Fresh Dew Media

 THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: MAY YOU NOT PERISH UNDER YOUR CROSS

(John 3:13-17)

Today, we celebrate the exaltation of the cross. We celebrate not the wood of shame but the man who hanged on it to take our shame. We celebrate the great price paid for us in love that we may not perish.  We also celebrate the dedication of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, which is situated in Jerusalem, believed to have been erected on the spot where the Lord was crucified and buried.

We celebrate today following the prophetic message of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel that just as Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so shall the Son of Man be lifted up that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him. We celebrate today to deepen our faith in Christ who came into the world to save us through His suffering and death on the cross. Let us reflect on Christ's Cross and our own crosses and endeavour not to be enemies of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Place of the CROSS in our lives

We celebrate the central position the cross occupies in our lives as Christians. In a very special way, call to mind the saving power of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

 

Sign of Salvation

After the fall of man, who disobeyed through the fruit of the tree, God prefigured the saving of man through the tree. The boat of Noah saved creation from extinction, the staff of Moses made a pathway through the waters for the Israelites to be saved and at the appointed time the Son of God Himself mounted the tree of the cross in obedience to God to save those condemned by the fruit of the tree of Eden. On this tree He restored to man all that was lost. The tree that once brought shame now brought glory. The tree that once closed Eden, became a banner on which the kingdom was declared open.

 

Sign of prayers

In the past the cross was an instrument of ‘God forbid’, but when it encountered our Lord Jesus Christ, the man of prayers, it became a place of prayers. It became a pulpit of evangelization. It became the mountain we look up to. It became a call for prayers, for divine intervention, for God-man relationship, for honouring God. It seems to say to us: ‘Sorsum Corda’. Little wonder we begin and end our prayers with the Sign of the cross.

 

Sign of blessings

We exalt the cross because Christ has transformed it from being associated with curse to being a place of blessing. Therefrom Jesus blessed not only His friends but also His enemies. Jesus on the cross brings the idea of the crucifix, opening our eyes to the fact that nothing is impossible with God. He can turn even the ugliest situation into a blessing. Let us continue to bless ourselves and one another with the Sign of the Cross. At the feet of the cross, those who said ill of Jesus, turned and spoke blessings (Ọnụ ndi kwuru njo tụariri kwuo mma). As we call upon God, may we experience the miracle of the cross in our lives. May all our darkness turn to light. May we bless and place the cross of Jesus in our homes, offices and places of work.  May we not be ashamed of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

May you never perish under your own cross

Today, we look within ourselves in humility and abandonment to God with the realization of the fact that we've got some crosses to bear. Our crosses are the burdens we carry. They are the sorrows we endure. They are the heartbreaks we go through. They are the disappointments we experience. They are the insults we receive. They are the humiliations we are subjected to. They are the pains and tribulations we encounter on a daily basis.

Your cross may be your wife, your husband, your sick child, your drug addict brother, your shameless daughter, your joblessness, your lack, your sickness, the attacks, etc.

Whatever it is, Jesus has taken it up. In His love, He comes to save you from the pain and sorrows of your various crosses. He comes to take it up. He comes that you may start looking up to Him and no longer to these problems. He comes to make you see divine hand in every situation. Believe in God. If He was able to transform the shameful mark of the cross to something glorious, He can save you from perishing under whatever heavy burden you're in. May the cross of Christ be exalted in your life as a sign of victory and may you rejoice in the Lord for the battles you will win through the glorious sign of salvation given to us by Jesus Christ.

We adore you, Oh Christ, and we praise you, for by your Holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.

Happy Sunday to you.

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh