💖 HOMILY - SEPTEMBER 14 💖

FEAST OF THE EXALTATION OF THE CROSS

First Reading - Numbers 21:4-19

(Second Reading - Philippians 2:6-11)

Gospel - John 3:13-17

The question of suffering is a disturbing question for us. It is so because it drags us to the situation of misery, hopelessness, distress, anxiety etc. When we are through such situations, we look for a ray of hope to overcome them. The feast of today, through the readings of the mass, instills hope in us. Just as the Cross of Christ has alleviated the dreadful enemy of eternal damnation so also it has the power to sail us through our troublesome times too. We only need to believe in the victory of the Cross of Christ.

The first reading, taken from the book of Numbers, reminds us about the sins of murmuring and distrust of the people of Israel. The people were impatient seeing the tragedies of the scarcity of food and water in the wilderness. Consequently they murmured against God and Moses. God sent the fiery serpents among the people. It was a kind of medicinal punishment which made the people realise their sins and stirred them to reconcile themselves with God. Seeing their repentance, God asked Moses to make a bronze serpent and fix that on the standard. This bronze serpent brings healing or remedy for those bitten by the fiery serpents. (Why serpent? It's because the serpent was considered as the symbol of one of the Egyptian gods who had power to heal and cure. The crown of Pharaoh had an icon of the serpent protruding from the crown, symbolising his divinity. The people of Israel had just left Egypt and were in wilderness, hence they were acquainted with the power of the serpent. Above all, they were not yet fully acquainted with Yahweh, their God. Thus, we should take this into consideration.)

Jesus, in the gospel uses the symbolic representation of the lifting of the serpent in the desert for his crucifixion. He compares his crucifixion with the lifting of serpent because the bronze serpent gave a new life to the people bitten by the fiery serpent, so also the crucifixion would give life to the people. 

The crucifixion of Jesus is explained in two ways by Jesus: firstly, it is a mediation between God and humanity. It's because Jesus is from heaven and thus becomes a perfect mediator between God and humanity. His Cross is the symbol of mediation. Secondly, the crucifixion of Jesus is liberative. The Cross of Christ rises above the effect of the bronze serpent which only healed the people from the poison of the fiery serpents but the Cross of Christ heals us from our sins and gives eternal life, which means it saves us.

Dear friends, it's really unfortunate that the world is through crises. People are suffering and the sufferings of people sometimes are degrading their human dignity. In the midst of such topsy turvey situations, we have a ray of hope in the Cross of Christ that we will overcome them all; we need to remain firm in faith. 

The purpose of the coming of Christ was to give us hope that we are not lost but are still loved and cared for by God. We have hope in Christ. What's the demand of the Cross of Christ? It's faith. Jesus says in the gospel: "Anyone who believes in him will not be lost." Jesus invites us today to believe in him and his Cross and we will not be lost but we will overcome all situations and have life in him. Let's not lose hope in any situation in our lives because Christ has reassured us through his Cross. To remain strong in our hope, faith in Christ is the shield. 

May our hope be ever sustained by faith in the Cross of Christ.