Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Phil 2: 6-11
Though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Why the Cross?
Honestly, I’ve always wondered why we Christians chose the symbol of our faith to be a cross – why not loaves and fishes, a symbol of graceful abundance – why not Jesus with the lost sheep on his shoulders, gentle and comforting – why not a sapling or rising bread, symbols he himself used for the slow growth of the Kin-dom of God?
I’ve learned that the cross doesn’t just represent a single act, a death FOR us and FOR our sins, but it represents Jesus’ entire life – from humble birth to ugly rejections, utter dejections and death – lived WITH us, a whole human experience. And Paul reminds us that Jesus chose this, choosing to be WITH us in the peaks and valleys of our human life, humbly accepting all of it, even the cross, the consequence of his radical love. The cross represents Emmanuel: God with us through it all and beyond.
—Fr. Garrett Gundlach, SJ, is a Jesuit priest of the Midwest Province studying Arabic and interfaith dialogue at the University of Saint Joseph in Beirut, Lebanon.
Prayer
Creator God,
I so often put you so far away,
so far from my experience,
so far from my understanding,
so far from me and my little life.
But your whole point was to come close,
your whole point is to be close,
close by your birth in Jesus,
close by your little life in Nazareth,
close by your teachings using examples we know,
– Like bread, sheep, plants, stars and taxes –
close by your rejecting a horse for a donkey,
close by your willingness to pay the same price we would
– For living a life so radically loving
it challenges unlove In places of power and prestige –
close by your death and fear of death like us.
Show me where to take that step
closer to your closeness
still with awe and wonder
but without fear and farness
Let this closeness be warmth
Let this closeness be security
Let this closeness be peace
Let this closeness be strength
Let this closeness be joy
Let this closeness be promise
that this closeness is now eternal.
Amen.
—Fr. Garrett Gundlach, SJ