Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Information about the Exaltation of the Holy Cross[1]

Readings for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross[2]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:[3]

Reading 1: Numbers 21:4b-9

With their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
“Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!”

In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
“We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us.”
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
“Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live.”
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
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Commentary on Nm 21:4b-9

The reading from the book of Numbers recounts another intervention by God along their sojourn in the desert. God had already provided “manna” which is what the Israelites in this reading now call “wretched food”. The people see a plague of venomous snakes as a punishment from God for their complaints about the hardships of their journey.

This event is seen by the Christian community as an analogy to the later crucifixion of Jesus; “If anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover: "and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting" (John 3:14-15).”

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38

R. (see 7b) Do not forget the works of the Lord!

Hearken, my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable,
I will utter mysteries from of old.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

While he slew them they sought him
and inquired after God again,
Remembering that God was their rock
and the Most High God, their redeemer.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

But they flattered him with their mouths
and lied to him with their tongues,
Though their hearts were not steadfast toward him,
nor were they faithful to his covenant.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

But he, being merciful, forgave their sin
and destroyed them not;
Often he turned back his anger
and let none of his wrath be roused.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
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Commentary on Ps 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38

Psalm 78 is a historical recital recounting the encounter of the Israelites with God; their rejection of His gifts and the punishments for these rejections. In this selection the psalmist recalls the journey in the wilderness. The rebellion of the people is met with punishment but later merciful forgiveness.

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Reading II: Philippians 2:6-11

Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD,
to the glory of God the Father.
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Commentary on Phil 2:6-11

This familiar passage from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians is known as the “Kenotic” hymn or “emptying” hymn. Christ empties himself of the complete divinity that is his essence and accepts the human condition. As true man he suffers the ultimate humiliation of death (on the cross). The second section of the hymn focuses on God’s resulting actions of exaltation. The Christian sings to God’s great glory in Christ proclaiming him Lord and Savior. St. Paul’s instructive letters, this is clearly to be used as a liturgical prayer or song. When used at the celebration of Palm Sunday, it provides a counter point to the elevated status of Jesus entry. The attitude of Christ is one of humility.

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Gospel: John 3:13-17

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
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Commentary on Jn 3:13-17

In this passage from the Gospel of St. John, Jesus is in dialogue with Nicodemus. Jesus makes his formal declaration of his own divinity as he describes the relationship between the Father and the Son of Man and their authority over the gates of heaven. He uses the image of Moses lifting up the bronze serpent in Numbers 21:8, also captured in Wisdom 16:5-6ff to provide a graphic image of the salvation to be brought about by his own ascent to the cross. The language used “…lifted up” has a double emphasis as both the image of Jesus being lifted up in crucifixion and be raised up by the Father in the glory of the resurrection.

It is clear that St. John, the author then speaks in the profession of faith. We are told the only reason we will ever be given for our redemption is that “God so loved the world”. Even though sin has come into the world, God did not send his Son to condemn the world but to save it.

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Reflection:

The Holy Cross of Christ is the universal symbol that identifies us as Christians. In the recent unrest in the Middle East, a radical Islamic group even posted a banner saying “Those who worship the Cross must know they may not insult Mohammad.” It is interesting that they should choose those words “…worship the Cross.” It just shows how powerfully the instrument of our Lord’s execution has been impressed upon the world as a symbol of our identity.

Obviously, they do not understand our devotion to the Cross or our faith. We certainly do not “Worship the Cross” any more than the Islamists worship the crescent moon. But we make that sign on our bodies when we pray and we are constantly reminded of our Lord and Savior who, through this instrument, suffered, died, and in dying brought us all salvation.

In the feast we celebrate today, we remember the recovery by the Church of relics of the True Cross. Historically, this feast was celebrated in Rome before the end of the 7th century to commemorate the recovery of that portion of the Holy Cross, which was preserved at Jerusalem, and which had fallen into the hands of the Persians. Emperor Heraclius recovered this precious relic and brought it back to Jerusalem, 3 May 629.

More important than the relics, however, is what the Cross of Christ means to each one of us. It recalls the great kenosis – how Jesus emptied himself and poured out his life for us in a humiliating scene of pubic derision. It recalls how, even knowing his fate as we hear in John’s Gospel, the Lord accepted God’s plan and became the healing sacrifice that saved all of God’s adopted sons and daughters. It recalls that each day, in the Eucharistic Sacrifice at Holy Mass, his promise of salvation is reiterated and demonstrated as he offers his Body and Blood for our sins.

No, we do not Worship the Cross. But we proudly embrace it, wearing it with both pride and humility since upon it hung the one whose “…name is above every name and at whose name every knee must bend in the heavens, on the earth, and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.”

Pax

[1] The picture is “The Vendramin Family Venerating a Relic of the True Cross” by Tiziano Vecellio,1540-45
[2] ALTRE
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.