…From the Pastor’s Desk
THE CROSS THAT SAVES
Paradoxically, we Christians affirm our passion for life under the sign of the Cross, which in Roman times was a cruel, inhuman instrument of execution, the most frightful form of death. Echoing Our Lord Himself, the Church strongly opposes all forms of torture and above all the death penalty–and yet here we are on today’s feast, honoring the cross on which an innocent prophet and healer, who had spent His life helping others, was put to death.
Jesus’ plan for His life was totally positive–to help His fellow men and women. By His touch blind people regained their sight, the lame could walk, lepers were cleansed, and wherever He went He proclaimed the good news to the poor and affirmed their dignity and their rights. But this same life-enhancing Messiah from Nazareth was denied a proper trial, mocked and spat upon, dressed up as a king with thorns for a crown, scourged and abused and finally hung on a cross. As Isaiah foretold, He was scorned by the people, “There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him” (Is 53:2).
How can we glory today in the instrument of His death, that frightening cross where thieves, slaves and criminals were executed and onto which He was nailed, led like a lamb to the slaughter? It is because this crucified Jesus has become our Life Giver in the Spirit that His Cross is the life-giving throne of mercy on which He will forever be honored. With the penitent thief we can pray: “Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom” (Lk 23:42). The instrument of His death has become the instrument of God’s mercy to us; and so, we proclaim the triumph of new Life, poured out from the Cross.
During the Exodus journey through the desert of Sinai there was a plague of fiery serpents, from whose bite many of the people died. Then Moses did as God told him – he made a bronze statue of a serpent and mounted it on a pole, and when those who has been bitten looked at it, they recovered. Jesus applies this episode to Himself: “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 3:14-15). The sign of the healing serpent is now the conventional sign for doctors [caduceus], in their efforts to preserve life.
We try to absorb the paschal meaning of whatever suffering comes our way, trusting that powerful grace flows from the Cross. Of course, we do not just focus on our own crosses and the burdens of life. The Cross of Christ empowers us to share in the struggle against oppressors of every sort. We can best honor His cross today if, like Him, we stand up for those in our times who are unjustly treated and marginalized.
Father Ron
