A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 6, n. 42)
Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross – September 14, 2008
“They Will Live …”
BIBLE READINGS
Nm 21:4b-9 // Phil 2:6-11 // Jn 3:13-17
(N.B. Series 6 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the First Reading. For another set of reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year A, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 3.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
We celebrate today the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the font of healing and of life. The words of St. Andrew of Crete introduce us into the spirit of today’s celebration: “Had there been no cross, life itself could not have been nailed to the tree. And if life had not been nailed to it, there would be no streams of immortality pouring from Christ’s side, blood and water for the world’s cleansing. Therefore, the cross is something wonderfully great and honorable. The cross is called Christ’s glory; it is saluted as his triumph.”
The lifting up of the bronze serpent that we hear in the Old Testament reading (Nm 21:4b-9) is fascinating and illumines the mystery of the cross that we venerate. The bronze serpent on the pole that brings healing to those bitten by venomous seraph snakes is a symbol of God’s benevolent saving will. The biblical scholar Eugene Maly remarks: “The Old Testament author sees it and uses it as a symbol of God’s will to save his people. Salvation comes through the lifting up of a bronze serpent on a pole. This is the meaning that John, too, sees present in the story. Jesus, like the serpent, must be lifted up on the pole of the cross, and whoever looks to him in faith will be saved. That is why the Church can speak, in all truth, of the triumph of the cross.” Indeed, in the light of the joyful Easter event of Christ’s resurrection, the cross was not a gibbet of death, but Christ’s throne of glory.
Christ’s death on the cross was the climax of a life totally given to God in humble obedience. Upon the cross, the Son-Servant of God carried out the ultimate act of sacrificial love and fulfilled the Father’s benevolent plan of salvation. The cross of Christ is therefore his throne of glory, a font of healing and a means to eternal life. Saint Paul and the early Christian community therefore sang this beautiful hymn of faith: “Christ humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:8-11).
Like the terror-stricken Israelites seeking salvation from the venomous serpents in the desert, we too are in need of redemption from the snares of sin and death. And just like the Israelites who have experienced God’s mercy for the umpteenth time by gazing upon the bronze serpent on the pole, we too must look at Jesus, lifted up on the cross, that we may not die but live.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 7, comment: “And now it is to Christ, lifted up on the glorious cross, that we must raise our eyes not to be saved from the disastrous effects of the bite of a desert serpent, but in order to have eternal life. It is a look of faith that is needed. A look of faith will recognize in the cross the sign of salvation, and in the one who is lifted up on this precious wood, the Savior of the world. At the same time, we will see in the cross of Christ the supreme proof of the infinite love of God, who gave his only Son so that everyone may have eternal life. God sent his son into the world that we might have life through him. The cross reveals that God is love (I Jn 4:16).
These past days were very emotionally intense and spiritually significant for us PDDM Sisters here in the United States. Within an astonishingly brief period of four and a half months, we experienced the successive deaths of five elderly Sisters who spent many years of their apostolic lives lovingly serving Jesus Master in the American nation. The funeral rites for each Sister were a privileged occasion to meditate and to come to grips with the paschal mystery of death and rising.
One significant element in the funeral rites is the placing of a Christian symbol – the cross – on the coffin of the deceased. Last September 9 was the funeral Mass for Sr. Mary Trinity in Fresno. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross that we are celebrating this Sunday makes me appreciate more deeply the meaning of the placing of the cross on her coffin. The words that accompany that action were very touching. A PDDM Sister announced: “The cross we have brought today was carried by the Lord Jesus in the hour of his suffering. We place it now on this coffin as a sign of our hope for Sr. Mary Trinity.” After which she prayed on behalf of the assembly: “Lord Jesus Christ, you loved us unto death. Let this cross be a sign of your love for Sr. Mary Trinity and for the people you love gathered here today.”
By the power of the Holy Spirit, the saving love of the crucified Lord had been made present to us through the symbol of the cross. With that sacred sign and action, our hope was strengthened that Sr. Mary Trinity would live eternally and be fully immersed into the ocean of infinite love of the Blessed Trinity – the loving Father, the redeeming Son and the sanctifying Holy Spirit.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
What was the significance of the bronze serpent that Moses fashioned and lifted up on the pole? What was its saving effect on the distressed people of Israel? How is the mounted bronze serpent a symbol of Jesus Christ? Are we willing to fix our gaze on Jesus Christ crucified and seek healing from him?
Why is the cross of Christ the supreme proof of God’s infinite love for us? What made the triumph or exaltation of the cross possible? Are we disposed to participate in the folly of the cross and the mystery of Christ’s sacrificial love?
How does the Pauline hymn of Christ’s self-emptying (“kenosis”) and exaltation impact us? Do we wish to share in the Divine Master’s twofold movement of self-abasement and exaltation? Are we willing to meditate on the mystery of the cross and its meaning for us? Are we willing to proclaim to the world the triumph of Christ on the cross and give a living witness to it?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Lord Jesus,
the bronze serpent that Moses fashioned and mounted on the pole
in obedience to Yahweh’s saving command
was a symbol of his compassion and benevolence.
The Israelites in the desert who were bitten by the serpents of death
found healing by gazing upon it.
The mounted bronze serpent
that saved the ancient Israelites from sure death
prefigures your crucifixion and redeeming death at Mount Calvary.
Thank you for your obedient sacrifice.
Above all, we render praise and thanksgiving to God the Father
who loved us so much that he sent you, his Servant-Son,
to be lifted up on the cross.
Now in faith we look upon the cross of your sacrifice
and see in it the source of healing and the font of eternal life.
Through your cross, O loving Jesus,
our hope is strengthened
that we will not die from the snares of sin, but live.
We adore you
and surrender to the mystery of your saving love on the cross.
You saved us from the throes of death
and now we live in you.
We worship you, Lord.
We venerate your cross.
Through your cross you brought joy to the world
and for this, we revere you,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so he who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray for the victims of violence, hatred, and war and all those suffering from acts of injustice and oppression. By your compassion and charity, allow them to experience the healing and saving love of Christ on the cross.
ACTION PLAN: That we may appreciate the meaning and challenge of the exaltation of the cross, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, # 42).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US