The Exaltation of the Holy Cross / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
This weekend, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It supplants the observance of the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time because it is a feast of the Lord.
The Book of Numbers provides the first reading for Mass on the feast. Numbers is the fourth book in sequence of the Bible. Attributed originally to Moses, this book is one of the five books of the Pentateuch. These five books also are called the Torah. Together, they form the basis of the Jewish religion.
In this reading, recalling the flight of the Hebrew people across the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt toward the land God had promised them, conditions had reached such a bad point that the people grumbled and doubted God.
God had spared the people many things. This time, as punishment for their sins, the people lost God’s protection. The desert then was filled with poisonous snakes and insects, as indeed it is filled today. Unprotected because they rejected God, the people were prey to these venomous animals. Many died.
Moses called them back to God. At God’s direction, Moses lifted a bronze serpent on a pole and held the pole aloft. He promised that snakebite victims who looked upon the staff would be healed.
Once more, God provided salvation. By God’s power alone, the people avoided death, even those bitten by dangerous serpents.
St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians provides the second reading. Scholars say that the text of this section of Philippians was drawn from an early hymn perhaps used in early Christian worship.
Even apart from a musical setting, the text is magnificent in the depth of its praise of Jesus the Lord.
St. John’s Gospel is the source of the last reading. This reading refers to the section of the Book of Numbers proclaimed on this feast for the first reading. It identifies Jesus with the saving act of God, given through Moses, as described in Numbers.
It is an obvious reference to the crucified Jesus. In reading this section, recollecting a time in the life of Jesus long before Calvary, it is important to note that the Gospels are not diaries of Jesus, not day-by-day reports of the ministry of his ministry as it unfolded each day.
Rather, they are the memories of Jesus composed years after the Lord’s ascension by those who knew him or by those who knew people close to Jesus. In other words, when this Gospel was written, including this section, the Christians knew about the Crucifixion. They could easily connect the event in Numbers with the event of the Lord’s death.
Each event was an expression of God’s saving power, displayed in love.
Reflection
From New Testament times, Christians have realized that they have salvation in Jesus alone.
Paul proudly declared that he preached Christ, and that indeed he preached Christ crucified.
The cross for Christians is a symbol of the profound love God has for humanity. First, God sent Jesus, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, as Redeemer. Jesus brought to humanity the way to peace.
His advice is simple. With the help of grace, love God above all, despite the costs, and love every person, fully and without qualification, with a love that flows from the love of God that comes first.
The Crucifixion occurred in Jerusalem, in the Holy Land.
Today, news from the Holy Land is constant and disheartening. Killings and horror in Gaza trouble the heart of any decent person.
As Pope Leo XIV urges, take note of the suffering of the people in Gaza. Feel for them. Pray for them. Most of all, remember, the fearful events in Gaza need not occur.
Love God. Love each other, truly, fully, actively and without reservation. †