Word to the Wise
Sunday, September 14, 2025 - Sept. 14: The Exaltation of the Cross
[Num 21:4b-9; Phil 2:6-11; John 3:13-17]Moses...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. [Numbers] Christ Jesus, although 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. [Philippians] "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]
The history of this feast day is rich and complex and one may get a thorough treatment of it online. Although it commemorates events that occurred early in the 4th century A.D., the observance of the feast seems to have begun in the 7th century. Tradition has it that St. Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, discovered what is considered the true cross on which Jesus was crucified and ordered that a church be built on the site. The wood was divided and bits and pieces have found their way around the world in reliquaries to be venerated (not worshiped).
The cross has become the universal symbol of Christianity, even though it was initially downplayed because of its association with Roman brutality and execution. How could the savior of the world have been executed as a criminal? Eventually, the devotion to the cross took hold and we celebrate it with solemnity now.
The cross becomes a crucifix only when the image of Christ is displayed on it. That is a reminder of Jesus' love for us, as St. Paul says in today's second scripture. By itself, the cross becomes an invitation/challenge. The gospels all speak of the necessity to take up our cross in order to follow Jesus. In this way, the cross becomes an instrument of sacrifice and suffering for the sake of others. If we wear a cross on our clothing as a sign of discipleship, do we embrace its full meaning? At the Last Supper, Jesus told the disciples: "Greater love than this no one has than that they lay down their life for a friend." [John 15:13] The celebration of this feast day can be a reminder to us that we do not celebrate an object (holy as it may be), but a mission given to us by Christ. Suffering comes to everyone but an intentional disciple can preach with it. The cross provides the vocabulary! AMEN
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