Twenty-Four Sunday, Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

 Twenty-Four Sunday 

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross September 14, 2025

Numbers 21, 4-9 or Phil 2, 2-11, John 3, 13-17        

(Image courtesy: Google)

There is a story told that soon after she took over the house beside a Hindu temple in Calcutta, where she cared for the destitute and dying, some people complained, accusing her of proselytism. They wanted her evicted and appealed to the police.  When a senior police inspector went to the house to see the situation, he was both overwhelmed and appalled. The Officer was overwhelmed by the loving care that was being given to the most wretched of people and appalled by the terrible stench of disease and death. He went back to the critics and said he would evict Mother Teresa if they would be willing to take over the work. No more criticisms were heard. They were not prepared to empty themselves as she was.

Today we honour the Holy Cross on which Christ died out of love for us, and by his death on the Cross, he brought Salvation to the world. The Cross of Christ is the instrument of love through which God saved us and emptied Himself for us. 

The readings today remind us that God transforms what seems like defeat into triumph, what seems like punishment into healing, and what seems like death into life. Let us enter into these readings and allow the Spirit to renew our appreciation of the Cross of Christ.

The first reading takes us to the desert, where the Israelites, impatient and discouraged, rebel against God and Moses. Their complaints bring upon them fiery serpents whose deadly bites cause despair. Yet in their distress, when they repent, God does not simply remove the serpents. Instead, He provides a remedy: Moses is asked to mount a bronze serpent on a pole, and whoever looks at it in faith is healed.

This story foreshadows the Cross of Christ. Just as the Israelites were healed by looking at the bronze serpent lifted up, so we are healed by looking upon Christ lifted up on the Cross. The poison of sin is more destructive than the poison of serpents. Only the Cross, with its paradox of pain and glory, offers the cure.

The second reading is the famous Christological hymn from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. Paul presents Jesus as the one who, though equal with God, emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant. He humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. But because of this humility and obedience, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name above every name.

Here lies the Christian paradox: exaltation comes through humility, glory comes through the cross. The cross teaches us that the path to greatness is not self-assertion but self-emptying. St. Francis de Sales once wrote, “The cross is the royal door to heaven, and he who does not love it will not find the way.”

In the Gospel, Jesus explains to Nicodemus the mystery of salvation. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.” This lifting up refers not only to His crucifixion but also to His resurrection and ascension.

Then comes perhaps the most well-known verse in the Bible: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). The Cross is not merely about human cruelty or Roman execution; it is about divine love. The Cross is the proof that God did not abandon us in our sins but entered into our brokenness to redeem us.

St. Augustine said, “The death of Christ was the ransom for the world: the cross of Christ is the pulpit from which He teaches us the love of God.”

What does this feast tell us today? 

a. Let us look to the Cross for Healing

Just as the Israelites looked upon the bronze serpent, we are invited to look at the cross not with fear but with faith. In our own lives, we are bitten by the “serpents” of anger, resentment, selfishness, addictions, and sin. The antidote is not found in ourselves but in the crucified Christ. Every time we make the sign of the cross, we declare Here is my healing, my salvation, my strength.

b. Let us Embrace Humility and Service

The hymn of Philippians reminds us that the way of Christ is the way of humility. Today’s culture often glorifies power, success, and prestige. But the cross teaches us that true greatness lies in humility and service. Parents who sacrifice for their children, teachers who dedicate themselves to students, priests and religious who serve communities all live the spirituality of the cross. Just as St Mother Theresa emptied herself in the service of the poor, we too are invited to imitate the Cross in our lives. 

c. Let us Live in the Power of Love

The cross is the greatest sign of God’s love. If God so loved the world, then our response must be to love in return. Carrying the cross daily means forgiving those who hurt us, reaching out to the poor, standing with the suffering, and being agents of reconciliation.

d. Let us Transform Suffering into Hope

The cross also teaches us to see suffering not as meaningless but as redemptive when united with Christ. Our personal crosses, illness, loneliness, failures, misunderstandings, can become sources of grace if offered to God. St. Teresa of Ávila said, “In the cross is salvation; in the cross is life; in the cross is protection against our enemies; in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness.”

The Cross is not an ornament or a decoration. It is the very heart of our faith. As we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we are reminded that through the cross comes victory, through suffering comes healing, and through death comes eternal life. 

Happy Feast