Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Numbers 21: 4-9 ;

Psalm 77 (78) ; 

Philippians 2 : 6-11 ;

John 3 : 13-17

Today we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This feast has its roots in the beginnings of Christianity. After the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 A.D. the synagogues started excommunicating those who became Christians, and persecutions became widespread. And so, the early Christians hid the cross of Christ by burying it underground. In the course of time all trace of it was lost. It is Saint Helena, the mother of emperor Constantine (274-337 A.D.), who ordered an archaeological excavation of Jerusalem and found back the cross. (In fact, they found three crosses buried together and a miracle determined which one belonged to Christ.)

In the meantime, the emperor became Christian and all persecutions stopped. In honour of these events, the emperor built two Basilicas in Jerusalem, one at Calvary, that is, over the place of the crucifixion of Jesus, and the other at Golgotha, that is, over the place of his burial, called the holy Sepulchre. It was during the festivities of the dedication of these two Basilicas, which was on the 13th of September 335 A.D., that the newly found cross was publicly shown to the people of Jerusalem.

Then in the 7th century, the relics of the cross had to travel a bit across the Middle East. The celebration of the return of those relics in 629, taken away during the conquest of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 (September 14) was called the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Pope John XXIII merged all these three feasts together and made them to be celebrated on the 14th of September.

Today in the second reading, St. Paul tells us, “He did this for us!”. St. Paul tries to tell the Philippians in the second reading today: “You know what he did? He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and he humbled himself, even up to the point of death, and what a death! The death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-11).

This is because “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”, says Jesus to Nicodemus in today’s gospel (John 3:14-15) 

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish supreme court that exercised control over the Jewish society (See Jn 7: 45-52). It was made up of 71 members and was presided over by the High Priest, that is, the one with whom resided the supreme religious authority of Israel, the one who was considered to be the mediator between God and his people. So Nicodemus was part of a very influential group in the nation. According to Saint John, soon after Jesus’ chasing away of the merchants from the Temple, Nicodemus came to meet Jesus by night, and said, “Master, we know you have come from God, because no one can do the things that you do unless God is with him” (Jn 3: 1-21). During Jesus’ trial, Nicodemus tried to defend him says Jn 7: 50. Finally, after his death, Nicodemus helped Joseph of Arimathea to bury his body on the evening of Good Friday (Jn 19: 39). He had brought with him a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds’ weight. According to tradition, Nicodemus is in fact one of the twelve apostles. He is the one we know as the apostle Bartholomew which is in fact his surname.

Jesus continues, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world, not in order to condemn the world, but that, through him, the world might be saved.” (John 3:16-17).

But what a price that had to be paid for the salvation of humanity! That is the exaltation of the Holy Cross. And that is the feast we celebrate today.  Amen.

(See Tiburtius Fernandez, Homilies for Year B, Fourth Sunday of Lent, © St. Paul’s Publications, Bandra, Mumbai, India, 2023, pp.68-73).