Sunday Gospel Reflection
So must the Son of Man be lifted up

Introduction:

The Meaning of the Cross

How do people use the cross in our culture? Which is appropriate? Which is inappropriate?

Religious symbols have power. Consider the cross. It is found on jewelry, in advertisements for contractors and car repair shops, on buildings. Not only do these crosses convey faith. Many are used to attract a certain clientele so the advertisers or creators make money. While these uses may not be inappropriate, they do
beg the question. What do we truly mean when we use symbol of the cross?

Jesus changed the symbolism of the cross from one of death to life, from one of guilt to one of acquittal and freedom.

First Reading
Numbers 21:4-9

4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient on the way.
5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food."
6 Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
7 And the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people.
8 And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live."
9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live

Second Reading
Philippians 2:6-11

6 Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father

Gospel Reading
John 3:13-17

13 (Jesus answered) "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." 
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 
17 For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world,  but that the world might be saved through him.

Bible Study/Meditation

Today, as in New Testament times, many speak of the "foolish-ness" of the Cross, the foolishness of God's salvation. Many cannot grasp the wonder of the incarnation¯that God so loved humankind that he would send his Son from heaven to become a Sacrifice, Savior, and Lord for the very people who reject him. Many cannot envision a love so strong that a heavenly Father would sacrifice his only Son. Nor can they envision a love so merciful that a Divine Son would willingly abandon the glory he was due and freely submit to the brutal trial and death of the Cross to redeem the very perpetrators of this travesty of justice. To the foolish it is incomprehensible that one could be sinless as Jesus was, or that one so sinless would willingly become the propitiation for the sins of humankind.
   
For those who believe, it is not foolishness to acknowledge their sin and to look to Jesus' sacrifice as the means of salvation. For us the Cross becomes a triumphal symbol. As the Second Reading indicates, the Father, recognizing the significance of what the Son has done, has highly exalted Jesus and given him a name that is above every other name. For us, exaltation in the Cross of Christ is the only reasonable response to a salvation so grand, to a life so worthy, and to the salvation which he garnered for us, wonderfully snatching us from the jaws of certain eternal death.
   
St. Augustine challenges us, "Brethren, let us then fearlessly acknowledge, and even openly proclaim, that Christ was crucified for us; let us confess it, not in fear but in joy, not in shame but in glory.
   
"The apostle Paul saw Christ, and extolled his claim to glory. He had many great and inspired things to say about Christ, but he did not say that he boasted in Christ's wonderful works: in creating the world, since he was God with the Father, or in ruling the world, though he was also a man like us. Rather, he said: Let me not boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."*
   
Why do we choose to express our faith through a crucifix rather than just an empty cross¯because we worship and honor the Savior who died there and rose again for our salvation. Jesus said that he must be lifted up, and we remem-ber and honor the Savior of the Cross and not simply the wood upon which he hung. We hang the crucifix in our churches, in our homes, and around our necks as a symbol and boast of God's love for us and the world, and as a visible reflection of our love for him and reliance upon his sacrifice to save and heal our souls.

Reflections:

· Please re-read the phrase(s)/sentence(s) that move(s)/touche(s) you and what inner message of the heart is the Spirit whispering to you?

. The cross in the hands of the Romans was a sign of extreme judgement. But, in the hands of God, it became a sign of freedom. The symbol of condemnation, indeed, became a symbol of acquittal.
  ----Reflect on the meaning of the cross. How has it freed you?

. As Christians, we are to give the cross meaning. We are to communicate Christ to the world. We can only do that if Christ is at our core. Faith is more then assenting to the truth; it is allowing Christ to be with us, in us, and through us. Our challenge is to give the Lord Jesus this opportunity.
  ----How do you represent the cross and Christianity? How have you allowed God to use you? What meaning have you given the cross in your life?

. Saint Ignatius remind us in his "the Contemplation of Obtaining Divine Love": love should manifest itself more in action than in words.
  ----  Reflect upon your life to picture your love for God.

. Salvation is belief in Jesus accompanied by deeds done in God. "Belief    in Jesus" and "deeds done in God" are simultaneous acts.
  -----How many times have you lost your belief in God and how often your deeds are done in God?

. Meditate upon the saying "Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do it in the name of the Lord, Jesus." Examine the priorities on your life. How does God stack up again other priorities?

. Do you know the healing power of the cross of Christ? Do you thirst for new life in the Spirit?

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, your death brought life for us.
Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may walk in freedom and joy as a child of God and as an heir with Christ of an eternal inheritance