"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him" (Jn 3:17)
READING OF THE DAY
First reading from the Book of Numbers
NM 21:4B-9
With their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
“Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!”
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
“We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us.”
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
“Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live.”
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippinians
PHIL 2:6-11
Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that 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.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to John
JN 3:13-17
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“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.”
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.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
FEAST OF THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS - Gospel (Jn 3:13-17)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear People of God,
Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Word of God in today's Gospel wants to tell all humanity: Jesus Christ is God, He is a God of love. God's love is expressed through the sign of the cross of Jesus Christ.
The image of Jesus Christ being crucified, and dying on the cross, shows humanity: that God loves humanity immensely. He sacrificed Himself and died to redeem the sins of all people. He took the sins of all people on Himself and was nailed to the cross. As many sins of humanity as there are nails nailed to the body of Jesus Christ. The sign of Jesus Christ's love for humanity is expressed from the Old Testament to the New Testament.
That sign was expressed through the words of God to Moses: You make a bronze snake and hang it on a tree. Whoever looks at the tree with the bronze snake hanging on it will be saved. The reason is that the people blamed God and Moses. They had sinned and displeased God, and He allowed evil to happen, by letting poisonous snakes bite and kill many people. After the people sinned and were bitten to death by snakes, the people realized that they had sinned against God and Moses; so they ran to ask God to forgive their sins, and their prayers were answered by God. He showed mercy and saved the people by giving Moses the instruction to hang the bronze snake on a tree so that whoever believed in God's words spoken through Moses and looked at the bronze snake would live. God's saving love has been shown since the Old Testament and continues to this day, that is the image of Jesus Christ lovingly dying and hanging on the cross.
Today, God also invites His sinful children: to look up at the cross of love, sincerely recognize how their sins have offended God and others, repent and return to God; ask Him to forgive, ask Him to cleanse all sins, and grant healing to have eternal life.
God said that in this world, everyone is a sinner. Therefore, He died hanging on the cross so that anyone who looks up at that cross, believes in God's love, asks Him to forgive, and asks Him to grant conversion will have eternal life and happiness with God. The cross of God's saving love will endure until the end of the world.
God came to the world to save humanity. He never condemned or brought evil to people, but He sacrificed His life to die just because He loved people. Therefore, He calls all His children: to sincerely repent of their sins when looking up at the cross where God Himself is present, crucified, and died to redeem humanity. Whoever wants to have a resurrection life with Jesus Christ, should look up at the cross of love, and follow God's teachings. He will save that person's soul.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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