Let us look to the cross of Christ as we take up our crosses in love.
A homily from the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross based on readings from
Numbers 21:4-9, Psalm 78, Philippians 2:6-11, John 3:13-17
These readings are available at the USCCB website.
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Along with our regular parishioners, we have a number of members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem with us this morning. This is a very special day for the Order; it is a very special day for all of us. Today we celebrate a double anniversary. On August 18th, 320, St. Helena discovered the True Cross of Christ in Jerusalem. But why do we celebrate on the 14th? We celebrate today because it was on August 14th that the third and most recent churches on the site of Mt. Calvary and the Tomb of Jesus was dedicated in 1149.
Lift High the Cross
Our readings today carry the theme of being lifted up – the raising of the bronze serpent that saved any Israelite afflicted with a snakebite, the raising of Jesus upon the cross who suffered and made atonement for our sins, and finally Christ Jesus’s exaltation – the God-man who humbled himself and accepted death on the cross for us. Although celebrating an instrument of torture such as the cross hardly makes sense to the world, we celebrate the Cross of Christ, the wood upon which our salvation was hanged.
We are called to be like Christ. We are called to take up our own crosses. The love to which Christ calls us requires us to give ourselves away. Jesus, hung upon the cross, is the ultimate sign of love, of Christian charity.
Charity
We are all called to perfect Christian charity within us. We are made to give ourselves away. We are made to perfect in ourselves Christian charity. This is a work of a lifetime. This work is commanded of us. It isn’t optional.
We are each called in our own way to advance in charity. There are many ways in which we are called to do that. The members of the Equestrian Order work to perfect their charity by making the concerns of the Church in the Holy Land our own. We express our solidarity with the people of the Holy Land through prayer and through our presence. We show the Christians of the Holy Land that we care about them, and we show the political leaders of the Holy Land that the fate and the situation of our Christians friends is important to us around the world. This animates our desire to provide material support for churches, humanitarian needs, and for their schools.
Serving the people of the Holy Land is how members of our Order work to perfect their Christian charity. It is a work that lasts a lifetime.
All of us here this morning are called to perfect our love of our fellow human beings throughout the world. We are called to care and care deeply about each and every person on the planet.
The Cross – An Unlikely Triumph
The cross of Christ is an unlikely triumph, and yet it is the way that Christ chose to save us. However, if we are made to be self-gift to others, and we are, then it does provides an unparalleled example. We see upon the cross God, who willingly gave himself up for our sake, who willingly poured out his own blood for us. He died to save those who had loved and would love him. He died to save those who never did and never would love him, even if they rejected this salavation. His cross most certainly is a triumph.
Let us look to the cross of Christ as we take up our crosses in love. Let us pour ourselves out to one another as we imitate our Divine Master.