HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF THE EXALTATION OF THE CROSS.
THEME: God sent his Son so that through him the world might be saved.
BY: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA.
*READINGS OF THE DAY*
Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 77:1-2,34-38
John 3:13-17
*LITURGICAL COLOUR*
RED
*INTRODUCTION*
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Today’s feast is not like Good Friday. Our focus is not so much on the sufferings of Jesus. Rather, we celebrate what the gospel reading refers to as the lifting up of the Son of Man. The term ‘lifting up’ suggests not just his being lifted up on the cross but also his being lifted up in glory.
*ABOUT OUR GOSPEL PASSAGE OF TODAY*
We have heard in our Gospel passage today, that very famous words of the Lord, ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him may not be lost, but may have eternal life.’, through which we are reminded that God has always loved us and treated us all with great care and compassion despite our rebelliousness and stubbornness in disobeying Him. Through His Passion and then Crucifixion of the Holy and Triumphant Cross, the Lord then reaffirmed His ultimate and enduring love, fulfilling His own words, that ‘there is no greater love than this, for someone to lay down his life for a friend’ and ‘The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep’.
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*WHY CELEBRATE THE CROSS, AS A SYMBOL OF REDEMPTION?*
The Cross of Christ is the symbol of our Hope and the Light that has pierced through the darkness surrounding us, giving us the strength and inspiration to break free from the tyranny and domination by the devil and from the depredations of sin. It is through the Cross that each and every one of us have been shown the path to glory and true joy in God, the assurance of eternal life and liberation from the chains that have shackled us due to our disobedience and sin against God. The Cross is the reminder of everything that God has done out of love for each and every one of us.
*CONCLUSION*
May all of us, God’s beloved people, continue to put our faith and trust in Him, as we look upon His Cross, the Cross that has conquered and triumphed, the symbol of humiliation and defeat that had been transformed by Christ’s death and ultimately His glorious Resurrection, into the most triumphant Cross by which sin and death had been crushed, and by which the devil and all of his wicked forces had been defeated and overcome. Let the Cross of Christ, the ever Triumphant and Victorious Cross illuminate our path, and help us to remain firm and faithful in our commitment to God, to be ever worthy of Him, at all times, and let us follow the Lord wholeheartedly always in our every moments in life.
May God bless us all and may He guide us through this journey and faith in life.
*Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA*
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