Exaltation of the Cross - Diocese of Covington

Father Michael Elmlinger

Guest

This Sunday is a rather unique Sunday, because instead of celebrating the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we celebrate a Feast that happens to fall on Sunday — the Exaltation of the Cross, also known as the Triumph of the Holy Cross.

Now, crucifixion in the ancient world, especially the Roman Empire, was considered to be the most brutal form of torture, reserved for the worst criminals. Not only that, it was a very public execution, a sign to all in the empire of what happens when you rebel against Caesar. “Stay in line, or you will suffer this same torture.” Not only is it probably the most painful way to be executed, but it was also a total humiliation. The empire would use crucifixion to make an example of you.

When we consider this, why is it that we hold the Cross in such high regard as Catholics? What is it about the Cross that drove St. Helena to search for it? Why is it that this ancient torture device is considered to be so central to Christianity? The reason is because by his Crucifixion and Resurrection, our Lord, Jesus Christ, has turned what was originally our greatest defeat into the greatest victory ever known in history.

Our Gospel for this Sunday is the famous John 3:16, “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.” John delivers this line in the context of Jesus’ discourse to Nicodemus in the night, where he tells Nicodemus, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” (3:14)

Indeed, the very mission of Jesus Christ was that he would come into the world to give the gift of eternal life to those who would believe in him and follow him. However, the means by which he would accomplish this wondrous act would be through a means that Nicodemus and all of Jesus’ disciples would not expect — the Cross, the very means of execution reserved for the worst of the worst. In fact, St. Thomas Aquinas teaches in his Summa Theologiae, “His body was endowed with a most perfect constitution” (Third Part, Question 6), meaning the pain that he endured would likely have been magnified compared to how we may experience it. But what drives Jesus on towards Calvary? The very love that God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit, has for humanity. He loves humanity so much that he is willing to send his son to endure this awful torture as a means of reconciling the world to himself.

The truth is God could have chosen another means to reconcile the human race; it would have been completely within his power. But this is the way that he chose — the Way of the Cross. He chose to empty himself, “taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness… becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:7-8)

He chose to endure the most brutal means of execution ever known, and what drove him? His love for each and every single one of us. Indeed, by going through this crucifixion, Jesus takes what would have been our greatest defeat — our Savior being brutally murdered — into the greatest victory, victory over sin and death. It is by his Crucifixion that he becomes a sin offering for each and every one of us, where he bears our sins and offers them to the Father so that we may be forgiven entirely.

This is a love that we cannot earn. This is a love that he freely gives to us, a love that drove him to Calvary, a love that cries out to us, “I thirst.” (Jn 19:28) Indeed, he truly thirsts for each and every one of us to accept his love and to use him as a bridge to the Father.

This love is truly the triumph of the Cross. “We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You, because by your Cross, You have redeemed the world!”

Father Michael Elmlinger is a priest of the Diocese of Covington, Ky. Father Elmlinger is currently studying Canon Law at the University of St. Paul, Ottawa, Canada.