Exaltation of the Cross

Posted on by Dave

NUMBERS 21: 4-9
PSALM 77: 1-2, 34-38 R. v. 7
PHILIPPIANS 2: 6-11
JOHN 3: 13-17

The feast of the exaltation of the cross goes back a long way. In 326 the Emperor Constantine’ mother, Helena, at the grand age of 80, set sail for Jerusalem to find the cross of Jesus and his tomb. She found the site of the Holy Sepulchre and established a church on the site, which is venerated to this day.

The true cross was more elusive. It was claimed that the Jewish leaders had hidden the cross in a well in Jerusalem. One of the Jewish leaders told the Empress Helena in which well to look for it. The story goes that they dug for days and found three crosses. They weren’t sure which one was the true cross, so the bishop of Jerusalem, St Macarius, sent the crosses off to the bed-side of a dying woman. She touched the first two crosses to no effect, but on touching the third cross she immediately recovered. St Helena had found her true cross.

The cross remained in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem until the early 7th century. The entire city was then looted by the Persian King, Chosroes II. He took the cross to Persia. In 628, Emperor Heraclius II overthrew the Persian king and brought the cross first to Constantinople, his capital and then in 629 to Jerusalem. Today’s feast commemorate the triumphant return of the holy cross to Jerusalem.

Today, the Church invites us to enter into a deeper meaning of what the holy cross stands for.

The reality of life is that suffering will come to all of us in some way or other. And suffering and death is the consequence of sin. But sin does not have the last word. Today’s feast celebrates Jesus victory over sin. This is what make the holy cross a rich symbol of God’s triumph.

Because Jesus suffered and died on the cross, he is there with us in our suffering. Suffering can sometimes lead us to sin itself. But through Jesus is found the power of God’s love to overcome sinfulness and always be life giving. For the cross is not a sign of death but through Jesus has become a sign of life and love.
The holy cross ultimately points to our destiny to be united with Christ in heaven where there will be no more evil or sin or death.