Look to the Cross

Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross.

Gal 6:11-18

John 3:13-17

As humans, we often need something to look at, something - or someone - to emulate. Athletes, or their teams, can fill that role. Accomplished musicians can do that, especially for other musicians. 

So can national flags or other displays of patriotism.  Think of parades, of concerts on the Fourth of July. During the Civil War, one favorite song was “Rally Round the Flag, Boys”.

All those things are good. They have their place, and they can be a partial remedy for acedia, one of those 8 passions leading to sin.  But they’re all temporary.

For us Christians, there is one thing only that perfectly - and eternally - gives us something to look to, the Cross of Jesus. It’s not so much the pieces of wood, but the sacrifice of Christ on an instrument of torture. It’s the unjust execution of the most perfect man that ever was. It’s the new life that He brings us, making us a new creation.

In the Bible, snakes are often used to symbolize evil.

In Eden, Satan took the form of a serpent to tempt the woman, the First Eve, resulting in sin entering the world.

In Revelation, we see Satan first called a dragon, then “that great serpent”, standing before our Mother, the Second Eve, the Theotokos, ready to devour her Son, and then pursue her into the wilderness.

Yes, a serpent often symbolizes evil.

When Israel was in the wilderness, the people complained. So God sent fire serpents, and many who were bitten died. So the people repented of that sin and asked Moses to pray that God send relief

He instructed Moses to make a snake and put it on a pole, so that any who looked to it would live.

So, when Jesus said that the Son of Man must be lifted up, Nicodemus, a learned Jew, immediately understood that reference, although he probably didn’t understand at that moment that the lifting up of the Son of Man is the crucifixion of Jesus.

Moses lifted up a snake, and those who looked to it, even if they had been bitten with the venom of the fire serpent, would live.

Jesus was lifted up on the cross, and we who have bitten with the venom of the serpent of sin, will live. 

We have to keep our eyes on the Cross, to keep our eyes on Him who hangs on that cross. Remember when Peter walked on the water? He was doing fine, until he took his eyes off Jesus - and then he started to sink.

So, how does the talk of circumcision fit into all that?

In Jeremiah, God tells us that he will make a New Covenant, not like the Old Covenant which he made at Mount Sinai.  The Old Covenant was a set of regulations by which to live our lives, but little was said about actually reforming the heart. Think of the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not . . .

In Jeremiah, however, God says that in the New Covenant, he will write his Law on the hearts of people.  Think of the Beatitudes.  

The Gospel, Christianity, is that New Covenant.  Remember what you’ll hear Father saying in just a few minutes. “This is my blood of the New Covenant”.

But many early converts to Christianity believed that to be a follower of Christ, one must still follow the Mosalc Law. In their view, all who accepted Christ had to accept the Law, and that included circumcision. As Paul points out, those who wanted this didn’t even completely follow the Law; they just wanted to boast that they had others follow them, whereas Paul only wanted to boast in the Cross.

My brothers and sisters, look to the Cross, look to Him who hung upon the Cross. 

• Look to reform not your actions, but your hearts.

• Understand the passions so you can guard your hearts, substituting the opposite virtues.

• Live your lives, practicing the works of mercy with your attitudes informed by the Beatitudes.

Remember, sports teams, musicians, flags - they’re all temporary.

The Cross, that’s forever.