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.
The Word in other words
During a retreat I attended in Chile many years ago, our preacher was an old Jesuit priest who was well-known moral theologian. At one point Fr. Aldunate looked at us and said with conviction: "It was not the death of Jesus on the cross that saved us." He paused, perhaps thinking that we were surprised at his words. Indeed, we were surprised and were trying to figure out what he meant. Then he continued: "It was the LOVE with which Jesus embraced his death on the cross that saved us."
The Feast of the Triumph of Cross which we celebrate today is about the triumph of Love. Jesus gave a supreme witness to love during his most bitter suffering. When we are afflicted with great pain caused by those who despise us, our great temptation is to choose the path of anger and hatred. Pain seduces us to employ violence and seek revenge in order to eradicate that which torments us. In other words, it is very hard to be loving and forgiving when we are immersed in the bitter sorrows of life. Love seems to be an absurd road to tread when we fall victim to this world's injustice. It seems impossible to love our enemies, to pray for our persecutors, and to forgive them sincerely from the heart, But that is what Jesus consistently showed us throughout his life, most especially when he was hanging on the cross. What seems humanly impossible and unbelievable became a shining reality on the cross. Jesus offered his life out of love for his friends and enemies. He rejected the strong and persistent enticements of power, anger and hatred. Not without struggles and difficulties, he chose the path of love and forgiveness until death. His death was not in vain because his love was far stronger than death. His love bore the faith of indestructible life: the resurrection. His love has saved us, because Jesus, despite the pains we had given him, did not condemn nor give up on us, but rather continued to invite us to accept his untiring love. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta once said: "If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
The real triumph and definitive victory in our life is when we are able to put love in everything that we do, no matter how small or insignificant it may appear. In his beautiful reflection on love, St. Paul affirms that we may give up our body to be sacrificed or burned, but if we do it without love, then it is worth nothing. Without love, we are nothing. Do you want to share the victory of Christ? Then you have be willing to love as Jesus has loved us. You have to embrace your cross until then end. This is very difficult, but not impossible.
- Fr. Edwin Fernandez, SVD (DWC, Vigan)
