Sunday Series: September 14, 2014

Today in the Church calendar we celebrate the Exaltation of the Cross. It falls on every 14th of September, so I guess everyone knows what I am going to talk about already. To start, let us turn to Today's Gospel.

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. 

Everyone is familiar with this passage of scripture. I remember hearing all the time growing up and it was just about everybody's favorite passage. The heart of this verse starts in the second half. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son." This is very similar to what I spoke about last week. Why did God send Jesus, his only begotten son, into the world? He loves us and wants us to have life. It is unfitting for God to allow that which he loves to continue in corruption. Therefore, he came down from heaven to die on a cross so that we through his sacrifice might become sons and daughters of the Father.

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.

This is the second reading of today from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians. In it is contained the very heart of what we celebrate today. Christ in the greatest act of humility came down from heaven in the form of a child. He humbled himself to death on a cross. For those who don't know, Crucifixion was developed by the Romans and used specifically for rebels and thieves. It was considered the most humiliating way for one to die and definitely the most painful. Now we have turned the cross into a sacred image. We hang crosses around our necks, many of them ornate with jewels, gold and silver. In the end though we must return to the wood of the cross. Upon entering the Church the first thing we see is the Cross. It's not just a cross though. It is the Crucifix, a cross with the Corpus of Christ still hanging upon it serving as a reminder of what is required of all of us.

My household (small faith communities at Franciscan University) is named Pater Noster (Our Father in Latin). In household it is our mission to be Sons of the Father so that in turn we might Fathers to the world, whether biologically or in the Priesthood. In order to be Fathers (Mothers, this goes for you too) we must first emulate the Son and His Sacrifice. Christ gave up himself so that the world might have life. We also should give of ourselves so that the World might see Christ in us. As Christ said, "Whoever would come after me must deny himself, take up his Cross and follow me." This life is not about us. It is about Love. It is about the Cross. It is about making our lives living Sacrifices, Holy and pleasing to God.