THE (EXALTATION) TRIUMPH OF THE CROSS
In the raising of the classification of this day
from a feast to a solemnity, the Vatican, in its attempt to make Latin the God
of all languages, has further muddled and abused the English language, in turn,
muddling the focus of this solemnity. In renaming this solemnity the “Exaltation
of the Cross”, the Roman Curia has in its misguided ignorance, inadvertently exalted
the cruel and horrific instrument of torture by which ancient Imperial Rome
executed people, rather than emphasizing the salvific and triumphant act of
Jesus’ death on the cross. This reflection will focus on the latter, the “Triumph
of the Cross.”
I have noticed in my reflections, especially those
of the 21st and 22nd Sundays in Ordinary Time, a
recurring thread. In “Who do you say I am,” I reflected that Jesus’ question is
only answered honestly from the depths of pain and darkness, in which the only
way open to a person is to fall helplessly into the loving embrace of God. In “Crosses
and Divine Paradox”, I reflected that it is the crosses of our lives that give
us clarity, that enable us to see beyond the finite to the infinite. It is the
crosses that define and shape our lives more than any other experience.
In this solemnity, we encounter once more the Divine Paradox
when triumph arises from the very depths of defeat. With sheer genius and in one
masterful stroke, Jesus dupes EVIL into thinking it has triumphed, when by his
death EVIL has really been vanquished forever. The death of Jesus’ doomed EVIL
forever, unleashing a flood of grace, love, and compassion into the world that
had not been seen since God had first created the world. The remnants of that
great EVIL, in spite of its many attempts to regroup and assault the world,
will no longer be strong enough to ever reverse the overwhelming triumph of
Jesus’ life-giving act. As St. Cyril of Jerusalem once wrote, “It is a sign for the faithful and a terror for the demons.
On the cross, Jesus triumphed over them; and so, when they see it, they
remember the crucified: they fear Him Who crushed the heads of demons.” LOVE trumps EVIL. LOVE trumps all.
There is a teaching of the Church in which it is said that
the “crosses” we bear in life make up for what is lacking in the cross of
Jesus. I would go so far as to say this is a very misguided and harmful
teaching. Rather, a better way to understand our crosses, is that it is the
cross of Jesus that empowers us, that gives us the strength to
carry the crosses of our lives. It is the cross of Jesus that reveals to us that
the crosses that we bear in life are not instruments of weakness that lead to
defeat, but rather the means by which we will eventually triumph.
EVIL would like to dupe us into thinking that our
crosses are meaningless failures with no sense of purpose. I say, “Pshaw!” to
EVIL. I am not a masochist, but I far prefer to face the crosses of my life, to
embrace the crosses of my life, than to run from them as a pathetic loser. As Jesus
stated so clearly in Matthew’s gospel of two Sundays ago, “For whoever wishes
to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find
it.”
I join my voice with that of St. Cyril of Jerusalem who said, “Let us
not be ashamed of the Cross of Christ, but even if someone else conceals it, do
you carry its mark publicly on your forehead, so that the demons, seeing the
royal sign, trembling, may fly far away. Make this sign when you eat and when
you drink, when you sit down, when you go to bed when you get up, when you
speak, - in a word, on all occasions.” Let us proudly carry our
crosses and unite them with that of Jesus who united his cross to ours, and
with whom we will find eternal life, the fulfillment of triumph.
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