during the crosses or crisis of life but if we humble ourselves to carry the cross for good of someone or something, God will definitely exalt us from the cross of life like Jesus who was exalted from the cross by God. That’s what St. John of the Cross would say, “Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent.” Yes the silent act of humility would help us to be exalted high above the crosses of life and see the brighter broader light in life by Christ crucified on the Cross.

RESPOND:

Do I recognize the love of Christ crucified on the Cross?

Do I believe in the power of the cross Christ crucified to heal and restore us back?

Do I accept the cross of life with humility to be exalted?

Let us realize the love of God manifested in the Christ crucified on the Cross; believe in the power of the Christ crucified and humble ourselves with crosses of life to be exalted on high in life. Amen.

“The cross is composed of two pieces of wood, which represent to us tow excellent virtues, necessary to those who desire to be fastened to it with Jesus Christ, and on it to live a dying life, and on it to die the death which is life. These two great virtues most due to Christians are humility and patience.” (Spirit of SFS: Upon the Shape of the Cross, from the book: Spoonful of Honey III by Fr. Suresh Babu MSFs, p. 24)

Wish you all a Happy Feast. God bless us all…

Live Jesus

Fr. Ramesh George MSFS

rameshvkmsfs@gmail.com

9500930968