Two Beams of Wood

     Today, the Catholic Church celebrates The Exaltation of the Holy Cross of Jesus. Yet, perhaps, it might be more accurate if we were to say that the Church is celebrating the Great Paradox of Christian Faith. The world does not like paradoxes, and the Cross has and will continue to upset society, so long as society seeks to stay separate from its call of sacrifice and suffering.

     The Cross is the ultimate manifestation of a multitude of paradoxes in the message and meaning of Jesus. He was fully God, yet came to Earth in the form of a poor carpenter, born in a stable. He came to save humanity for all eternity from sin, yet His ministry lasted only a little more than 3 years. That ministry consisted of the profound proclamation that He is the way, and the truth, and the life (Jn 14:6), yet He revealed that proclamation using simple parables.

     Even His parables contained paradoxes. He likened Himself to the smallest grain of wheat, which must die alone. Yet once it does, it becomes the seed that lives forever in the fruit it bears (Jn 12:24). At one moment He called peacemakers blessed (Mt 5:9), while at another He declared, do not think that I have come to bring peace on Earth; I have come not to bring peace, but a sword. (Mt 10:34). It is in this duality that the true message of the Cross can be found. Jesus came to offer salvation to the peacemakers and to cut down the proud. His was a heroic mission, but it was a mission dedicated to those whom the Earth considers the poor and lowly. He came because he loves us but hates our sin, so much so that He was willing to take on our sin, and suffer the utter humiliation of the Cross.

     While the cross is an instrument of humiliation and torture, the Cross of Christ is pure redemptive love. God's work of salvation takes nothing less than to turn human expectations on their head. Humanity expects an exalted King; instead it gets a humble, suffering servant. The world wants someone who heals on demand; instead it receives a man who it demands be wounded. The world wants someone to preach unrestrained life; but has in Jesus the message that one has to die to oneself, die to one's desires.

     Often, we are like those disciples of Jesus who said, this is a hard saying, who can listen to it? (Jn 6:60). Yet, as Saint Paul wrote, God made foolish the wisdom of the world. (1 Cor 1:20). For God, through the sacrifice of His Son, destroyed death and opened to gates to eternal life that humanity, through the pride of original sin, had once closed on itself. The Cross transforms our wisdom: humility is exalted, wounds have healing power, and death is merely a birth into eternal life!

     This IS the message of the Cross, and, quite literally, the crux of our existence. For beyond all the important theology and philosophy involved in following Christ, we must always remember that those questions will not appear on the final exam at the end of time. Rather, we will be brought before God and asked questions that I imagine will be similar to those Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen once posed: Show me your hands. Do they have scars from giving? Show me your feet. Are they wounded in service? Show me your heart. Have you left a place for divine love? In other words, did we give of ourselves like Jesus gave of Himself? Did we treat the least of our brothers and sisters how we would like to be treat by God? And in living our lives, did we open our heart to Jesus, who was willing to have His heart pierced for our eternal benefit? If the Lord is not satisfied with your current responses to those questions, then I'd encourage you to spend a few moments reflecting on the Cross; the two beams of wood: one extending horizontally to embrace us despite all the sins we bring and the other extending vertically to bring us back to our eternal home.