20190914
THE
HEALING AND TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE CROSS
14 SEPTEMBER,
2019, Saturday, The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Red.
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First reading
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Numbers 21:4-9 ©
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On the way through the wilderness the
people lost patience. They spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why did you
bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread nor
water here; we are sick of this unsatisfying food.’
At
this God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many
in Israel. The people came and said to Moses, ‘We have sinned by speaking
against the Lord and against you. Intercede for us with the Lord to save us
from these serpents.’ Moses interceded for the people, and the Lord answered
him, ‘Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and
looks at it, he shall live.’ So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put
on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze
serpent and lived.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 77(78):1-2,34-38 ©
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Never forget the deeds
of the Lord.
Give heed, my people, to my teaching;
turn your ear to the words of
my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable
and reveal hidden lessons of
the past.
Never forget the deeds
of the Lord.
When he slew them then they would seek
him,
return and seek him in
earnest.
They would remember that God was their
rock,
God the Most High their
redeemer.
Never forget the deeds
of the Lord.
But the words they spoke were mere
flattery;
they lied to him with their
lips.
For their hearts were not truly with him;
they were not faithful to his
covenant.
Never forget the deeds
of the Lord.
Yet he who is full of compassion
forgave them their sin and
spared them.
So often he held back his anger
when he might have stirred up
his rage.
Never forget the deeds
of the Lord.
When a Feast of the
Lord falls on a weekday, there is no reading after the Psalm and before the
Gospel.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you;
because by your cross
you have redeemed the world.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 3:13-17 ©
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Jesus said to Nicodemus:
‘No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who came down from heaven,
the Son of Man who is in heaven;
and the Son of Man must be lifted up
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
desert,
so that everyone who believes may have
eternal life in him.
Yes, God loved the world so much that he
gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may
not be lost
but 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.’
THE HEALING AND
TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE CROSS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ NUMBERS 21:4-9; PHILIPPIANS 2:6-11; JOHN 3:13-17 ]
We can never think of
Christianity without the cross. Christians are identified by the cross that they wear
around their necks. Churches are identified as Christian by the symbol of
the cross. Indeed, what unites all churches is the cross. We glory
in the cross. We are proud of the cross. We are happy to display it
wherever we are. In the world, the cross is a symbol of shame,
curse and suffering. However, for us, the cross is the symbol of our
salvation. The cross is so powerful that even demons flee before the
cross. St Paul wrote, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire
wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and
foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Cor 1:22-24) Indeed, today’s feast is the
celebration of the Triumph of the Holy Cross.
Christians use the cross
as a sign of contradiction to the world. The cross is the antidote to the
sufferings of the world. However, have we really reflected on the meaning
of the cross in our own lives? Unfortunately, many of us, including
non-Christians, wear the cross as an ornament rather than as an expression of
our faith or our desire to imitate Jesus on the cross. There are some
artistes who even wear the cross and crucifix as a mockery of the Christian
Faith because their message contradicts the gospel. That is why the power of
the Cross is compromised because we have not allowed the full effects of the
cross of Jesus to take root in our lives. We only wear the cross
but we do not carry them in our lives.
Today, as we celebrate
the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we are called to embrace the
Cross as the means to salvation.
In the gospel, Jesus made it clear to us, “If any want to become my followers,
let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Lk 9:23) When Christ calls us, He calls
us to carry our cross after Him and to die with Him. This is the cost of
discipleship. Unfortunately, even though we call ourselves
Christians, we also fight shy of the cross like the rest of the world.
We do not embrace suffering, especially innocent suffering, in our lives.
We are always demanding justice and our rights. We have no tolerance for
pain, discomfort and hunger.
Sufferings come because
we are so used to having our body’s cravings satisfied. More so for us Singaporeans
who are pampered and live in an affluent society. We cannot
tolerate heat and that is why we have air-conditioning in every institution
including the church. We cannot endure hunger and physical pain.
This is particularly true for those who are sick and carrying physical pain in
their bodies. This is understandable. We are not stoics or sadistic
people. We all want to be free from all pain and suffering. No one wants
to suffer. This was the case of the Israelites and so we can empathize
with them in their journey through the desert where food and water were
scarce. “On the way through the wilderness the people lost patience. They
spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die
in this wilderness? For there is neither bread nor water here: we are sick of
this unsatisfying food.'”
But some of us suffer
also because of our pride and egotism. We think highly of ourselves. We want things our way. We
want our will to be done. We are proud and arrogant of our views.
We are quick to judge and condemn people presumptuously. On the other
hand, we are afraid of rejection. We want to be accepted and loved. We
want to be popular and recognized as someone great. We seek everyone’s
attention. We want the world to know how great we are, how good, how
intelligent, how successful, how beautiful, how generous and how
kind. Hence, when we are shamed in public, especially in social
media, many become angry, vindictive and some even commit suicide.
Like the Israelites, we
will have to bear with all the inconveniences and challenges of life, whether
we are parents, young people or elderly, married or single. We know that this life is tough and we
have to suffer much to keep ourselves alive and yet without falling into
despair. How, then, do we cope with suffering and privation in this
journey of life?
Firstly, we are called
to contemplate on our sufferings caused by our ignorance and sins. When the Israelites were suffering
and lamenting, God punished them by sending “fiery serpents among the people;
their bite brought death to many in Israel.” It is a reminder that
complaining and whining will not do us any good in life when we face sufferings
because it only makes us bitter, resentful and depressed. Eventually, we kill
ourselves, if not physically at least spiritually. Rather, the Lord wants
them to learn from this lesson. The healing came when the Lord instructed
Moses to “make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten
and looks at it, he shall live. So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he
put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the
bronze serpent and lived.” In other words, the way to overcome suffering
is not by escapism, blame or denial but to look deeply into ourselves and see
the real cause of our suffering, our sins and folly.
Secondly, we are called
to contemplate on Christ’s suffering on the Cross to find strength by imitating
Him. The
lifting up of Jesus refers firstly to His passion on the cross.
“Jesus said to Nicodemus: ‘No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came
down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven; and the Son of Man must be
lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes
may have eternal life in him.” Jesus was challenged and taunted to come
down from the cross by His enemies. They said, “Let the Messiah, the
King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.”
(Mk 15:32) But Jesus refused to show His
power because it was by hanging on the cross that people will come to realize
what sins can do to innocent people. Looking at the cross is a reminder
to be aware of our sinfulness and how our words and actions hurt people,
destroy them and cause them to suffer innocently. The cross reminds
us of the selfishness of man. It was the pride, the insecurity, the
resentment of the Jewish leaders that instigated the people to demand the life
of an innocent man.
But the cross at the
same time reveals to us the love and mercy of God. Jesus said, “Yes, God loved
the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in
him may not be lost but 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.” It is not God’s desire to destroy man or to see us suffer.
He wants to teach us through His passion that love is the only way to overcome
suffering in life. When we suffer for a reason, we do not mind
suffering. If people suffer with bitterness, it is because they suffer
for themselves. They suffer because of insecurity, jealousy, revenge and
ambition. But it we suffer for the love of someone, that suffering
becomes redemptive, not just for those we love and show mercy to but also for
ourselves. Whenever there is love, we are capable of suffering with and
for others. Parents are willing to suffer for the greater good of their
children. We are willing to make sacrifices for our parents when there is
love, especially when they are elderly. Otherwise, those who are old or
sickly become a burden to us.
Finally, contemplating
on the Cross, we can also carry ours with the joy of a certain victory over sin
and evil. We
carry it patiently in view of the fact that our sacrifices bring about healing,
transformation and love over hatred. The lifting up of Jesus also refers
to His glorification when Jesus was raised from the dead and then lifted up
again to share in the Father’s glory at His ascension. This is aptly
mentioned in today’s second reading when St Paul wrote, “But God raised him
high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in
the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name
of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.” We who suffer patiently like Jesus will also
grow in grace, in patience, in humility and surrender to God’s will.
“Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and
having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who
obey him.” (Heb 5:8f) The cross therefore is indeed
the way to sanctification, perfection and glory.
So today, as we
celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, let us not cling to our pride and
selfishness. Like Jesus, we
must empty ourselves for others as He did. “The state of Jesus Christ was
divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to
assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men
are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.” Only
by carrying our cross for the love of humanity and of God, can we bring about a
real transformation in our own lives and in the lives of others.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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