💖 HOMILY - SEPTEMBER 14 💖

First Reading - Numbers 21:4-9 

Gospel - John 3:13-17

There are moments in life when we feel discouraged, tired or overwhelmed by our struggles. In such moments, we can easily lose hope and begin to complain, just as the Israelites did in the first reading. Their journey through the desert was difficult, and they became impatient with God and with Moses. As a consequence, they were bitten by serpents, and many suffered.

When the people recognized their sin, they turned to Moses and asked him to intercede for them. God did not abandon them. He instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole. Those who looked at it were healed.

This event becomes a powerful sign in today's Gospel. Jesus says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

Jesus takes the image of the bronze serpent and applies it to himself. The Israelites looked at the serpent and received healing; we are invited to look to Christ, especially upon the cross, and receive salvation.

The important point is that God does not respond to human sin with abandonment. Even when the people turned away from him, God opened a way back to life. And the Gospel tells us why: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.”

The cross, therefore, is not simply a symbol of suffering. It is the greatest sign of God's love and mercy. When we look at the crucified Christ, we see a God who does not give up on humanity.

Sometimes we may feel that our sins are too many, our failures are too great, or our situation cannot change. Today's readings remind us to look up and look to Christ. We do not save ourselves by our own strength. We receive life by trusting in the One whom God has lifted up for us.

The Israelites had to look at the bronze serpent to live. In the same way, we are called to keep our eyes fixed on Christ. When we are discouraged, look to Christ. When we have sinned, look to Christ. When we are suffering, look to Christ. His cross reminds us that God's love is greater than our failure and that suffering does not have the final word.

Let us therefore not remain trapped in our complaints, fears or failures. Let us turn our eyes towards Christ. As Jesus says, “Whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

May the cross always remind us that God has not abandoned us. He loved us so deeply that he gave his only Son, so that through Christ we may have life.