24TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (EXALTATION OF THE CROSS): WORN OUT BY THE CROSS, YET SAVED BY THE CROSS

THE PARADOX OF THE CROSS: A SYMBOL OF SUFFERING AND SALVATION

Jayden’s pain was so much when I met him. A young husband and dad in his early thirties, Jayden lifted a heavy weight that affected his spinal cord. This caused him insomnia. His doctors had told him that the only solution was surgery, but he was afraid. We decided to pray about it and, importantly, offer it to the will of God. We dedicated a daily holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament. Inside the chapel, an imposing crucifix hung right at the top of the tabernacle. Slowly, Jayden grew in the practice of sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament. He said to me, “The pain on my back is still there, but I seem drawn to the image of the Cross in this chapel. It feels good to be here.” Jayden began to experience a spiritual healing from the Cross of Christ. Eventually, he finally had a successful surgery.

The Cross is a paradox. It is at once the heaviest burden and the greatest grace. It is a symbol of the deepest humiliation and the highest exaltation. This weekend, the Church invites us to reflect on Christ’s suffering on the Cross, but also on how the Cross itself becomes the source of our healing and salvation. Life teaches that we are often worn out by the weight of suffering, discouragement, betrayal, and confusion. The message is that we are lifted, transformed, and ultimately saved through the mystery of the Cross.

THE SERPENT LIFTED UP: A SYMBOL OF OUR WOUNDS

In the First Reading (Numbers 21:4b–9), the Israelites complain against God and Moses. As punishment, serpents are sent among them, and many die. But God, in His mercy, instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole—so that anyone who looks at it may live. The lesson here is the act of looking in faith. Gazing upon the very thing that wounded them to be healed is a foreshadowing of Christ: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up…” (John 3:14). We are reminded that we, too, must look upon our brokenness—our sin, pain, and spiritual fatigue. Our healing begins not by escaping suffering, but by facing it through the Cross.

THE CROSS OF CHRIST: WORN OUT, YET EXALTED

Jesus tells Nicodemus that He will be “lifted up.” This is a theological assertion. Jesus is lifted up through his crucifixion. Yet, this becomes God’s greatest gift to the world: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son…” (John 3:16). Christ was worn out by the Cross, brutally beaten, abandoned, and emptied. Yet it was through this very exhaustion that we were redeemed. Paul writes: “He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death—even death on a Cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted Him.” (Phil. 2:8–9) The Cross, once a sign of shame, becomes the tree of life. We, too, are called to carry our crosses—not to be crushed by them, but to be transformed by them.

FINDING OUR SAVING GRACE IN OUR CROSS

Each of us bears a cross. It may be illness, loneliness, betrayal, the weight of caregiving, financial difficulty, spiritual dryness, or addiction. It may be the challenges of parenting, work-related, or goal-driven. We are often worn out by these burdens. There are times when we pray, cry, and sometimes feel abandoned. But the Christian is never alone under the weight of the Cross. Jesus walks with us. In fact, the Cross you carry might be the very place where grace breaks through. Jesus spoke these words in the gospel of last Sunday, "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple" (Lk. 14:27). God does not always take away the pain, but He transforms it. He gives meaning to your suffering through grace, strength to your fatigue, and light to your darkness.

LOOK TO THE CROSS AND LIVE

One of my best Catholic songs says, Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim. Till all the world adore his sacred name. 

The Cross invites us to adore our Lord Jesus Christ crucified on the Cross, but also to live the same paradox that Jesus lived. This is most critical in our time. The glory of the Cross appears this way:

·       To lose, yet win

·       To suffer, yet be saved

·       To be worn out, yet be renewed and transformed by God’s healing mercy.

“We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You, because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.” Let us, like the Israelites, look upon the One who was lifted up, not just to remember His death, but to experience His healing.

Readings: Numbers 21:4b–9 | Philippians 2:6–11 | John 3:13–17

Reflection Questions

1. What is the “cross” I am currently carrying in my life—and how have I been tempted to run away from it rather than face it with faith?

2. Have I looked upon the wounds of Christ in prayer and allowed His suffering to speak into my own pain and exhaustion?

3. Do I believe that God can use my suffering to bring about something greater, even when I feel worn out by it?