The Exaltation of the
Holy Cross, Friday, 14-09-18
Numbers 21:4-9 /
Philippians 2:6-11 / John 3:13-17
This feast is called in Greek Ὕψωσις τοῦ Τιμίου Σταυροῦ
(literally, "Raising Aloft of the Precious Cross"). In Latin it is
called Exaltatio Sanctae Crucis (literally, "Raising Aloft of the Holy
Cross").
Red vestments are worn for this feast, the same colour that
is worn on Good Friday.
Good Friday commemorates the Passion of Christ and His death
on the cross. Christ was nailed to the cross and flaunted before the face of
God.
If it had all ended there, then evil would have triumphed
because God did nothing to save His Son from evil.
Yes, God did not save Jesus from death, but God saved Jesus
out of death (Hebrews 5:7).
And through the Resurrection, the cross of death has now
become the cross of triumph over sin and death.
Yes, the holy and precious Cross is now raised aloft for the
Church and for all the world to see.
For in the Cross is life and love, forgiveness and healing,
redemption and salvation.
We must kneel before the Holy Cross and venerate it for it
protects us and the powers of evil and darkness cower and flee before it.
Let us also pray with the Cross so that we will faithfully
and courageously follow Jesus in His way of the Cross and finally we glory with
Him in the Cross.
*****
To say that God sent His only Son to die for our sins is
certainly correct, but there is more to it.
As a matter of fact, Jesus did die for our sins and He died
a cruel death by crucifixion.
Jesus was nailed to the cross and was flaunted before the
face of God as if to mock God for sending His Son to earth.
If it had all ended on the cross, then evil would have
scored a victory because God did nothing to prevent or save Jesus from the
cruelty and death on the cross.
Yes, God did not save Jesus from death. But since God did
not save Jesus from death, then how would Jesus dying on the cross save us from
our sins.
Well, God did not save Jesus from death. But God saved Jesus
out of death (Hebrews 5:7). And that gave the whole twist to that cruel death
by crucifixion.
It is because God
saved Jesus out of death by raising Him from the dead, then by the resurrection
of Jesus we too are saved from our sins.
St. Paul, in the 2nd reading reiterates that when he said
Christ did not cling to His equality with God but emptied Himself, and He was
humbler yet even to accepting death on the cross.
But God raised Him high and gave Him the name above all
other names and all creation will bend the knee at the name of Jesus.
So for St. Paul, the death of Jesus on the cross is the
essence of our hope, although the cruel death on the cross seems to exclude any
kind of hope.
But more than just a sign of hope, the cross is also the
sign of love. Although that seems to be pushing the meaning of the cross to its
limits already.
But the gospel tells us that God loved the world so much
that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal
life.
For God sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world
but so that through Him the world might be saved.
So saying that God sent His only Son to die for our sins is
correct but it is not the whole picture.
God sent His Son to love us and the price of that love is
death on the cross.
But that love was so powerful that even the meaning of the
cross was changed, for the cross of death has now become the cross of love that
triumphs over sin and death.
So the holy and precious cross is now raised aloft for the
Church and for all the world to see.
For in the cross is life and love, forgiveness and healing,
redemption and salvation.
Let us kneel before the Holy Cross and venerate it for it
protects us and the powers of evil and darkness cower and flee before it.
Let us also pray with the Cross so that we will faithfully
and courageously follow Jesus in His way of the Cross and may we also glory
with Him in the Cross.
*****
Antivenom (or antivenin or antivenene) is a biological
product used in the treatment of venomous bites or stings. Antivenom is created
by milking venom from a relevant snake, spider, insect, or fish. The venom is
then diluted and injected into a horse, sheep, rabbit, or goat. The subject
animal will undergo an immune response to the venom, producing antibodies
against the venom's active molecules which can then be harvested from the
animal's blood and used for treatment which must conform to the standards of
pharmacopoeia and the World Health Organization (WHO).
In the 1st reading, when the people grumbled and complained
about the unsatisfying food, fiery serpents appeared and their bite brought
death to many people.
When the people repented and begged Moses to intercede for
them, he was told by the Lord to make a figure of a serpent and to put it on a
standard. And so Moses fashioned a bronze serpent and on a standard, and anyone
bitten by a serpent would just have to look at it and be cured.
We may find it ironical that the figure on the standard was
that of what caused death to the people.
In a way it is similar yet not the same; in fact it is the
opposite of each other.
What caused death was a fiery venomous serpent. What was on
the standard was a bronze figure of a serpent.
This account in the Old Testament prefigures the sign of
salvation in the New Testament.
The cross was an instrument of torture and death used by the
Romans. Jesus died on the cross. But by His rising from the dead, the cross is
now turned into a symbol of salvation and even exalted as the holy cross.
We must acknowledge that we are sinners and that our sins
have caused us great pain and our hearts crumble into the tomb of a spiritual
death and we view the cross as a symbol of our sinfulness.
But now the Cross is exalted by the Resurrection of Christ
and it has become the symbol of victory over sin and death.
Let us look at the Cross. It is no more a symbol of sin and
shame. Because of the Resurrection of Christ it has become a symbol of the
power and the glory of God.
Let us draw grace and mercy from the Cross of Christ and in
overcoming our sinfulness may we also proclaim salvation through the Cross.
