March 18, 2009
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Breaking Open the Word By James Cavanagh March 22: Fourth Sunday of Lent Scripture readings: Overview: The cross stands at the apex of human history, illuminating everything that went before and everything that followed. The promise of a restored Jerusalem is the subject of this week’s first reading. Cyrus, the king of Persia, was appointed by God to rebuild the Temple, which would re-establish the covenant between God and his people. The promise of a new Temple was ultimately fulfilled in Christ who said “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. …. But he spoke of the temple of his body” (Jn 2:19; 21). Through his death and resurrection, Christ “made all things new” (Rev 21:5). The cross is a “mystery,” for the very sight of Christ lifted high upon the cross, a stumbling block to some and foolishness to others (1 Cor 1:20-25), has the power to free individuals from the power of sin and Satan, and bestow eternal life. Through the cross, God staked his claim on the world, not to condemn it, but to save it (Gospel reading). The serpent that Moses “lifted up in the desert” pointed symbolically to Christ who was “made to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21). Key verse: “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” (Jn 3:14). “Catechism of the Catholic Church”: “The coming of God’s kingdom means the defeat of Satan’s: ‘If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.’ Jesus’ exorcisms free some individuals from the domination of demons. They anticipate Jesus’ great victory over ‘the ruler of this world.’ The kingdom of God will be definitively established through Christ’s cross: ‘God reigned from the wood’” (No. 550). Pope Benedict XVI: “The instrument of torture which, on Good Friday, manifested God’s judgment on the world has become a source of life, pardon, mercy, a sign of reconciliation and peace. ‘In order to be healed from sin, gaze upon Christ crucified!’ said St. Augustine. By raising our eyes towards the Crucified One, we adore him who came to take upon himself the sin of the world and to give us eternal life. And the Church invites us proudly to lift up this glorious cross so that the world can see the full extent of the love of the Crucified One for mankind, for every man and woman (Homily, Sept. 14, 2008). Application: Through the cross, Christ conquered the prince of demons, freed men and women from the power of sin and death and revealed “the full extent of God’s love.” Through the cross God “who is rich in mercy” showed “the great love he had for us … and the immeasurable riches of his grace” (second reading). |
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