With Opened Bible
The Cross
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live." (Numbers 21)
Today, the Church joyfully celebrates the exaltation of the glorious Cross. This feast is a powerful reminder of the transformative nature of our salvation, a salvation that was wrought through the instrument of death, the Cross, which became a radiant sign of life through the death of Jesus. Unlike Good Friday, which is dedicated to the passion of Christ and the crucifixion, this feast day exalts the Cross itself, a beacon of hope and transformation.
In the first reading, Moses interceded for Israel because of their sin. They forgot the wonders of the past, murmuring against God and his servant. As a result, God sent them fery serpents that killed them by the thousands. (Numbers 21:4-9) To save them from the burning bite of these serpents, God commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent and raise it on a pole so that all who were bitten could stare at it and live. Making a bronze serpent, one might say, is against the Law since it states: "You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth." (Exodus 20:4) Here, we do not have an idol but an instrument willed by God for the salvaton of His People. The bronze serpent on the mast, also known as the caduceus, was an image of the Cross of Christ.
In the Gospel of Saint John, chapter 3, it is written: "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." (John 3:14-15) The Cross becomes the instrument of salvation in Jesus Christ.
"And whenever the serpent bit someone, the person looked at the bronze serpent and recovered." (Numbers 21:9) Those who have been bitten by sin need only turn to the Cross to be healed and saved. It is not the physical act of looking, but the faith and trust in the power of the Cross that brings about healing. Saint John proudly proclaims this to us, echoing the words of the prophet Zechariah: "They will look upon him whom they have pierced." (John 19:37; Zechariah 12:10; Revelation 1:7)
The sign of the Cross, or the Cross itself, is not just a historical event, but a living testament that constantly reminds us of the love by which we have been saved and the price that this love paid. Therefore, let us never cease to proclaim with faith and joy: "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2)
This week’s article should have appeared in last week’s bulletin. It appears this week because as the article reminds us, the Cross is a living testament that constantly reminds us of the love by which we have been saved and the price that this love paid.
