Reading 1
Nm 21:4b-9
With their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
"Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!"
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
"We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us."
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live."
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38
R. (see 7b) Do not forget the works of the Lord!
Hearken, my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable,
I will utter mysteries from of old.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
While he slew them they sought him
and inquired after God again,
Remembering that God was their rock
and the Most High God, their redeemer.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
But they flattered him with their mouths
and lied to him with their tongues,
Though their hearts were not steadfast toward him,
nor were they faithful to his covenant.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
But he, being merciful, forgave their sin
and destroyed them not;
Often he turned back his anger
and let none of his wrath be roused.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
Reading 2
Phil 2:6-11
Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Gospel
Jn 3:13-17
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
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.
Meditation: Philippians 2:6-11
The Triumph of the Cross
He humbled himself becoming obedient to death. (Philippians 2:8)
Today, God invites us to meditate on the beauty of the cross. It may seem inappropriate to consider this instrument of torture and death as something attractive, but this is often the way God works. He loves creating holy reversals that turn our thinking upside down.
So where is the beauty of the cross? It’s in the humility that it signifies. There it stands on Golgotha, two simple, plain beams of wood. There is nothing glorious or majestic about it. No jewels, no gold, no mystical heavenly glow. And yet it was this crude weapon that Jesus chose as his throne.
The One who once sat on a throne of pure gold in heaven opted to be fastened by cold, iron spikes to a splintering branch stained with blood and smeared with sweat. The eternal Son, whom angels surrounded with songs of praise and adoration, chose instead to hear people cry: “Crucify him!” and “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:6,15). The eternal Word of God, who spoke worlds into existence, uttered no grand decrees from that throne. The few words that he did dare to speak—words of comfort and mercy—only drained him of his life even more quickly.
Brothers and sisters, this is the triumph of the cross! At every turn, Jesus drained sin of its power—not through violent combat but through humble surrender. Where sin would have expected him to curse his tormentors, he blessed them. Where sin would have pushed him to come down from the cross and prove his divinity, he remained there, as helpless as any other man. Because he did not give in to pride, anger, or vengeance, Jesus starved sin of its energy. There was nothing left to feed it. In the end, all that remained was Jesus, still fixed to the cross, noble and triumphant in silence.
Today, set aside some time to kneel before a crucifix. Gaze on Jesus’ wounds and see there the victory of humility. Behold the man who gave you eternal life by giving up his own life. Rejoice in his victory—for it is yours as well!
“Thank you, Jesus, for leaving your throne in heaven and taking up the earthly throne of your cross! Thank you for destroying death once and for all!”
No comments:
Post a Comment