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One of the oldest churches in Rome, Santa Sabina, has a very important distinction apart from being one of the oldest churches in the city. \u00a0Sculpted on its wooden door, all the way on the top, is the earliest depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus. \u00a0Three men stand with arms outstretched in prayer, with Jesus in the middle much larger than the two thieves. \u00a0You can hardly make out the wood of the crosses.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll be surprised to learn that this first depiction of the crucifixion is from the early fifth century, four hundred years after Christ, and one hundred years after crucifixion was banned in the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine. \u00a0Before this time, Jesus was usually portrayed as the Good Shepherd, or in glory after the resurrection.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s feast, the Church invites us to exalt the holy cross of Christ, the same cross depicted for the first time centuries ago at Santa Sabina. \u00a0Why this invitation? \u00a0Why this invitation every time we enter a Catholic Church and we are met by a crucifix? \u00a0Why this invitation every time we see a crucifix in our homes?<\/p>\n
We find the answer in the words of Jesus: \u201cJust 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just as the bronze serpent Moses lifted up high in the desert brought life to those who looked at it, so the holding up high of Jesus Christ on the cross brings life to those who believe in him.<\/p>\n
Saint Paul teaches us that because Jesus was obedient to death, even death on a cross, God greatly exalted him and now every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord.<\/p>\n
This is the mystery of the cross: that from the unjust and horrific lifting up of Jesus on the cross, something so cruel and involving unimaginable suffering, has come our most precious and most valuable gift: our salvation.<\/p>\n
We may not fully understand how the suffering of Christ on the cross translates into our salvation. \u00a0We may not fully understand how the giving up of God\u2019s only Son grants us eternal life, yet we approach the cross with reverence every Good Friday singing, \u201cBehold the wood of the cross, on which is hung our salvation, O come let us adore.\u201d<\/p>\n
For us Christians the cross is not a sign of torture and death, but rather a sign of hope and salvation. \u00a0Through his resurrection, Christ redeemed his horrible Roman execution, so the cross no longer represents what it did for the Romans. \u00a0The cross is now the sign of our salvation.<\/p>\n
A priest I know told me how when he was recently ordained in Mexico years ago he made a communion call to an elderly lady. \u00a0Next to the chair where she spent most of the day she had a large, gruesome crucifix. \u00a0The priest was taken aback by its gory detail and wondered how this woman could ever come to know a loving God if she kept this crucifix at her side. \u00a0He told the elderly lady that Jesus had risen and that there was no need to have such a depiction of him. Jesus loved her and didn\u2019t want her to see him depicted this way.<\/p>\n
The woman looked at the priest dismayed and responded,\u201d Father, if I didn\u2019t see this crucifix every day, I would lose all hope. \u00a0By looking at this crucifix I know that my God loves me deeply because he has suffered like I suffer. \u00a0This crucifix makes me look forward to eternal life.\u201d<\/p>\n
When confronted with the mystery of suffering in our own lives, we are called to exalt the cross of Christ by recognizing that our God comes to walk with us in our suffering, and that just as He rose from the tomb transforming the suffering of the cross into the glory of the resurrection, He will do the same in our lives.<\/p>\n
We exalt the cross recognizing that the Paschal mystery, the death and resurrection of Christ, continues to unfold before us in our own lives and the lives of those around us. \u00a0The cross encourages us to continue confidently, trusting that though we walk in the dark valley, the Lord is at our side. \u00a0We must make our own the words of an early Christian hymn: Ave Crux Spes Unica: Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope.<\/p>\n
As we remember the death and resurrection of Christ at this Eucharist, may our exalting of the cross bring us hope and salvation. \u00a0As Christ gives himself to nourish us with his body and blood, may we be filled with hope just like the early Christians at Santa Sabina and the elderly Mexican woman. \u00a0We must never run away from the cross, but answer Jesus\u2019 invitation to exalt it and enter into the mystery of his death and resurrection.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of the oldest churches in Rome, Santa Sabina, has a very important distinction apart from being one of the oldest churches in the city. \u00a0Sculpted on its wooden door, all the way on the top, is the earliest depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus. \u00a0Three men stand with arms outstretched in prayer, with Jesus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":5574,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homily","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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