Today we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The cross proclaims to us Jesus’ humility and sacrifice. The second reading from Philippians brings out the way of exaltation through humility. First the hymn proclaims the humility or self-emptying of Jesus:
Jesus was “in the form of God…emptied himself taking the form of a slave…humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.”
Then the hymn proclaims that because he humbled himself, he was exalted:
“Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend…”
This hymn proclaims Jesus’ exaltation and even his divinity echoing the words of the prophet Isaiah.
“I am God; there is no other! By myself I swear, uttering my just decree, a word that will not return: To me every knee shall bend; by me every tongue shall swear…” (Isaiah 45:22-23).
Jesus’ humility and his sacrificial death ultimately proclaims the great love of God as we hear in today’s justly famous Gospel passage:
“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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17).
The celebration of the Exaltation of the Cross is the celebration of the humility and great love of God. The feast is also a call and a challenge to each one of us to follow Jesus’ way of humility and sacrifice and to reflect the overflowing love of God. Jesus shows this way of humility by washing the feet of his disciples:
“Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” (John 13:12-15).
Image: “BBC Cross” by Ihar is licensed under CC BY 2.0.