Exaltation of the Cross Homily

Words and phrases will often spawn powerful images in our minds. And different people in the room will have differing thoughts about the word or phrase. For example, when I say “The Golden arches” some instantly think of hamburgers or perhaps other imagery.

Saying “Golden Gate Bridge” leads people to think of the San Francisco bay area, or maybe, for construction guys like myself, a great feat of engineering and construction. Perhaps memories of a pleasant visit to the area or of having lived there in years past.

The term “golden handcuffs” sometimes refers to a situation where a company employee feels appreciated by the company, is well compensated and is “handcuffed” by a great desire to stay with the firm. This is a case where the emphasis is on the “golden”.

I’ve heard the term “golden handcuffs’ where the emphasis was on the “handcuffs” and while the pay or benefits were pretty good, the “handcuffs” was the emphasis with the burden of having to endure a less than delightful work environment. The individual may have even referred to this burden as a “cross to bear.”

Today is the Exaltation of the Cross, a special holy day on the Church’s calendar.

And by remembering today’s feast, we try to convey some appreciation for the little sliver of history.

For the believers of the early Church, there developed a sense of desire to retain a remnant of Church history. This is the story of the True Cross of Christ. The faithful Christians of the early Church longed to retain that sense of time and place that links heaven and earth. And while not much is actually recorded about the history of the cross of Christ, I want to share just a few bullet points:

• Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine discovered the Cross of Christ during the early 4th century.

• Cyril of Jerusalem wrote that the fragments of the cross had been distributed among the faithful as sacred memorial relics and “has been distributed fragment by fragment , nearly filling the whole world.” These relics serve as a contact between heaven and earth.

• They claim to have a fragment of the true cross of Christ up in Jasper at Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church and I had the opportunity to see that most precious of relics. For just a moment I was taken back to the crucifixion of Our Lord and wondered if that little sliver had physical contact with the precious blood of Christ…In a substantial way, the same precious blood that will be offered to us at the communion of this Mass.

• Today’s feast commemorates the finding of the true cross by the Emperor Heraclius following his victory over the Persians in the 7th century and the commemoration of churches built on the sites of the Holy Sepulchre and of Calvary.

Crosses and crucifixes (crosses with the corpus of Christ on it) are very common in our Christian lives. We begin and end the Mass with the sign of the cross, we make the sign of the cross whenever we dip our finger into holy water. We make the sign of the cross when the crucifix passes by in procession; we have the very large crucifix right here in the Church, and we have them in our homes, our offices, around our necks as pendants. We’re familiar with the words of St. Paul who says, “We preach Christ crucified.” And it’s a beautiful thing to remind ourselves of the importance of the cross half a year removed from Good Friday.

We talk and sing about taking up our crosses. And there is often the unspoken debate or confusion as to whether the cross is a painful reminder of Christ’s painful death on the one hand or a positive reminder (Jesus triumph over evil.) on the other. It’s actually “both the sign of God’s suffering and the trophy of his victory“according to St. Andrew of Crete. It looks like a plus sign to me.

Nevertheless, I’m often reminded to consider a hardship or difficulty in my life as a cross I should bare. I’m sure that your mother or your grandmother told you that too. And why is that? One reason is so that I can unite any suffering I may have to that of Christ on the Cross. For Jesus said to follow him. He also said we will be repaid according to our conduct. So if we do what Jesus did, we’re getting close. And what better way to get close to Christ then through the things we do and the things we have to deal with and the things we must endure rather than enjoy (like a deacon’s homily). You see, by putting up with me, if this is the cross you must bare, I may be an instrument to you getting to heaven!

There’s a story about a man who’s complaining about his cross. And he’s complaining and he’s jumping up and down and he’s calling out to God, ”I can’t take this cross, Lord. You’ve given me too much.”

And God appears to him and God is a gracious God and He says, “You don’t like your cross?”

“I do not!”

He says, “Well, come into the halls of crosses. I’ll let you pick your own. Whatever one you want.”

And he says, “Really God?”

“Really!”

And he walks into the hall of crosses and then there’s a million crosses. There’s big crosses, there’s beautifully diamond-studded crosses, there’s gold crosses, there’s silver crosses, there’s every kind of cross imaginable. And he’s looking up and down at all of the crosses and he’s seeing them all and he looks at Jesus and he says, “I can pick any one I want?”

“Any one you want.”

And in the corner of the hall of crosses was a cross no bigger than a little splinter. It was (holding fingers up) that big. And he looked at Jesus and says, “I can pick any one I want??”

“Any one you want.”

“Then I choose that one!”

And Jesus says, “That wee wee wee wee wee little one in the corner?”

“Yes, Jesus. That’s the one I want!”

He says, “That’s the one you’ve had all this time.”

While that little story may seem dismissive, there are many people who retain burdens that seem to be too much to bear. I had a friend one time tell me that Job…remember Job of the Old Testament, who lost everything including family and still gave glory to God…my friend was in such despair that he said that Job was a wimp…And in spite of my attempts at intervention, in spite of the attempts of the priest who became his spiritual director, in spite of the medical professionals who made heroic attempts to provide the help my friend needed, he died of a broken heart at the age of 51.

My friends, this is not what God wants for you. He wants you and me to prepare to receive our own cross willingly, and even joyfully.

A good and holy priest said one time, perhaps even quoting someone else, “Suffering is inevitable, misery is optional.” Suffering is inevitable, misery is optional.”

And I know this can be true. I have the privilege of visiting many parishioners who become ill or otherwise infirmed. Some I get to visit with just prior to their going to be with the Lord. If I know them and know the circumstances and know that they are about to die and they are spiritually well prepared I might say something like, “Jim, your whole life has been a preparation for this moment.” You are now on the cross and we are here are at the foot of the cross.” And I’ll get a knowing reply, usually accompanied by a pleasant smile. You see, our lives really are a preparation for the crosses we bear right up until our natural death. And it’s people on their death-beds who often minister most effectively to the rest of us.

Pope St. John Paul the Great, in his Gospel of Life Encyclical said, “On the Cross, the miracle of the serpent lifted up by Moses in the desert is renewed and brought to full and definitive perfection. Today too, by looking upon the one who was pierced, every person whose life is threatened encounters the sure hope of finding freedom and redemption.”

So let us receive the crosses God has picked out for us.

He’s picked them from all of eternity for us. And the first thing we’ve got to do is accept it. We need to recognize our cross and accept it. The man in the earlier story did not recognize his cross.

During a priestly ordination, right after the man is ordained he kneels before the bishop. And part of what the bishop says to him is this, “Model your life on the mystery of the Lord’s cross.” And that, my friends in Christ is our assignment today. To meditate on and to model our entire lives on the mystery of the Lord’s cross.

If your cross is not particularly burdensome, then praise God and ask Him to use you as an instrument, like Simon the Cyrene who lighten the burden of Christ, and help carry the cross of another for a while.

If your Cross is particularly burdensome, let us help you. Come and see me. Come and see Father. Let us pray with you, let us discuss with you that which is troubling. Let us help you to find the resources to help you with your very own cross. For Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Let’s get to work.

God bless you.

Deacon Tom Gotschall

The Deacon Dad