The world has been a prison since the day the Lord God “drove out man and set up the cherubim and the flame of the whirling sword at the east of the Garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen 3:24). Since that day, men have been looking for a way out, or rather, they’ve been looking for a way out. They’re looking for low-lying, horizontal salvation. The truth is that only God can lead us to God. Only Jesus Christ, true God and true man, can quench our thirst for truth, light and liberation.
How does the Cross of Jesus challenge us today? In what situations do we need to keep our eyes fixed on the Cross? How can we respond to God’s love today? How can we give meaning to the cross in our lives?
Through his sacrifice on the Cross, according to the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jesus Christ became the guarantor of a better covenant: ” I will put my law in the depths of their hearts; I will write it on their hearts ” (Jer 31:33), the mediator of a new covenant (Heb 9:15; 12:24). A covenant that renews man and recapitulates everything in itself, the covenant that, through the Gospel, “lifts men up and makes them take flight towards the heavenly kingdom” (Irenaeus of Lyons). As guarantor of a better covenant, Jesus is not a mere model, external and passive, but the origin of our fulfillment (Heb 2:10), through his solidarity with us (cf. Heb 2:11; 3:6) and his eternal intercession.
Death is presented as a necessary evil that will bear fruit, according to the analogy of the seed that, having fallen into the earth, succumbs so that the new plant can emerge. The disciples are called to follow in the Master’s footsteps, and so to go to the foot of the Cross. Above all, the event of the crucifixion is introduced as the long-awaited “hour” of the world’s judgment and the overthrow of the evil forces in power; it is a moment of “glory” for Jesus, who will be “lifted up” above all others and attract all eyes. Instead of dishonoring Jesus, the Cross will reveal his glory.
The sign of the Cross reveals who Jesus really is and where he comes from, as it is Jacob’s new ladder between earth and heaven. The ladder that allows Jesus to climb back up to heaven, where he came from, where he was before (Jn 6:62). It is the Cross which, instead of discrediting Jesus as a false messenger of God, reveals that he is still the obedient messenger of the Father: ” Though he was the Son, he learned obedience by his sufferings and was led to its perfection ” (Heb 5:7).
God wants us to be saved; he doesn’t look at our many weaknesses and falls, but rather at our contrition. This repentance is evident in the gesture of raising our eyes to the one we have crucified, who in turn is the one who gives us life through his death. So it’s a question of gazing at Christ on the Cross with faith, not only to enter into the love he has for us, but above all to recharge our batteries for the spiritual battle in the world, as Abbé Paulraj said last Sunday in his editorial.
The Cross is a source of salvation, so let’s not hesitate to draw near and draw the water and blood of life that flow from the pierced side of Jesus.
