Jn 3:13–17; Lk 24:13–27

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

On this Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Church places before us one of the great paradoxes of our faith: The Cross, what the world saw once as an instrument of humiliation, shame and failure has become the Tree of Life, the throne of glory, and the sign of salvation. Today the Church invites us to turn our gaze toward the Cross—not in sorrow alone, but in exaltation, in praise, and in thanksgiving.

Saint Paul captures this paradox in his First Letter to the Corinthians: “The message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor 1:18). For the Jews, Paul says, the Cross was a scandal—they expected a triumphant Messiah. For the Greeks, it was madness—they admired wisdom, not weakness. And yet, Paul insists, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor 1:25).

The Fathers of the Church loved to meditate on this mystery. St. John Chrysostom once said: “What the world calls disgrace, God has made the cause of greatest honor. What seems to be the very seat of weakness, there we see the strength of salvation.” In other words, what looked like the end, God made the beginning.

The Gospel of John helps us understand this mystery: “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” (Jn 3:14–15). The Cross is not simply where Jesus died—it is where He was lifted up, where His love was revealed, where His glory began.

Saint Augustine comments: What does ‘lifted up’ mean? The lifting up on the cross. For the cross was for the Lord the beginning of His exaltation. The humiliation of the cross was the step to glory. When you look at the cross, do not see only what the eyes see, but what faith sees. For the cross was not Christ’s disgrace, but His honor; not His end, but the way to His resurrection. (St. Augustine, Tractate 36 on John)

To “look” upon Him, as Saint John tells us (Jn 19:37), is to believe, to know, to understand that here is the love of God poured out for us. Cross reveals the depth of God’s love for us. “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son… not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (Jn 3:16–17). When we look upon the Crucified One, as the Israelites once looked upon the bronze serpent in the desert, we are healed. For us, to look upon the Cross is to see the full revelation of God’s love.

On the road to Emmaus, the Risen Lord explained to His disciples that the Cross was necessary for glory: “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?” (Lk 24:26). They had seen only tragedy; Christ opened their eyes to see salvation. To them, the Crucifixion looked like the end of all their hopes. But they learned that they could not understand the Resurrection without the Cross. He teaches us the same lesson today: the Cross is not the end, but the beginning of eternal life. The Resurrection cannot be understood apart from the Cross.

And from the Cross, Christ is not silent. The Fathers of the Church like, Augustine, Ambrose, Leo the Great, called the Cross a ‘Cathedra’, – a teacher’s chair. From this chair of wood, Christ taught more powerfully than ever before:

With arms stretched wide, He showed us God’s embrace of love.

With His pierced side, He revealed the open heart of mercy.

With His silence, He taught us patience and obedience.

With His words, He proclaimed forgiveness and hope.

Christ taught not with words alone, but with His very life poured out in love.

My brothers and sisters, the Cross is not only Christ’s story—it is also ours. When life places heavy burdens upon our shoulders, we can remember His words to the disciples on the road to Emmaus: “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?” (Lk 24:26). Our sufferings, too, when offered with faith, can be united with His.

When we are tempted to see the Cross only as pain and loss, the wisdom of the Church Fathers reminds us that it is also power. Saint Paul proclaims with boldness: “May I never boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal 6:14). In the Cross we discover that God transforms weakness into strength and suffering into a source of life.

And when we struggle to find meaning in our hardships, the Cross whispers to us that nothing is wasted in Christ. Every sacrifice borne with love, every hidden pain, every act of patience or forgiveness, when offered to Him, becomes part of His redeeming work.

So, my brothers and sisters, let us not be ashamed of the Cross, but embrace it with faith and with love. To carry the Cross is not to walk in despair but to walk with Christ, who transforms our sufferings into offerings and our weakness into strength.

“Fix your eyes on the passion of Christ, so that your faith may be strengthened, your hope encouraged, and your love enkindled.” St. Augustine.

Fr James Abraham