💖 HOMILY - MARCH 24 💖

First Reading - Numbers 21:4-9 

Gospel - John 8:21-30

There are moments in life when discouragement slowly turns into resistance — when hardship leads not just to struggle, but to impatience, frustration, and even rebellion. In such moments, we may begin to lose sight of God’s presence and question his ways. Today’s readings speak into that experience and show us both the danger of losing trust and the path toward healing and life.

In the first reading, the people of Israel grow weary on their journey through the desert. Their discouragement turns into complaint against God and against Moses. They question why they were brought out of Egypt and express dissatisfaction even with the manna that sustains them. Their words reveal a deeper problem: a loss of trust in God’s care.

As a consequence, serpents come among them, and many are bitten and die. Realizing their sin, the people turn back to Moses and ask for help. God responds not by abandoning them, but by providing a means of healing. He instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole. Anyone who looks at it after being bitten will live.

This is a striking image. Healing comes not through human effort, but through a simple act of trust — looking upon what God has provided. It is both a reminder of their sin and a sign of God’s mercy.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks to the people about a deeper spiritual reality. He tells them that they will die in their sins unless they believe that “I am.” His words are challenging, and many struggle to understand him. Jesus speaks of his origin from above, contrasting it with their earthly perspective.

Then he says something that connects directly with the first reading: “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am.” Just as the serpent was lifted up in the desert for the healing of the people, so Jesus will be lifted up on the cross. There, in what appears to be weakness and defeat, the power of God’s salvation will be revealed.

The cross becomes the place of healing for humanity. Those who look to Christ with faith receive not only physical relief, but forgiveness and new life. What seemed like an instrument of death becomes the source of life.

Dear friends, at times, like the Israelites, we may grow impatient or lose trust when life becomes difficult. We may complain, doubt, or turn away. Yet God does not abandon us. Instead, he points us toward the cross — the ultimate sign of his love and mercy.

To “look” at Christ on the cross means more than simply seeing. It means believing, trusting, and surrendering our lives to him. It means recognizing that our healing comes from him alone.

Today, we are invited to renew that trust. Whatever struggles or burdens we carry, we are called to lift our eyes to Christ. In him, we find forgiveness, healing, and the promise of life.

For the God who once brought healing through a lifted sign in the desert has now given us his own Son, lifted up on the cross, so that all who believe in him may live.