Today’s question is based on scripture. It’s this: In the United States, what is the most referenced passage from the New Testament? It may not be quoted outright, but it certainly is the most referenced verse in the New Testament. So, what is this popular verse? Of course it’s John 3:16. (Hold up large sign.) We heard it just moments ago in our Gospel Reading for today: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that he who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”
On the other hand, the two verses which come immediately before this quotation, verses 14 and 15, are much less known or recited. However, they are equally important. They are: “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.” These verses are probably less quoted because of the strange reference to Moses having “lifted up the serpent in the desert,” a reference strange to us but not to those who heard Jesus speak them two thousand years ago.
Back then, the Israelites were very familiar with the story of Moses and the Exodus and of the problems the Israelites faced in the desert. They remembered how their food ran out during the early days of the journey from Egypt. They recalled how the Lord God had given them manna to eat, as well as quail to keep them from starvation. The Lord God even gave them water from the rock to quench their thirst. But they were not content with this bread which came down from heaven.
In today’s first reading from the Book of Numbers we heard them complain: “We are disgusted with this wretched food.” They grew tired of manna from heaven. They wanted something else. Forgetting the hardships they had once endured, many wanted to return to their bondage in Egypt, where they had other things to eat,
Now days, we seldom speak about how God sometimes reacts negatively to complaints. We tend to forget, in response to their whining, God sent them poisonous snakes, which the Israelites called saraph serpents or fiery serpents. However, the Israelites quickly realized manna and quail were a lot better than poisonous snakes and petitioned Moses to intercede for them, saying: “We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us.”
The Lord God did relent. He instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole so those who were bitten by the poisonous snakes could look upon this icon and be saved. At first, we might be puzzled by this divine instruction. It was not long before then that Aaron had molded a golden calf which angered Moses who broke the original copy of the Ten Commandments. So what’s the difference?
The golden calf was an idol which the Israelites began to worship in place of the Lord God. However, the bronze serpent was an icon to remind them of the power of the Lord God and how he would lead them despite their complaints of which they had repented. Nevertheless, problems of idol worship did recur over the years. Much later, after the Hebrews returned from their captivity in Babylon, a new king, by the name of Hezekiah of Judah, destroyed the bronze serpent Moses had made. In Babylon, the Hebrews had begun to worship the Serpent as a god. They had turned the icon representing the Lord God into an idol for worship in competition with Him.
So why was Jesus recalling this ancient story that we heard in today’s Gospel when he said: “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.” The answer can be found in how we respond to his being “lifted up.”
Scripture scholars tell us Jesus was referring to his own being lifted up on the cross and this icon of the crucifixion would lead to our Salvation, our Redemption, our Eternal Life. He told his followers, ahead of time, he would be lifted up, not only on a cross, but also from a tomb. Together, the crucifixion and the empty tomb become the icon, a visible image, representing our Eternal Life. Unfortunately this icon, this image of the cross of our Salvation, can also become an idol, a meaningless piece of jewelry.
Today, we celebrate a special feast day in the church. Today, we celebrate the “Exaltation of the Holy Cross.” In previous years, it has also been known as the celebration of the “Triumph of the Cross.” This celebration occurs annually on September 14. This year the date of September 14 happens to coincide with a Sunday. This special day allows us to recall we must focus on the icon of the cross and not a mere idol, called a cross. We are to see the cross as a living symbol and not a piece of decoration.
All of us, as Catholic Christians, are deeply aware of the importance of the Sign of the Cross in our daily lives. We recall how this is the first image of our Christian life. This sign is traced on our forehead at the beginning of our baptism. Our candidates and catechumens receive a cross when they begin their preparation to join us in the Catholic Church. This icon is presented to our families at the completion of the funeral liturgy. The cross initiates and completes our lives as Catholic Christians.
And what about the in-between times? The cross leads us in procession as we begin each Eucharistic celebration. The cross leads us to the Table of the Lord and then the cross leads us from this Eucharistic gathering out into the world, to become Eucharist for others, to become the Body of Christ for others.
While carrying out our tasks as followers of Christ, we also perform the sign of the cross over those we love, in times of blessings for happy events, and especially in times of consolation, healing or danger. It is with the sign of the cross that we comfort ourselves in times of duress.
How many of us carry this icon around our necks? How many of us bear this cross as a yoke with Christ? On the other hand, how many are there who have turned this icon into an idol, an empty piece of costume jewelry, another bit of gold or silver used as a decoration, rather than as a daily reminder that, in the words of St Paul, “[Christ Jesus] emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
And Paul went on to say: “Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which 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.”
Today, each one of us can rededicate us with the sign first presented to us at our baptism. Today, we can, once again, rededicate ourselves to the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Today, we can go beyond a casual reference to John 3:16 and lift up our Lord through our own prayers and actions: “… 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.” Today, and every day, is the time to celebrate the Triumph of the Cross, our Santa Cruz, our Holy Cross. † In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Exaltation of the Holy Cross: September 14, 2008
Num 21:4-9; Phil 2:6-11; Jn 3:13-17