“Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim / Till all the world adore his sacred name.” This popular hymn beautifully expresses our sentiments as we celebrate today the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, also known as the Triumph of the Cross or simply the feast of the Holy Cross. We celebrate this important feast for two reasons: (1) to recall an historic event that proved to be extremely important in the life of the Christian church, and (2) to underline the importance of the symbol and reality of the cross in the daily life of every Christian man or woman.
The important event we commemorate is the finding in the year 326 of the relics of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. According to St John Chrysostom, St Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine, longed to find the cross of Christ. For this reason she travelled to Jerusalem where she organized a dig at the hill of Calvary. The diggers uncovered three wooden crosses. They could not tell which was the cross of Jesus and which were the crosses of the two thieves crucified with him. Finally they brought a sick woman and a dead man who was being carried to burial. The three crosses were placed one after the other on the sick woman and on the dead man. Two of the crosses had no effect, but on contact with the third cross, the sick woman was healed of her infirmity and the dead man came to life. These miracles clearly indicated which of the three was the holy cross.
News of the finding of the true cross quickly spread and believers gathered to see the true cross and to venerate it. The Patriarch of Jerusalem, Makarios, standing on a raised platform, lifted high the cross, “exalting” it, for all to see. The people fell to their knees, bowing down before the cross and crying out repeatedly: “Lord, have mercy!” St Helen then commissioned a church to be built over the site. The church of the Holy Sepulchre was consecrated on September 13, 335. The feast of the finding and exaltation of the Cross was appointed to be celebrated annually on the following day. The basilica of the Holy Sepulchre is today regarded as the holiest spot on earth by Christians of all denominations.
Today the sign of the cross has become a universal Christian symbol. When people sneeze and cross themselves or athletes make a sign of the cross before or during play, we recognize them immediately as Christians. Ornamental crosses are fashionable today in the form of necklaces, broaches, earings, and the like. A crucifix (the cross with an image of Christ’s body upon it) identifies a church as a Christian church. Likewise, crucifixes in the homes, the school and the classroom is a constant witness and reminder of our faith in Christ who died on the cross to set us free. These are all useful and important ways of proclaiming and lifting high the cross of Christ. The cross is not just a piece of wood. It is a symbolic summary of the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ by which we have been redeemed. It is a symbol of our faith in the crucified and risen one, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus taught us that the cross should be a constant feature in the daily lives of his followers: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). To take up the cross in this way we need to do more than wear a crucifix or place it in our surroundings. To lift up the cross the way Jesus asks us to do is a way of life. It is to accept self-denial and sacrifice as part of our daily lives. Sacrifice means to give up something that is of value to me for the sake of God and the benefit of my neighbour. Another word for it is love. Love is measured by sacrifice. People who love much sacrifice much. Yet sacrifice does not make us poorer but richer. This is what we see in Christ. This is what we see in the lives of the saints. This is what we are all called to be. Let us all today resolve to “Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim / Till all the world adore his sacred name.”
Homily: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
by Fr. Todd Reitmeyer
http://www.malankaraworld.com/library/Sleebo/sleebo_exaltation-reitmeyer.htm
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Once again we see in the scriptures how God unfolds his plan of salvation over thousands of years. The Gospel clearly shows us that when Moses raised the Serpent (the seraph) on a pole to save the people from their sins how this foretold that Christ would be lifted high on the cross to save us from our sins.
For the people of Moses’ time they saw the results of their sin nailed to a pole and raised above them. If they looked to it in faith they would be saved. For us we see the results of our sin and that of all humanity nailed to a pole and raised. For Christ took the price of all our sins upon himself and was raised. To us it is promised that if we look to him in faith we will be saved as well. This is the importance of the crucifix in the Christian Tradition. We do not have empty crosses because an empty cross didn’t save us. Christ crucified is the sign of our salvation.
But what does it mean to look to Christ in faith. You have heard me tell you faith does not mean simply believing in Christ. The devil believes Christ died and rose from the dead. No true faith must be lived otherwise it is dead. This is why Christ told us to take up our cross and follow him. We see a clear example when we contrast the people in our first reading with Christ in our second.
They were unwilling to suffer. They once again were grumbling and complaining against God. Though they had betrayed God twice they still expected that they were owed a comfortable living and when they didn’t get it they complained against God. Look to Christ. He empties himself and took the form of a slave. To him was due all the Glory and Honor and yet he refused it for our sake. He was willing even to suffer, not for himself but for us, to the point of death and at that time it was the most demeaning and humiliating death one could undergo. Christ accepted it all because it tells us in the Gospel that God willed that the entire world be saved.
This is our contrast. The Israelites were not willing to suffer for themselves even when they deserved more suffering. Christ was willing to suffer for others even when he deserved none. In doing this he teaches us that suffering does have meaning. It is not pointless. If we are willing to accept it and offer it for others it becomes an act of true love. If we are not then it certainly seems pointless but most likely it is what we deserve. We choose whether our suffering has meaning or not by choosing to empty ourselves and offer it for others like Christ. This is why Christ is our high priest. The book of Hebrews tells us a priest is one who offers sacrifice for others. And we are all priests, prophets and kings by virtue of our baptisms.
By virtue of your baptism you are part of the common priesthood. By virtue of my ordination I am part of the ministerial priesthood. We both offer on the altar of sacrifice on Sundays. For you that means all the sufferings, trials and tribulations you experience during the week should be brought here on Sundays and laid on the altar. When the gifts of bread and wine are presented and put on the altar, then you spiritually lay your sufferings on the altar and pour them into the Chalice. Then I call upon the holy spirit and they are transformed into the Eucharist. What was our sufferings becomes our means of salvation and that of all the world. This is how our suffering becomes meaningful. When we empty ourselves and offer it on behalf of others.
You have a free choice. You can choose to have your suffering have meaning by offering it for others. Or you can choose to have it be pointless by grumbling and complaining about it. My suggestion to you: Look to Christ crucified on the cross. Exhalt the cross in your life. Live out your baptismal priesthood. You choose between freedom for meaning or freedom from meaning. You suffer for someone or you suffer from afflictions. The happiness and peace you seek is found in the way of the Cross, the way of Christ. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. I Choose Life. How about you?