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Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
September 14, 2025
With their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
"Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!"
In punishment the Lord sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
"We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you.
Pray the Lord to take the serpents from us."
So Moses prayed for the people, and the Lord said to Moses,
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live."
Moses accordingly 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.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
Hearken, my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable,
I will utter mysteries from of old.
While he slew them they sought him
and inquired after God again,
Remembering that God was their rock
and the Most High God, their redeemer.
But they flattered him with their mouths
and lied to him with their tongues,
Though their hearts were not steadfast toward him,
nor were they faithful to his covenant.
But he, being merciful, forgave their sin
and destroyed them not;
Often he turned back his anger
and let none of his wrath be roused.
Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus, though 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.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
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."
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
The whole paradox of Christianity is contained in these readings. They make me very uncomfortable. We could begin by roughly outlining the impact (if ever we stopped to think about it) of the figure of a man dying in agony under torture makes on an ordinary person, especially on a child. But perhaps it is better to take off our shoes and approach this terrible totem in respectful silence and trepidation.
"SIGN OF CONTRADICTION"
The words are Simeon's, an old mystic who came into the temple at just the time Mary and Joseph had brought in their new baby to dedicate him to the Lord. Coming up to the parents Simeon took the baby in his arms and declared:
"Now I've seen everything! Lord, now you can dismiss your servant in peace because my eyes have seen the salvation you promised." Joseph and Mary were no doubt a bit over-awed by such solemn words, but that was nothing to what they felt as he went on: “Behold, this one has been set for the ruin and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and as a sign of contradiction."
And then for good measure, as he handed back the infant to Mary: "And there will be a sword pierce your own soul, that the thoughts of many may be revealed."
We don't hear too much about Christians being a sign of contradiction to the world. Keep your head down and just fit in with the culture of the times is the unspoken standard followed by most of us. We may sometimes complain that the bishops don't speak out more often against egregious policies or behaviours of governments, our own or others. Individually we do not see ourselves as committed to challenging the world view. And yet Christ was sent to do just that, and so are we, not only as a community but also individually.
It's often said that Jeshua taught a way of peace, but actually his way challenges the standards we live by and shows them to be not good enough. Matthew's collection of teachings and aphorisms - the Sermon on the Mount - in spite of much of its impact being blunted by images and language at once too familiar and too foreign to us modern people, is the most devastating charter for reform ever proclaimed.
To bring the text into our world, we might change "You've heard it was said to the men of old..." to "Since childhood you've been taught..." The point is that it's not just the Old Law of Moses that Jeshua has in his sights, but the standards of the world wherever and whenever.
People sometimes accuse Christians of not living up to their own standards, and give examples such as the injunction to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor, and follow Jeshua. As I see it, this is not a rule for everyone to live by, but it speaks of an ideal. Ideals are challenges that inspire us to go as far as we can in our commitment to life and our surrender to God. That's what ideals are for - to point to possibilities and values we would not think of, left to ourselves. Christianity is a complex of ideals.
The cross is the ultimate sign of contradiction. It says No! When we say "Close the borders, let us enjoy our wealth and privilege together; too many migrants coming in will make our lives less comfortable", it's then the Cross says "No! Welcome the stranger; give a home to the homeless, the stateless people who have less than nothing: who have nowhere to call home!"
When we say, "Let's make a lot of money and retire early so we can live on the Gold Coast", the Cross says "No! Share the extra cash you have and give some time freely where it can be useful."
When we say "Get the child criminals off our streets, lock 'em up and throw away the key," the Cross says "No! Reach out to them with respect, forgiveness and love to let them see there is a better way; teach them how to change their thinking and open the way for them to enjoy a good life." We should pour all your resources into the well-being of our children, spare no effort, spend whatever it takes, spend till it hurts, for what can compare with the value of one child?
*****
The standard of the Cross is a strange reversal. It involves the mystery that suffering is somehow good for us. Even the seeming injustice of some having much more pain in their lives than others seems to be part of it. What's that all about?
I was reading about the contemplative life and found the author* saying there is no mystical union with the Divine Spirit without suffering. I think there might be no way of explaining this, beyond saying it is the contradiction of the Cross. Suffering has its place even for the one who is genuinely living a good life. Nevertheless let's try to plumb the depth of this mystery. We need to remember that there are worse pains than physical ones. Pain of the mind, of the soul, of the spirit. The pain that leads to anger, hatred and revenge, to despair and suicide. The pain that is just simple regret at missed opportunities to love.
Starting from the experience of love as we know it, when the partner dies and the mutual vibration of love is no longer vibrating in the house, we might find ourselves looking back and feeling extremely keen regret that over the years we failed to love as much as we could. Regardless of the unlimited time and constant attention we did give, we feel there was an area we held back on, and now, when there's nothing we can do about it, we are horrified to see how selfish we were. And it hurts like fury! This pain is the greater the closer we were to our partner in love. Our holding back was worse for being a betrayal - our refusal to give all in expressing our whole-hearted love.
Human love longs for union, for communion, for blending of self with the other. By analogy, divine love must be the same. The closer we get to that communion with the Divine the more keenly we feel the pain of separating from the self. The Cross is the symbol of this universal pain.
When we contemplate the cross we have been taught to focus on the physical pains Jeshua suffered. Think of the Stations of the Cross as the highly recommended practice for Lent and Good Friday. But perhaps we need to consider more the mental, emotional and spiritual pain of indescribable intensity, especially in one as spiritually sensitive as Jeshua who had wept over the sufferings ahead for unfaithful Jerusalem, notwithstanding they were well-deserved.
To find himself publicly humiliated, rejected by the crowd, scorned by the leaders, mocked by the Romans, having a crude man of proven violence chosen ahead of him for release while he was not even given the dignity of being condemned but was simply handed over to the mob to end up crucified between two thieves. We know from the many notorious cases that make headlines around the world, it is the injustice, the lies, the denial of due process that hurts the most.
Then there was the disappointment in his friends. Only one was there, standing beside his mother and her friends. How would you feel to know your mission would unavoidably end with your mother witnessing your execution? I hardly dare imagine it.
The paradox, the contradiction that the cross presents, is found deep within ourselves. It is from there that it surfaces in society to cause violent upheavals and great suffering. Is there ever to be an end to the madness of what we do to one another? I don't know, but it is beyond debate that the one place I do know about and can do something about is within my self. Perhaps our Father is changing the world one person at a time, and right here right now that one is me.
All these words are like chaff. They are nothing. The Spirit speaks without words. The convictions that lead to action are given as pure gift when we are mature enough to receive them. The one thing necessary is that we sit still and listen. If a word, a phrase, a paradox in the above has caught your attention, let it stay as a focal point but don't try to solve the riddle. The Spirit will give understanding to the extent of your ability to absorb it. And it grows daily more pervasive till every thought contains the awareness of God active in our daily human experiences.
* William McNamara OCD: Christian Mysticism Pub'd by Element 1991.