Have you ever considered the strangeness of the Cross? Out of all the means possible, why did God accept death on a Cross as the means of our redemption?
Among the world religions, only Christianity puts forth this startling image of crucifixion. Indeed, there is no definitive sign in other world religions by which we know them; yet it is the Cross alone which is recognized among all peoples, even if rejected.
Lifted Up
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus reveals to Nicodemus a hint of not only His manner of death, but the promise of what His death will offer to the world. Just as Moses presented the bronze serpent to the Israelites in order that those who were suffering from the poison of the serpents were healed, so too, Jesus declares, must the Son of Man be lifted up. Why? So that those who look upon the Son of Man may believe in him, and that “everyone who believes may have eternal life.”
Let us reflect for a moment upon these words, “lifted up.” Why “lifted up”? To be lifted up is an act of offering, of making visible. The sacrifice being made was no hidden execution performed in some secret place. No, God deemed it most fitting that His death would be freely exposed to the view of the world. With outstretched arms, Jesus offers Himself to all nations, both Jews and Gentiles, both those who believe and those who do not. The Gift is raised up and poured forth to all.
Seeing the Cross
For me, growing up as a Hindu, I regarded the Cross with a mix of negative feelings: horror at this image of death and suffering; bewilderment at the paradox of this seeming exaltation of death; and a silent guilt that I was not among those who believed. Quite simply, the Cross troubled me. Jesus on the Cross, lifted up to the view of the world, seemed to demand a choice from me.
After my conversion, however, I came to see the Cross in a completely different light. Perhaps one might say, I came to really see it for the first time. It no longer inspired dread or confusion in me but the response of love, for I finally recognized that it was Love itself—the very Person of Love—being offered on the Cross.
Faith in the Resurrection
Yet how can we know? The Gift being given, the Word being spoken, means nothing to us without the seal of the Resurrection. It was this explosive reality of the Resurrection, proclaimed again and again by the apostles, which revealed the meaning of the Cross. Here we come back to today’s reading from Acts, in which we are told of the flourishing of the early Church, a “community of believers of one heart and mind.” They were united in a deep, unshakable faith in the risen Lord, for the apostles “with great power bore witness to the resurrection.”
Friends, I invite you today to spend time gazing upon the crucifix in prayer. It is here we see all the sin, suffering and dysfunction of the world, of our own hearts, taken up by our Lord and crucified in Him. Yet the story does not end there, for by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have been raised to new life in Him. Let us receive with joy the Gift who was lifted up for the sake of all.
Your words are always inspiring; truly you have a gift for writing. And we are so blessed to have you in our Catholic family. I owe you a special debt of gratitude for covering for me this time. God bless!
A powerful reflection and a joy to read.