This Sunday, September 14, is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The theme for the readings is that surrender leads to redemption. The gospel reading is from the book of John. Let’s take a look.
Gospel Text
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.
1st Reading – Numbers 21:4b-9
In the first reading from Numbers, the Israelites, tired of their journey from Egypt, speak against God and Moses. The Israelites voice their frustration over the lack of food and water, and grow weary of eating the manna God provides. They are physically and spiritually impatient and ungrateful for their situation. God sends down venomous snakes, and many die for their spiritual distrust and rebellion. The people confess their sins and ask for forgiveness from God. He tells Moses to craft a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. People who suffer snake bites live when they look at the bronze serpent. This is really a test of their trust in God. The serpent isn’t doing the healing; God is.
2nd Reading – Philippians 2:6-11
The second reading reveals Christ’s heart and the pattern of humility leading to glory. Jesus humbled himself and became man. He was completely obedient to God’s will, even to death on the cross for us. Not just any death, but the shameful, torturous death of the cross. This is the ultimate surrender, the full embrace of human suffering and injustice. Because of Jesus’ obedience, God exalts Him. The “name above every name” is not just a title—it’s authority, honor, and universal recognition. The cross leads to God’s glory.
“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.”
Surrender Leads to Glory – Gospel Reading John 3:13-17
Jesus affirms that He came from Heaven and with a unique authority. He’s not just a teacher—He’s the bridge between heaven and earth. His descent has a purpose: to bring God’s truth into the human world. Jesus refers to the first reading and proclaims that, just as looking at the bronze serpent on a pole brought healing, God will lift Him up to become the focal point of healing from sin and death. Surrender and trust are the turning points in all three readings:
- In the wilderness, healing comes not by removing the serpents, but by looking up in faith.
- In Philippians, Jesus surrenders to death—not passively, but obediently.
- In John, God offers eternal life to those who trust and look to the One lifted up.
Glory comes through humility, and healing comes through surrender.
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Peace
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