Two Simple Pieces of Wood

~~~ Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross ~~~

~~ Numbers 21:4B-9 ~~ Psalm 78 ~~ 

~~~ Philippians 2:6-11 ~~~ John 3:13-17 ~~~ 

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,

because by your Cross you have redeemed the world.

Although we pray this verse during Lent 

we have it today as the Gospel acclamation.

Jesus carried the cross...not his cross,

but our cross.

Every fiber of his cross represents 

just a small percentage

 of the souls being saved that day.

One man became humiliated, scourged, spat upon,

crowned, mocked, and nailed to the wood of the cross for you.

His blood dripped, stained, and saturated two pieces of wood...

we honor today as 'the cross'.

It was not a crown of glory he wore upon his head 

as he hung upon the cross.

Yet he was surrounded by the 

heavenly glory of God the Father.

Today we remember two simple pieces of wood

not for the sake of the wood,

but for whose body and blood pressed against them.

The cross stood high for all to see

the death of one who came to teach love and compassion. 

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.

Jesus took on all of our human frailties...

joy, laughter, pain, and suffering;

but most of all he made being human

 the greatest creation of love.

He proved with his death on the cross for us

that there is no greater love than to lay down 

one's life for a friend.

Jesus gave his life on the cross for those he did not know.

His hands and feet were nailed to the cross

for those of the whole world for all of eternity...

until the end of times.

The name of Jesus is above all other names...

he taught us how to love...

he taught us how to forgive...

he taught us how to sacrifice all that we have...

Jesus Christ is the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Christ personified the being of God the Father

so that we could witness his great love...

the greatest love of all.

Blessed by the wood of the cross;

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,

because by your Cross you have redeemed the world.

Be Forever Grateful

~~~Peace~~~

Two Pieces of Wood

~~~ Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross ~~~

~~~ Numbers 21:4B-9 ~~~ Psalm 78 ~~~ Philippians 2:6-11 ~~~ 

~~~ John 3:13-17 ~~~

Today we remember and honor in a special way
 the cross upon which Jesus died for us.
If do an historical search on the true cross
 you will find that is had quite a journey.
It was buried, excavated several years later,
captured after a battle, and finally returned to Jerusalem.

The person who carried it to its original location was dressed
in his finest garments lavishly decorated in jewels.
He was accompanied with a great procession.
When he arrived at the gate of Jerusalem which led to Calvary
he became unable to take another step.
It was not until he removed his fine robes
 and put on a simple cloak that he was able to walk again.

The cross was bare, there was nothing regal about the two pieces of wood.
What made them special was whose body was nailed upon the wood.

Normally we would consider the cross to be a burden,
but for Emperor it was his regal clothing...
the evidence of his materialism...his connection to the world.

What is the message here for us?
It it the cross we carry that burdens us or is it our worldliness?
What is it that you consider your cross to bear?

Have you ever wondered what happened to the cross
 the day they removed the body of Jesus?
His body was laid to rest in an empty donated tomb.
The last thing the apostles of Mary was
thinking about was the cross.
Perhaps they could not even bear
 to look upon it for one more minute.
It represented what they believed
was the end of their best friend and beloved son.

Tradition says the cross was thrown into
 a ditch or well and covered with dirt.
The cross was recovered, this inanimate object
 became the very symbol we identify ourselves with as Christians.
The cross is a reminder to us that Jesus gave up everything.
The cross is a reminder that Jesus completely
 surrendered to the will of the Father.
Jesus never considered himself to be equal to God.
He came down to Earth to do the will of the Father;
the cross gives us something tangible and visible as proof.

The Cross is the ultimate symbol of God's unconditional love for us.
Jesus died upon the cross because his desire for us to be with him
 in heaven someday was to great to ignore.
There is nothing more sacred than the cross
upon which the blood of Jesus was shed for you and for me.

Let us often look to the cross with love, compassion, and humility.
The cross...two pieces of wood made sacred and holy by the blood of Jesus.
For without the cross we could never have been
Blessed by such a heart as that of Jesus.
~~~ Peace ~~~

We Exalt the Cross

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

~~~ Numbers 21: 4b-9 ~~~ Psalm 78 ~~~ Phil 2: 6-11 ~~~ John 3: 13-17 ~~~

 

Here we are in Ordinary Time with a very special feast...

that of the Exultation of the Cross.

Why would the church want to exalt the cross one might ask?

Per the dictionary exalt means to glorify, praise, honor.

 

Without the cross upon which Jesus was crucified

we would not have salvation.

Jesus humbled himself to not only become human,

but he allowed himself to be put to death on the cross.

Death by crucifixion was reserved for hardened criminals.

It was common place in the time of Jesus.

 

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.

 

Jesus was raised upon the cross for all to look upon.

Just as Moses raised his staff adorned with the serpent.

The serpent upon the staff healed those bitten and poisoned.

 

Jesus hanging on the cross is the picture of our salvation.

The act of hanging on the cross in itself did not save us;

it was the person who hung on the cross.

 

Jesus conformed to the will of the Father and that included being nailed to the cross.

The cross is the symbol of salvation because Jesus died on a cross.

 

Exalting the cross moves it from a device reserved for criminals and sinners to one of mercy, love, hope, and salvation. If Saint Helena did indeed find the true cross; it is not surprising that it would have had some miraculous powers.

 

The flesh and blood of the body of Christ were pressed into the wood of the cross.

The nails pierced his flesh forcing bits of his skin into the wood.

The blood streamed forth from his wounds soaking into the boards near his head,

each hand, and his feet.

 

 

The whole cross pressed with the sacred body of Jesus.

Today's gospel contains the most often quoted verse from scripture...

that God so loved the world.

 

Today we exalt the cross itself...

we raise it with joy as remember how Jesus loved us even by death...

death upon the Cross.

 

Every time your eyes are raised to look at the cross remember he died for you.

It was personal.