THE FEAST OF THE EXALTATION OF THE CROSS

(Numbers 21:4b-9; Psalm 78(77); Philippians 2:6-11; John 3:13-17)

Theme: Honouring the Exalted Cross of Our Lord Jesus

Today’s feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, first celebrated in the 4th century on 14 September to commemorate the discovery of our Lord Jesus’ cross and to dedicate the Church of the Holy Sepulchre built over His burial site, serves as a reminder of the Lord's ultimate sacrifice: that His obedience to death on the cross opened the heavens for an outpouring of grace to share in God’s eternal divinity. Therefore, in His humiliation, execution, death, burial, days in the tomb, and resurrection, God’s unending love for us was revealed.

And so, on this day, we acknowledge the unimaginable sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, which was considered blasphemous in His time, because no one would dare think or suggest that the Sovereign and Almighty God had a Son who could be or was humiliated and dehumanised by their enemy, the Roman Empire, for opposing the emperor. In 1 Corinthians 1:23 , St Paul notes that the preaching of the Son of God, who was extremely tortured and killed, was a stumbling block and a scandalous oxymoron to the Jews and a foolish notion and absurd obscenity to the Gentiles.

Thus, the early Christians bore that stigma and were often afraid to preach openly about God’s Son crucified. However, despite the stigma, they chose to honour the crucified Lord and to live by and share His message of mercy, love, humility, healing, patience, trust, victory, and peace.

Although the idea of the crucified Christ is not offensive to the modern listener, our world is troubled by attitudes contrary to the message of the cross.

In other words, like the people of God in today’s first reading, we have been afflicted with a venom of lovelessness, hatred towards humanity, insincerity, infidelity, distrust, impatience, and selfishness. It appears we have abandoned the path of integrity and peace and are willing to do anything contrary to human development.

Today’s feast reminds us of the hope against sin and death secured by the blood of the Lamb of God. So, to renew and redeem ourselves and our societies, believers and bearers of Christ crucified must look to the cross for the strength to endure today’s mockery and rejection of the transformative truth of the cross; to embrace the renewal of hearts through God’s message of love; and to be willing to transform communities with God’s mercy and peace.

Despite our struggles, let us strive to exalt and glorify the Cross of our Lord Jesus in our lives and the world.