Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross—the Triumph of the Cross. The reading from the Letter to the Philippians (Phil 2:6-11) is among the most sublime in Scripture. St. Paul’s passage relates for us the entire mission, meaning, and consequence of Jesus Christ. And the verses of John’s Gospel relates to us the ‘why’ of the Cross of Jesus: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son…”. The Cross of Jesus was and is totally about Love.
As followers of Jesus, we trudge through the rugged ‘trenches’ of everyday life, bearing our share in the Cross of Jesus. But as we carry this intensely personal share in the Cross of Jesus, the ‘love’ portion can feel very far from us. We may be overwhelmed by pain, or too exhausted or beaten down with discouragement, and we can find ourselves incapable of seeing the ‘triumph’ or ‘love’ of our share of the Cross. Though heavily veiled, these are moments of incredible grace. These are invitations—invitations to bring it to the Cross of Jesus.
If you have experienced the heartbreak of being unable to have children or the unspeakable pain of losing one, bring it to the Cross of Jesus. If you are exhausted from caring for a loved one or grieving of the death of a loved one, bring it to the Cross of Jesus. If you are suffering with an addiction or desperately trying to recover from one, bring it to the Cross of Jesus. If you have been betrayed by someone you love or are overwhelmed by the guilt of having betrayed one, bring to the Cross of Jesus. If you are struggling to feed your family or feel lost because you have no family, bring it to the Cross of Jesus. And if you feel sure you are far beyond forgiveness, bring yourself to the Cross of Jesus.
There is no circumstance that is not covered nor anyone one of us not included or not fully embraced by the magnificent mystery of the Cross of Jesus. This day as we look upon the Cross, as we make the Sign of the Cross, may we remember to bring our share of the Cross to Jesus and place it all before Him, the one whom “God greatly exalted and bestowed on him the name that is above every name”, all for the sake of Love.
--Gail Lyman