The cross is a very powerful symbol. There are so many types and depictions of the cross we celebrate today. We have some that are in the form of a ring. Many in the form of chains, some that cost a great deal of money. I have even had people wear crosses who tell me they do not believe in Jesus. We have chocolate crosses at Easter and hot cross buns and the list goes on and on.  Possibly because of this excess of cross symbols, we become desensitized to what the cross really means.

Then there is the debate. Should the Corpus of Christ be on it or not?

The real question this feast should have us wondering is what does this cross mean to me, not how popular it is or in what form you wear it or display it.

It is most fitting that we hear today from the Gospel of St. John. He is the only disciple that was known to be at the foot of the cross. In this image he is looking up at it and it certainly was a primary motivation to him for the rest of his life. Symbolically it is a powerful way to look at the cross since it has Heaven as its backdrop

What about you and me? Are we looking up at the cross and if so what does it mean to us.

If we look at the cross only on that day Christ was crucified it becomes nothing more than a symbol of violence and hate. If this were the case, the cross would be no different that other violent signs of our world, but we know this is not the case. St. Paul puts an exclamation point on this difference in his letter to the Philippians. He humbled Himself and God exalted Him.

We must look deeply at all of chapter three of John’s Gospel to understand what is going on. Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night time. He is a Pharisee who is more than likely afraid that he will lose his status if he is found out to be talking with Jesus. Jesus knows this and tells him that by His cross He will save the world. I am sure that for us, it is a difficult concept to grasp.

To be more effective, we follow return to St. John’s image of looking up at this marvelous cross more often in our lives. By doing so we are humbling ourselves which is certainly necessary.

The cross by itself is not holy at all. It is merely a symbol of violence and death. Only God can make it holy and He does. The cross can be exalted in our life because God makes it a life giving symbol. The cross of Christ turns failure into success, it turns sickness into being well, and it turns disappointment into hope.

At one time, Jesus’ cross was vibrant and full of life attached to a tree.  It became dark and lifeless only when He died upon it; but, by rising it contained even more vibrancy than before extending to every one of us.