Fr Richard reflects on the great paradox at the heart of our faith – the Cross, an instrument of torture and suffering, becomes the means of healing and salvation for all.
Readings for Tuesday of the 5th week of Lent can be found here.
At this time of the year, my mind always goes back to March 2020 – now 6 years ago – and the tumultuous early days of the Covid pandemic. Life changed so dramatically, and we all became familiar with terms such as “lockdown”, “social distancing” and “Zoom call”. One of the great successes of that period was the swift development of a Covid vaccine. I’m sure we all remember queuing up in some hall or centre to get our jab in the arm. The remarkable thing about a vaccine is that it often uses a portion of the virus – the harmful thing – in order to give protection.
It is curious, you might think, that God commands Moses to make a bronze serpent – the very animal that had been poisoning the people – in order to bring them healing. But often we need to come face to face with the thing that is causing us harm in order to overcome it. Jesus could be alluding to the story of Moses and the bronze serpent when he says “When you have lifted up the Son of Man …” Earlier in John’s Gospel he uses similar language when he refers to that story more explicitly: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up”. In both cases, the term “lifted up” has a double meaning. In one sense Jesus will literally be lifted up, nailed to a Cross, like the serpent on a pole, for all to see. But “lifted up” also means “exalted”. Here is the great paradox of our faith: Jesus is glorified through suffering. He brings healing – not just physical healing this time, but cosmic healing – by confronting the very things which cause so much suffering, namely sin, evil and death.
As Holy Week draws ever closer, let us give thanks that in Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross the instrument of torture becomes the instrument of salvation. As his servants in the world, let us all pledge to be instruments of his healing, bringing the saving message of the Cross to all those who so desperately need to receive it.
Mass today is in St Mary’s at 6.30pm.
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