Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Lectionary: 638

No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
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."

In Saint John's Gospel, the Lord predicts his crucifixion with cryptic words about his being "lifted up so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." Nicodemus probably knew the expression for the Romans often “lifted up” naked men and women on crosses, and left them there until they died by exposure, starvation, and thirst. 

Crucifixion was a form of state-sponsored terrorism, and very effective. It was used not only to kill those accused of sedition and rebellion. It also humiliated their families, friends, disciples, and fellow citizens. Crosses were placed in full sight of the gates of every major city, near the roadways, so that every passerby might see the dying souls and get the message. We can do this to anyone for any reason, and for no reason. 

The victims might have recognized friends and family as they passed, called them by name, and begged them for help. But with the Roman soldiers squatting nearby, no one could do anything but hang their heads in shame and hurry past. 

The experience was so horrifying that they might never speak of that person again. Their parents, wife, children, brothers and sisters might never admit to anyone they even knew them. They were gone, and it was as if they never were. 

So Nicodemus, a well-informed leader of Jerusalem, understood the Lord’s cryptic prophecy, “...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."

In the Gospel of John, Jesus will use that expression twice more, in chapter 8 and chapter 12. However, in the Fourth Gospel, being lifted up has taken on an entirely new meaning, unexpected and almost incomprehensible. In Chapter 8, he says, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me.”

When we see Jesus crucified we will recognize what the centurion on Calvary said about him, “Truly this was the Son of God!” 

And we must remember another prophecy, 

Again the high priest asked him and said to him, “Are you the Messiah, the son of the Blessed One?”

Then Jesus answered, “I am;

and ‘you will see the Son of Man

seated at the right hand of the Power

and coming with the clouds of heaven.

Anyone might pause in wonder at the sight of a man risen from the dead, especially if his appearance is blinding with brightness; but his being lifted up is very different. It speaks of our believing one who is lifted up like a snake on a pitchfork, or Moses’ bronze serpent on his miraculous staff. 

Jesus was not made of bronze; nor was he a serpent skewered on a pitchfork; he was a man of flesh and blood, fastened to  a wooden pole with a crossbeam to stretch his arms. For those who know the story and love the Lord, the allusion in today’s gospel is unmistakable; this man must be lifted up on a cross, for the entire world to see so that he might save us. 

…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 violence which every nation and every society uses in one fashion or another, has become a sign of God’s justice, mercy, healing, and undeniable presence. 

When we read the New Testament, we should be astonished that the disciples of Jesus went throughout the Roman empire telling people about a man who was executed like a common criminal, or a terrorist. Would you believe that someone who was hanged in Terre Haute is the Son of God? Would you even listen to such nonsense? Wouldn’t you be looking for the exits of the auditorium when you heard that? 

Within the first several centuries, thousands of people heard the gospel, and many devout believers were crucified, burned to death, flayed, hanged, and decapitated – because they would not deny their faith in the One who was lifted up. Tertullian said of them, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church." 

Today we hear of more threats, violence, and killings of Christians, even in the United States; but we still insist that Jesus is Lord and that he teaches us what the world cannot tell us – what it means to be human. He tells us the truth about justice and mercy, about sacrifice and generosity. He tells us there is such a thing as truth, and it's not just anyone’s opinion. He tells us what marriage is, and about being a man or a woman. He tells the Good News that we sinners can turn away from the sinful habits, customs, and practices of our neighbors, our families, and our ancestors. He tells us we can make a difference in this world because we come from a different place; we are different, and we’re going with him to a different place. 

Three weeks ago we saw Catholic children injured and murdered in Minnesota. In June, a Catholic state senator and her husband were murdered in Minnesota; in the past week we saw the assassination of a practicing Christian, outspoken for his political activism and sympathetic with Catholic doctrine. Tens of thousands of Catholic migrants and refugees live in fear of ICE raids, imprisonment, and deportation. They’re blamed for America’s homegrown problems of drug addiction, sexual- and gun violence. We have seen churches and shrines, Catholic and Christian, vandalized everywhere. The threat is real. It’s not coming to a town near you; it is here.   

Saint Paul prophesied that we shall be caught up together with the saints in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord.” And then he said, “Console one another with these words. 

As Jesus is lifted up he lifts us up with him for the world to see and recognize true holiness, honesty, and integrity. They do not like what they see. But we know the meaning of his third cryptic prophecy, “...when I am lifted up from the earth, I draw everyone to myself.”