Readings (Year C):
Numbers 21:4b – 9
Psalm 78:1bc – 2, 34 – 35, 36 – 37, 38
Philippians 2:6 – 11
John 3:13 – 17
Reflection: The cross compels us toward justice and compassion
The cross used to be nothing more than an instrument of torture and death. The Romans used it to punish those they considered criminals, to strike fear in the hearts of those who might dare challenge their so-called peace. It was the cruelest form of execution.
Everything changed the day Jesus was crucified. Once he died upon the cross, what was once merely an instrument of Roman punishment became in Christ the symbol of humans’ salvation from pain and death. It became an instrument of divine mercy, a symbol of love, and above all, our hope for God’s total deliverance at the end of time.
In Christ, the cross now tells not a human story of oppressive power and dehumanizing punishment, but the divine story of redemption. In the cross, Jesus reveals the very heart of God. He shows us how precious each of us is to the Father, and how far God is willing to go for our salvation: “For God so loved that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” On the cross, Christ proves God’s love for us and answers the deepest questions of human life. God alone is the ultimate purpose of our existence.
The cross teaches us that it is better to give than to receive. That, as Jesus teaches, unless the grain of wheat falls and dies, it bears no fruit. That a life lived for others is the fullest life. That death is not a calamity when it crowns a selfless life of charity and service. It teaches us the meaning and power of humility. Jesus embraced the cross in humility as an example for us. He emptied himself for our sake to model for us what it means to empty ourselves for the sake of others.
The cross reminds us to prepare for our impending death by appreciating the temporality of life and the emptiness of a life lived outside the purpose of God. The cross doesn’t just urge us to be good as individuals; it inspires us to work together with other good people for the common good. After all, one of the reasons Jesus climbed the cross was to draw all humanity in unity unto himself.
The cross compels us toward justice, compassion, and solidarity with all those who suffer. It challenges us to open our eyes to the plight of the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the oppressed, and to vehemently challenge the structures responsible for their suffering, while we do what we can to alleviate their distress. It warns us not to rest until there is justice for all, to resist the constant temptation to participate in corruption or selfishness, but to transform the vicious circle of life into a circle of grace and mercy.
Above all, the cross challenges us to take God and our faith more seriously. For every Christian, the cross remains the most powerful reminder of the religion of love, justice, and peace that Christ inaugurated.
As we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, my heart goes out to the victims of the recent shooting at the Annunciation Church and School in Minnesota. As Pope Francis reminds us: “The Way of the Cross alone defeats sin, evil, and death, for it leads to the radiant light of Christ’s resurrection and opens the horizons of a new and fuller life. It is the way of hope, the way of the future. Those who take up this way with generosity and faith give hope and a future to humanity.”
The cross is our message and our hope. May we, on this feast day, embrace it anew.
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