It might seem strange to think of the Lord’s Cross as something life-giving. At first glance, we see the opposite – profound suffering and injustice, the painful and torturous death of a man wrongly condemned. At a slightly deeper level, perhaps we also see the result of sin. The Christian faith teaches us that Jesus went to the Cross because of sins: not his own, but ours, and those of all the world. When we see the Cross of Jesus, therefore, we see our own sinfulness, and what our sins have made. Jesus’s suffering is all the more terrible when we realize our sins are its cause. But it is important not to stop there, lest we be tempted to despair. At the deepest level, the level of faith, the Cross is also revealed as the sign of God’s love for sinners, and the very means by which he saves us from our sins. In this way, then, when we look upon the Lord’s death on the Cross, we can see with eyes of faith how new life springs forth from it: our life.
 |
| The Apse Mosaic of the Basilica of Saint Clement in Rome Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, image by Dnalor_01, license CC-BY-SA 3.0 |
In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to the disciples about his own interior approach to the Cross that awaits him. On the one hand, he admits that its future prospect makes him feel “troubled.” Perfectly understandable – how could it not? Yet, Jesus is also clear that the Cross will be the fullest way for him to reach out to all persons. All of those who had not seen or heard him in his earthly ministry, all of those who desired still to encounter him, like the Greeks who approach the disciples at the beginning of today’s passage, or even we ourselves who live two millennia later – when we look upon the Cross, we see in it the ultimate truth of who Jesus is and the purpose for which he came. This is also why Jesus says the Cross will be the moment he is “glorified.” In seeing the Son of Man lifted up, our human eyes also behold the Son of God made visible; in faith, we see very moment in which God-made-Man lays down his life for us, his friends. The Cross then is at once terrible and glorious – a reminder of our sinfulness but even more the sign of our salvation.
How helpful these inner thoughts and sentiments of Jesus can be for us as we approach the crosses of our lives! The situations in which the Cross comes to us are many and varied: dealing with physical pain or illness; facing a difficult reality or decision we do not agree with; striving to be charitable or forgiving to someone who seems not to deserve it; the hardships that sometimes come in marriage or family, or various challenges of the workplace or with friend groups; accepting a mystery of our faith or a teaching of our Church that we struggle to accept. All of these and more are moments of real suffering; there’s no getting around that. But when we look at these trials also through the eyes of faith – when we look at them as a chance to share in the Lord’s Cross – these sufferings can also be redemptive and even life-giving as well.
When we choose to bear our sufferings well, with patience and acceptance, we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Our faith becomes concrete and more fully realized; we are able to bear witness to the world to the truth of God and to his love made present in us in a deeper way than before. The world is full of plenty of people who question the reality of faith, or the value it has in moments of difficulty; when we suffer well, we can demonstrate to others the sincerity of our faith, and the great truth we find in it that gives our sufferings meanings. Suffering also affords us the chance for greater growth. Like the grain of wheat that falls to the ground in order to bear fruit, sometimes there are aspects of our lives that need to pass away so that new growth can happen: sinful habits; distorted ways of thinking; broken cycles of acting in relationship with others; or even interior parts of ourselves that need to be pruned in order to be transformed.
Most importantly, though, suffering gives us a chance to participate more fully in the Cross of Jesus. This world and its present reality, with its joys and its sorrows, are not all there is. We have been made ultimately for something far greater. From the little deaths of our daily sufferings, we are more closely transformed into the image of the Son, and so able to become ever more ready for the final death by which we hope to share in his Resurrected life. The Cross draws us more closely to Jesus, forms us into his more faithful servants, and makes us worthy for future glory: “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.”
Friends, as you entered church today, you saw that Holy Week draws near. With the central Crucifix in our sanctuary and the images of the saints now veiled, we are invited to turn our attention to the inside, especially to our own inner approach to sharing in the mystery of suffering. Where are you encountering the Cross of Jesus? Are you rejecting it, or are you trying to embrace it, accepting it from Jesus as a way to follow him? Do you see in it only sorrow and death, or is there something redemptive, even life-giving there as well?
In the Eucharist we prepare to celebrate, the mystery of the Lord’s Cross is made real for us anew. May the heavenly grace of this sacrament assist us each day, that the sufferings of this present life might spring forth even now with the glorious new life of heaven.
How helpful these inner thoughts and sentiments of Jesus can be for us as we approach the crosses of our lives! The situations in which the Cross comes to us are many and varied: dealing with physical pain or illness; facing a difficult reality or decision we do not agree with; striving to be charitable or forgiving to someone who seems not to deserve it; the hardships that sometimes come in marriage or family, or various challenges of the workplace or with friend groups; accepting a mystery of our faith or a teaching of our Church that we struggle to accept. All of these and more are moments of real suffering; there’s no getting around that. But when we look at these trials also through the eyes of faith – when we look at them as a chance to share in the Lord’s Cross – these sufferings can also be redemptive and even life-giving as well.
When we choose to bear our sufferings well, with patience and acceptance, we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Our faith becomes concrete and more fully realized; we are able to bear witness to the world to the truth of God and to his love made present in us in a deeper way than before. The world is full of plenty of people who question the reality of faith, or the value it has in moments of difficulty; when we suffer well, we can demonstrate to others the sincerity of our faith, and the great truth we find in it that gives our sufferings meanings. Suffering also affords us the chance for greater growth. Like the grain of wheat that falls to the ground in order to bear fruit, sometimes there are aspects of our lives that need to pass away so that new growth can happen: sinful habits; distorted ways of thinking; broken cycles of acting in relationship with others; or even interior parts of ourselves that need to be pruned in order to be transformed.
Most importantly, though, suffering gives us a chance to participate more fully in the Cross of Jesus. This world and its present reality, with its joys and its sorrows, are not all there is. We have been made ultimately for something far greater. From the little deaths of our daily sufferings, we are more closely transformed into the image of the Son, and so able to become ever more ready for the final death by which we hope to share in his Resurrected life. The Cross draws us more closely to Jesus, forms us into his more faithful servants, and makes us worthy for future glory: “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.”
Friends, as you entered church today, you saw that Holy Week draws near. With the central Crucifix in our sanctuary and the images of the saints now veiled, we are invited to turn our attention to the inside, especially to our own inner approach to sharing in the mystery of suffering. Where are you encountering the Cross of Jesus? Are you rejecting it, or are you trying to embrace it, accepting it from Jesus as a way to follow him? Do you see in it only sorrow and death, or is there something redemptive, even life-giving there as well?
In the Eucharist we prepare to celebrate, the mystery of the Lord’s Cross is made real for us anew. May the heavenly grace of this sacrament assist us each day, that the sufferings of this present life might spring forth even now with the glorious new life of heaven.
No comments:
Post a Comment