When Faith Prevails

Since we will be off-line from now and all the coming week, we have uploaded the Readings for Sunday, September 14 early.  If you need the Readings for Sunday, September 7th, please scroll down to the bottom of this post, and you'll find them there!

24^th Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A – Exaltation of the Cross

Lectionary: 638

L-24 Hadd tas-sena A – Esaltazzjoni tas-Salib

Reading 1   -  NuMbers 21:4B-9

With their patience worn out by the journey,  the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,  where there is no food or water?  We are disgusted with this wretched food!”  In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,  which bit the people so that many of them died.  Then the people came to Moses and said,  “We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.  Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us.”  So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,   “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,   and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live.”   Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,   and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent   looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. This is the Word of The Lord.

1 Qari   -  NuMri 21:4B-9

Il-poplu ddejjaq jimxi, u beda jgerger kontra Alla u kontra Mosè: ̋Ghala tellajtuna mill-Egittu biex immutu fid-deżert? M'hawnx hobż u lanqas ilma; ahna xbajna b'dan l-ikel  hafif.̏  U l-Mulej baghat sriep velenużi f'nofs il-poplu u bdew jigdmuhom; u mietu hafna mill-poplu ta' Iżrael.  U l-poplu mar ghand Mosè, u qalulu: ̋Dnibna ghax tkellimna kontra l-Mulej u kontra tieghek. Itlob lill-Mulej ha jwarrab is-sriep minn fostna.̏ U Mosè mar jitlob ghall-poplu.  U l-Mulej kellem lil Mosè u qallu: ̋Aghmel serp tal-bronż velenuż, u arbulah bhal stendard; u kull min jingidem u jhares lejh ifiq u jghix.̏  U Mosè ghamel serp tal-bronż, u arbulah bhal stendard. U gara li kull min kien jigdmu s-serp kien ihares lejn is-serp tal-bronż, u kien ifiq u jghix.    Kelma tal-Mulej.

Responsorial Psalm   -  PSalm 78:1BC-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38

Hearken, my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable,
I will utter mysteries from of old.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

While he slew them they sought him
and inquired after God again,
Remembering that God was their rock
and the Most High God, their redeemer.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

But they flattered him with their mouths
and lied to him with their tongues,
Though their hearts were not steadfast toward him,
nor were they faithful to his covenant.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

But he, being merciful, forgave their sin
and destroyed them not;
Often he turned back his anger
and let none of hi s wrath be roused.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

Salm   Responsorjali -  Salm 78:1BC-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38

Poplu tiegħi, agħtu widen għal-liġi tiegħi,

iftħu widnejkom għal kliem fommi.

Niftaħ fommi biex inxandar kliem l-għerf;

nitkellem fuq ħwejjeġ moħbija mill-qedem.

R. Ftakru f’kull m’ghamel maghkom il-Mulej!

Mbagħad kienu jfittxuh meta kien jeqridhom,

kienu jindmu  u jfittxu 'l Alla bil-ħerqa;

kienu jiftakru li Alla l-blata tagħhom,

Alla l-Għoli l-feddej tagħhom.

R. Ftakru f’kull m’ghamel maghkom il-Mulej!

Imma kienu jqarrqu bih bi kliemhom,

kienu jigdbulu bi lsienhom.

Għax qalbhom ma kinitx sewwa miegħu,

ma kinux fidili mal-patt tiegħu.

R. Ftakru f’kull m’ghamel maghkom il-Mulej!

Iżda hu kien iħenn u jaħfrilhom il-ħtija,

ma kienx jasal biex jeqridhom;

ħafna drabi kien iżomm il-korla,

ma kienx jixgħel qilltu kollha.

R. Ftakru f’kull m’ghamel maghkom il-Mulej!

Reading 2    -  PHILippians 2:6-11

Brothers and sisters:  Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,  did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.  Rather, he emptied himself,  taking the form of a slave,  coming in human likeness;  and found human in appearance,  he humbled himself,  becoming obedient to death,  even death on a cross.  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.  This is the Word of The Lord.

2 QARI    -  FILippini 2:6-11

Gesu Kristu, hu li għad li kellu n-natura ta' Alla, ma qagħadx ifittex tiegħu li hu daqs Alla, iżda xejjen lilu nnifsu billi ħa n-natura ta' lsir; sar jixbah lill-bnedmin, u deher minn barra bħala bniedem; ċekken lilu nnifsu, billi obda sal-mewt, anzi sal-mewt tas-salib. Għalhekk Alla għollieh sas-smewwiet u żejjnu bl-Isem li hu fuq kull isem, biex fl-isem ta' Ġesù - fis-sema, fl-art u f'qiegħ l-art -  il-ħlejjaq kollha jinżlu għarrkubbtejhom, u kull ilsien jistqarr: "Ġesù Kristu hu l-Mulej, għall-glorja ta' Alla l-Missier?".  Kelma tal-Mulej.

Gospel  -  JohN 3:13-17

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.   This is the Word of The Lord.

Vangelu  -  GWANNI  3:13-17

Gesu qal lil Nikodemu :  « Ħadd ma tela' s-sema ħlief Bin il-bniedem, li niżel mis-sema. U kif Mosè rafa' s-serp fid-deżert, hekk jeħtieġ li jkun merfugħ Bin il-bniedem, biex kull min jemmen fih ikollu l-ħajja ta' dejjem. » Għax Alla hekk ħabb lid-dinja li ta lil Ibnu l-waħdieni, biex kull min jemmen fih ma jintilifx, iżda jkollu l-ħajja ta' dejjem. Għax Alla ma bagħatx lil Ibnu fid-dinja biex jagħmel ħaqq mid-dinja, imma biex id-dinja ssalva permezz tiegħu.

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When Faith Prevails

Gospel Commentary for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross – by Fr Raniero Cantalamessa ofm conv

The suffering of the cross, its hard necessity in life, its reality as a way of following Christ is not presented to the faithful on Sunday, the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Instead the glory of the cross, the cross as a reason for boasting and not for weeping is given pride of place.

Let us first say something about the origin of this feast. It recalls two events, distant from each other in time. The first is Constantine’s founding in 325 of two basilicas, one at the site of Golgotha and one over Christ’s sepulcher. The other event, in 628, is the Christians victory over the Persians, which led to the recovery of relics of the cross and their triumphal return to Jerusalem. With the passing of time, however, the feast came to take on a new meaning. It became a joyous celebration of the mystery of the cross, which Christ transformed from an instrument of shame and judgment to an instrument of salvation.

The readings reflect the latter significance of the feast. The second reading contains the celebrated hymn from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians in which the cross is seen as the cause of Christ’s “exaltation”: “He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. 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.” The Gospel too speaks of the cross as a moment in which the Son of Man is lifted up “so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”

In history there have been two basic ways of representing the cross and the crucified. For the sake of convenience we will call them the “ancient” and the “modern.” The ancient way, which we can admire in the mosaics of the old basilicas and in the crucifixes of Romanesque art, is the festive way, full of majesty. The cross, often without a corpus, is spangled with gems and set against a starry sky with the following inscription below: “Salus Mundi” -- “Salvation of the World,” as one sees in the celebrated mosaic of Ravenna.

In the wooden crucifixes of Romanesque art, this same type of representation is expressed in the Christ who is enthroned on the cross in royal and sacerdotal vestments, with eyes open, without a shadow of suffering but radiating rather majesty and victory, no longer crowned with thorns but with gems. It is the translation into visible form of the Psalm verse “God has ruled from a tree” -- “regnavit a ligno Deus.” Jesus speaks of his cross in these same terms: it is the moment of his “exaltation”: “When I am exalted I will draw all to myself” (John 12:32).

The modern way of representing the cross and the crucified begins with Gothic art. An extreme example is Matthias Grünewald’s depiction of the crucifixion in the Isenheim altar piece. The hands and feet are contorted around the nails like thorn bushes, the head is in agony beneath the crown of thorns, the body full of wounds. Even the crucifixes of Velasquez and Salvador Dalì and many others belong to this type.

Both of these ways of depicting the cross and the crucified shed light on true aspects of this mystery. The modern way -- dramatic, realistic, excruciating -- represents the cross in its crude reality, in the moment in which Christ dies upon it. It is the cross as symbol of evil, of suffering in the world and of the tremendous reality of death. The cross is represented here “in its causes,” so to speak, that which produces it: hatred, wickedness, injustice, sin.

The ancient way sheds life not on the cross’ causes but on its effects; not that which creates the cross, but that which the cross itself creates: reconciliation, peace, glory, security, eternal life. This is the cross that Paul defines as the “glory” or “boast” of believers. The Sept. 14 feast is called the “exaltation” of the cross, because it celebrates precisely this “exalted” aspect of the cross.

To the modern approach, the ancient should be united: rediscover the glorious cross. If when we were suffering it was helpful to think of Jesus on the cross in pain so that we could feel closer to him, it is now necessary to think of the cross in a different way. I will explain what I mean by an example. Suppose we have recently lost a loved one, perhaps after months of terrible suffering. It is good not to continue to think of her as she was then, torturing ourselves perhaps in our heart and mind, feeding a useless sense of guilt. All of that is over, it does not exist, it is unreal. If we continued in this way, we would only prolong the suffering and keep it alive artificially.

There are mothers (I don’t say this to judge but to help them) who, having accompanied a child for years in his or her Calvary, after the Lord has called the child to himself, refuse to live differently. In their house everything must be kept as it was when the child died; everything must speak of the child; there are constant visits to the cemetery. If there are other children in the family, they must adapt themselves to this muffled climate of death, and suffer grave psychological damage. Every display of joy in the house seems to be disrespectful. These are the people who are most in need of discovering the meaning of Sunday’s feast: the exaltation of the cross. It is no longer you who carry the cross the cross that carries you; the cross does not crush but exalts you.

We must now think of the loved one as he or she is now that “everything is finished.” This is what those ancient artists did with Jesus. They contemplated as he is now: risen, glorious, happy, serene, seated on the throne itself of God, with the Father who has “wiped away every tear from his eyes” and has given him “all power in heaven and on earth.” He is no longer in agony and spasms of death. I do not say that we can always command our heart and stop it from hurting over what has happened, but it is necessary to let faith finally prevail. If you do not do this, what use is faith?
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]