Ps 78:1-2.34-35.36—37.38,
Philippians 2:6-11,
John 3:13-17 Full Readings
Jesus' Cross: Our Victory
Today we celebrate the Feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross of Jesus. If it was not by the cross of Jesus, we would all be dying in our sins but through his humility, though he was God (Philippians 2:6-11), he accepted the cross, died on it so that we are all forgiven of all our sins and the doors of heaven to be opened for us. What a great feast it is today! We are celebrating a feast of our victory not just victory over simple enemies but over our greatest enemy: death and sin.
According to the Franciscan Media, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross commemorates the Holy Cross on which our Lord, Savior, and King, Jesus Christ, was crucified. The history of this feast is explained, “Early in the fourth century, St. Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ’s life. She razed the second-century Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior’s tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher on that spot. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman.
The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus’ head: Then “all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissing the cross, they move on.”
To this day, the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox alike, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica’s dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, fifteen years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself, but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim
In today's gospel-reading we are listening-in to a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to Jesus by night (presumably because he did not want his colleagues to know. Do you mind your colleagues knowing that you are a Christian?). Jesus is talking about an incident during the Exodus journey, when the Israelites were struck by a plague of snakes which we see in the first reading. Moses hoisted a bronze snake on a pole as a recovery-totem. It sounds superstitious, but presumably to depend on it was an expression of trust in God. Jesus now says that this snake is to be seen as a promise of the salvation to be won by trusting in his Cross. The Cross remains our sign of victory. To wear it and welcome it is increasingly, in this increasingly material world, a statement of where our heart and our confidence lies. However, the Cross is not complete in itself. Some people find it ‘morbid’ or ‘morose’, but to Christians it also contains the victory and reassurance of the Resurrection. The Cross makes sense not by the crumpled figure on the wood, but by God’s acceptance of that obedience. The triumph of the resurrection is too glorious to be represented by anything visible.
In secular sense, the cross means nothing other than shame and a punishment of the greatest criminals. Jesus, however, changes the meaning of this cross by accepting it willingly, though he was not without sin nor a criminal, as a means of saving us. So, when we see the cross, we see our victory and the more we venerate it, the more put on and wear it on our necks, or hung in our houses, offices, cars, and everywhere we are the more we triumph over Satan and the spiritual death as well as physical death. Brethren, do you know the power that is in the cross of Jesus? Do you know how redeeming it is? Jesus tells us in the Gospel that whoever believes in him, the crucified Christ, will have eternal life and have it in abundance. Let us revere and exalt the cross always and be redeemed.
On and by his Cross, Jesus:
• Opened the heaven gates for us to enter. The splitting of the veil of the temple as he died on the cross (Mt 27:57) symbolizes the opening of the heavenly sanctuary for everyone to enter. Remember only the high priest would enter into the sanctuary/ Holy of Holies once a year (Hebrews 9:7) but Jesus opens it for everyone.
• shed His blood to redeem us, wash away our sins (Eph 1:7), and deliver us from a futile way of life (1 Pt 1:18-19),
• made it possible for us to become children of God (Gal 6:15) and share in the divine nature (2 Pt 1:4),
• made the most pure act of unconditional love and poured out infinite mercy,
• humbled Himself and obeyed His Father (Phil 2:8),
• forgave us and taught us to forgive others (see Lk 23:34),
• drew all people to Himself (Jn 12:32),
• gave us the opportunity to believe in Him so as to have eternal life (Jn 3:14-15),
• made “peace through the blood of His cross” (Col 1:20),
• gave His Spirit (see Jn 19:30), and
• gave us Mary to be our mother (Jn 19:26-27).
During the few hours Jesus hung on the cross, He did more to transform the human race than has been or will be done in all the hours in the history of the world. Let us live to worship Jesus and tell as many people as possible about the triumph of His cross.
Let us Pray.
Lord Jesus, you came to set us free from the tyranny of sinful pride, fear, and rebellion. Take my heart captive to your merciful love and truth and set me free to love and serve you always with joy and trust in the power of your saving word. May your love grow in me that I may always seek to love and serve others generously for their sake just as you have generously laid down your life for my sake. Amen
Be blessed
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