"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."
I wonder if it is pure coincidence that Saint John's Gospel speaks of Jesus' being lifted up three times (John 3:14; 8:28; & John 12:32) and that the Blessed Sacrament is lifted up three times during the Mass -- immediately after the Consecration, at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, and between the Fraction and Communion. Our liturgy is deeply rooted in the Bible. Did an ancient liturgist introduce those three gestures to the Mass, or did the Holy Spirit cause it to happen without anyone's noticing?
A fourth lifting up may be found when Jesus is actually crucified in the Gospel of John and when the Eucharistic Minister (priest, deacon or extraordinary minister) shows the Most Blessed Sacrament to the individual communicant and announces, "The Body of Christ."
Lifting up is one of many keys to the Gospel of Saint John. Jesus has come down from heaven and will return there. Meanwhile his disciples and the crowds wonder where he came from, where he lives and where he is going. He is clearly from some strange place of which we know little. It might be called Truth or Reality; it is not a land of illusion or falsehood.
Today is called Laetare Sunday; the word means rejoice, and the mood is imperative. Rejoice! Our salvation is nearer than when we first heard the Gospel. In the oldest document of the New Testament Saint Paul commands us, "Rejoice always!" (I Thessalonians 5:16); and in his Letter to the Philippians he seems to sing the command, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I say again, Rejoice!"
Although it is Lent and we are preparing to grieve the tortured death of Jesus during Holy Week, the subtext of our grief is joy and gratitude. Clearly Jesus does not hesitate as he marches toward Jerusalem, Gethsemane and Golgotha. He will do this for us and he is grateful for the opportunity.
But how hard it is for us to allow him to do it!
He does it joyfully because he does it in obedience to His Father. Jesus is not confined by our notions of freedom. We think freedom is "doing what I want to do." Clearly Jesus wants to save us; he loves us with intense affection. But more importantly, he wants to obey his God whom he loves as a father and calls Abba.
And so he will instruct the befuddled Nicodemus:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,Why would anyone think God condemns the world when he sends His Beloved Son? How can they even think such a thing when they see him raised upon the cross and praying for his tormentors?
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
When I try to understand the message of the cross I think of listening to someone talk on the telephone. I am in the same room as the one speaking, and I cannot see or hear the person at the other end of the line. I can hear only this side of the conversation.
But I can follow the conversation pretty well since I know what it's about. When I hear a clever remark on my end, I know what the reply might be. Seeing my companion laugh, I know what the other said.
Watching Jesus on the cross and hearing his prayers I encounter the One to whom he offers himself. I can see the absolute surrender and total confidence of my Friend and I am sure his Father is worthy of that confident surrender. I know my Friend is no fool. If he believes God is so good, that settles it for me.
When he is raised up on Easter, my confidence and his are confirmed. Despite the horror of his crucifixion there was never any doubt about its outcome, for no one has ever died as gracefully as Jesus. He died so well that even the Roman centurion cried out, "Surely this was the Son of God."
It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified!How can we not rejoice as our salvation appears before our eyes on this Laetare Sunday?
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.