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| “Discovery of the True Cross” by Giovanni Battsta Tiepolo, 1745 |
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
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.” They believed that, because they
offended God with their bitterness and lack of gratitude, they failed to love
God and sinned against him. In punishment, serpents were sent to afflict them.
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). [4]
CCC: Nm 21:4-9 2130
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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 punishments for those rejections. In this
selection, the psalmist recalls the journey of the Hebrews in the wilderness.
The rebellion of the people against God 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 passage from
Philippians is known as the Kenotic Hymn, the song of emptying. 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 of God’s great glory in
Christ, proclaiming him Lord and Savior. As part of St. Paul’s instructive
letters, this is clearly to be used as a liturgical prayer or song. In the
context of the Lord’s passion and resurrection, it provides a contrast to the
elevated status of Jesus revealed as the Messiah – the Only Begotten Son of
God. Christ's attitude is one of humility.
CCC: Phil 2:6-11 2641, 2667; Phil 2:6 449; Phil 2:7 472, 602, 705, 713, 876, 1224; Phil 2:8-9 908; Phil 2:8 411, 612, 623; Phil 2:9-11 449, 2812; Phil 2:9-10 434; Phil 2:10-11 201; Phil 2:10 633, 635
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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
being 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.
CCC: Jn 3:13 423,
440, 661; Jn 3:15 1033; Jn
3:16 219,
444, 454, 458, 706; Jn 3:17 2447
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Reflection:
The Holy Cross of Christ is
the universal symbol that identifies us as Christians. In recent unrest in the Middle East, ISIS, 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.
The Cross is first a sign
that reminds us of redemptive suffering. Although not authoritative, Wikipedia
defines redemptive suffering as our belief “that
human suffering, when accepted and offered up in union with the Passion of
Jesus, can remit the just punishment for one's sins or for the sins of another,
or for the other physical or spiritual needs of oneself or another. Like an
indulgence, redemptive suffering does not gain the individual forgiveness for
their sin; forgiveness results from God’s grace, freely given through Christ,
which cannot be earned. After one's sins are forgiven, the individual's
suffering can reduce the penalty due for sin.” The Cross exemplifies our
belief in this means of grace most perfectly.
In the feast we celebrate
today, we remember the recovery of relics of the True Cross by the Church.
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
In Other Years: Saturday of the Twenty-third
Week in Ordinary Time
[1]
The picture is “Discovery of the True Cross” by Giovanni Battsta Tiepolo, 1745.
[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 republication
is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
See NAB Footnote on Numbers 21: 4ff.
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