The Triumph of the cross Sept 14 Homily by Fr Mathew

Reading I: Numbers 21:4b-9

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

Reading II: Philippians 2:6-11

Gospel: John 3:13-17

Mark Link SJ tells a story about two friends, Ann Thomas and Betty, who were at a garage sale. Ann couldn't find anything worth buying as she fumbled through many things displayed at the garage sale. Betty while looking around found a very antique cross among many junks and she thought it was a treasure. When she got home she was surprised to know the cross that was abandoned by everyone was made of silver and it was of immense value worth of thousands of dollars. Later when Betty’s seven year old looked at the cross he suddenly began to cry. “What’s the matter”, asked Betty. “Look at Jesus”, said the boy crying, “He’s on the cross and is in pain.”

Three people looked at the same cross: one saw junk, another saw treasure worth thousands of dollars and the third saw Jesus.

Many a time we are confused about the meaning of the cross in our salvation history.  Today’s readings throw a little light on this. In the first reading we hear about the ingratitude of the Israelites who turned against Moses by grumbling and casting aspersions on God. For their sin, they paid a big price; they were bitten by fiery venomous snakes and died a painful death.

The Israelites, being aware of their sins called to God and said, “We sinned, take the snakes from among us.” God instructed Moses to fashion a bronze serpent and affix it on a pole. The people are to gaze upon this symbol. Everyone who did was healed of their wounds.

My friends, this story tell us the profound truth about our life which is shadowed by the corruption of sin.  Doesn't the serpent that bit the Israelites in the desert point to the serpent in the Garden?  Are we not bitten by that serpent?   The little white lies, the sinful desires, the lusts, the laziness, the judgmental attitude that we harbor in our hearts against our brothers and sisters are indicative of the severity of that venomous bite of the serpent, sin..

That incident in Israel’s history became a prefiguring of Jesus Christ on a cross, lifted up, who became a symbol of wicked sin for us. Salvation, spiritual healing, re-birth comes from simply looking at Him, and, in that look, believing that hope comes only from trust in Him(John 3:14).

The cross is the intersection of God’s love. At the time of Jesus’ death on the cross, “the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top even to the bottom: and the earth quaked and the rocks were rent" (Matthew 27: 51). God deliberately tore the curtain of the temple that separated the Sanctuary from the ordinary people in the nave of the temple to make a point —that mankind's sins, which had cut us off from Him could now be forgiven through Jesus Christ's blood shed on the cross. It means there are no more  barriers that prevent us from having direct communion with God.

The cross is like a" medicine time capsule" that is being dissolved from time to time into the stream of our sick consciousness.. It has challenged us, our life, attitudes, prejudices, our arrogance and the profundity of our deviation from the very message of Christ. Fr Ron Rolheiser describes this in a beautiful way like this:

"Christianity is 2000 years old, but it took us nearly 1900 years to fully grasp the fact that slavery is wrong, that it goes against heart of Jesus’ teaching. The same can be said about the equality of women. Much of what Jesus revealed to us is like a time-released medicine capsule. Throughout the centuries, slowly, gradually, incrementally, Jesus’ message is dissolving more deeply into our consciousness.”

He continues “And this is particularly true about our understanding of the cross and what it teaches. For example: There have been popes for 2000 years, beginning with Peter, but it was only the last Pope, John Paul II, in our own generation, who stood up and said with clarity that capital punishment is wrong (independent of any arguments about whether or not it is a deterrent, brings closure to the victims’ families or not, or can be argued in terms of justice) Capital punishment is wrong because it goes against the heart of the gospel as revealed in the cross, namely, that we should forgive murderers, not kill them.”

Many a time we lose the meaning and the significance of the cross in our lives. I guarantee you many things will happen in the life of humanity with regard to our outlook and perspective of life in the years to come because of the cross.The cross will be "the guardian of our consciousness" which will help us straighten our life in conformity with the message of Christ.