Newton Basumatari csc –
Readings: Numb 21: 4b-9; Phil 2: 6-11; Jn 3: 13-17
Today as we celebrate the exaltation of the Holy Cross, we see in the readings that the Cross of Christ is the instrument of love through which God saved us. The narrative in the first reading takes place after the exodus when the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. They began to complain to Moses about the food and drink and even doubted the power of God. After several people had died, they came to Moses begging for forgiveness and asking him to save them. And Moses sets up a bronze serpent as a sign of God’s intervention.
In today’s gospel, the connection between the bronze serpent in the desert and the cross of Christ becomes explicit. Like the serpent, sin is deadly. It brings spiritual death, from which we must be healed to live. The cross of Christ is the healing remedy.
This sacrificial death atoned for our sins, offering us life in him. Pope Benedict XVI in his homily on the cross at the shrine of Lourdes said, ‘what a great thing it is to possess the cross, he who possesses it possesses the treasure.’ Today let us pray that the Lord may help us to understand the love of God which is shown on the cross.