Saved Through Him

September 14, 2007

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

“Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live.” Number 21:8

God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. John 3:17

Piety

Let us pray: Father, help us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Your capacity to forgive is monumental, unsurpassed. Yet we turn against you. We put you on trial. We nail your body to a tree. Through it all, your divine capacity to forgive remains monumental, unsurpassed. Help us to see the path to light and forgiveness goes through the center of the cross, the center of our pain and suffering. Lead us through the darkness into the light. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/091407.shtml

“The sign of signs.”

Seen everywhere.

Worn. Displayed. Hanging. Erected.

Dangling from the necks of rock stars and rap singers, models and celebrities.

Huge, silver on chains.

Tiny gold crosses in ears.

Simple wooden crosses on our back.

The cross marks nothing less than the path we must walk for salvation. People face life and death in different ways. Some are resigned to their fate and accept it without admitting to their sins. Some hide from the truth. Some admit to their sins and ask forgiveness.

When the people in the desert rejected God, God could have reacted the same way. “If you reject me, then I will reject you.” Tit-for-tat. God did not. When people condemned Moses for bringing them into the desert without food, God could have condemned them in their judgment. But these are human emotions and reactions.

Yesterday we read that our God is perfect in his mercy. If we had an “eye-for-an-eye God,” he might have walked away or condemned us. God does not abandon us when we are on our cross any more than he abandoned Jesus on the cross. He reveals the path to freedom. Today, God told Moses what needed to be done to overcome the poisonous snake bites. Jesus showed Nicodemus what to do. How is he telling you to react?

The same kind of salvation offered in the desert and restored on Calvary is available for us. Anyone who has been bitten by sin or who has placed obstacles between themselves and God, but looks to the cross and not the world, will recover. “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).

Unlike Adam, Jesus did not reach out for equality with God. Instead, he was marked with humility, not pride, in order to forgive our sins and reveal life and light.

Action

When things are going well, it is easy to praise God. But the real question today is how have you reacted to God when you are in the desert? When you are suffering, to whom do you turn? That is the test revealed in Numbers and that is the test that Jesus presented to Nicodemus in St. John’s Gospel. How did Nicodemus react?

First, he sought out Jesus even in the dark of night to know more about him. Do you seek out Jesus when you are in your darkest hours? (See John 3:1-21)

Second, as the world began to find ways to condemn the Lord, Nicodemus was there to defend Jesus. He wanted others to experience the teachings of Jesus firsthand like he did. He wanted to share the lessons that he learned. He defended Jesus from those seeking to condemn him, risking his own standing in the community. (See John 7:50-51). Do you hold steady to defend the truth that Jesus revealed no matter what the world might say? Or is it just as easy to deny the truth like Peter did.

Finally, at the darkest hour, when the disciples who had closely followed Jesus had fled and hid in fear, who was found at the foot of the cross? Not Peter and the apostles but Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus! (See John 19:38-42)

When we turn to the cross in exaltation, we turn away from darkness.

And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. John 3:19-21

Today, wear your cross so that others may see it come into the light. Don’t hide it under your shirt or in your pocket or purse. Lift it high and wear it proudly knowing exactly what it means as a religious symbol, not just some pop culture icon. Come to the light so that your works may be clearly seen as done in God.