September 14, 2004 - Tuesday, 24th Week in Ordinary Time

The Exaltation of the Cross

THE CROSS BRINGS LIFE

Readings:
Num 21:4-9; Ps 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38; Phil 2:6-11; Jn 3:13-17

Greeting

Praise to God our Father,
who loved us so much
that he gave us his only Son,
so that all who believe in him may have eternal life.
May Jesus fill us with his life
and be always with you. R/And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

Jesus keeps reminding us in the gospels that being his disciple is something not to be taken lightly, for to be a disciple means to be one who follows the master. So the disciple has to face the cross, just as Jesus had to face it and take it up. To him it brought the victory of life over death, of grace over sin, of final resurrection and happiness. Jesus was willing to pay the price for it. He asks us, his disciples: Can you take up your cross after me? What answer do we give him in this eucharist?

Penitential Act

Too often we want a painless Christianity
in which there is no place for the cross.
Let us ask the Lord to forgive us
such a distortion of our faith.
                         (PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, when you were lifted up on the cross
your death brought us forgiveness and life:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Jesus Christ, when you were lifted up on the cross
your open arms reached out to all people:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, when you were lifted up on the cross,
from your pierced heart there flowed
treasures of grace and love:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord,
and wash away all our sins.
Lift us up, restore us
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray to God that we may learn
to bear our cross with his Son
              (PAUSE)
Lord, God of loyalty,
we are constantly under the threat
of contesting our dependence on you
and of blaming you for the evil in the world.

Lord God, make us see
the redeeming value of suffering.
Give us the mentality of Jesus Christ:
make us ready to be totally Christian,
totally committed to you and to people,
even at the cost of suffering.

Give us the strength to follow all the way
your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading Introduction: Saved by Faith in the Sign of Salvation
      Tired and discouraged from their long journey and stay in the desert, the Hebrews lost faith in God and began to revolt. God punished them, but saved those who looked up in faith to a sign of salvation.

First Reading: Num 21:4-9

From Mount Hor the Israelites set out by the Red Sea road to go around the land of Edom. The people were discouraged by the journey and began to complain against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is neither bread nor water here and we are disgusted with this tasteless manna."

Yahweh then sent fiery serpents against them. They bit the people and many of the Israelites died. Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, speaking against Yahweh and against you. Plead with Yahweh to take the serpents away."

Moses pleaded for the people and Yahweh said to him, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard; whoever has been bitten and then looks at it shall live."
So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a standard. Whenever a man was bitten, he looked towards the bronze serpent and he lived.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38

R (see 7b) Do not forget the works of the Lord!

Hearken, my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable,
I will utter mysteries from of old.
R Do not forget the works of the Lord!

While he slew them they sought him
and inquired after God again,
Remembering that God was their rock
and the Most High God, their redeemer.
R Do not forget the works of the Lord!

But they flattered him with their mouths
and lied to him with their tongues,
Though their hearts were not steadfast toward him,
nor were they faithful to his covenant.
R Do not forget the works of the Lord!

But he, being merciful, forgave their sin
and destroyed them not;
Often he turned back his anger
and let none of his wrath be roused.
R Do not forget the works of the Lord!

Second Reading Introduction: The Humiliated Christ is Glorified
       Jesus, God's Son, humbled himself by becoming someone like us and even more so by dying for us on the cross. This is why he is now our glorious Lord.

Second Reading: Phil 2:6-11

Though being divine in nature,
he did not claim in fact equality with God,
but emptied himself,
taking on the nature of a servant, made in human likeness,
and in his appearance found as a man.
He humbled himself by being obedient to death,
death on the cross.

That is why God exalted him
and gave him the Name which outshines all names,
so that at the Name of Jesus all knees should bend
in heaven, on earth and among the dead,
and all tongues proclaim that Christ Jesus is the Lord
to the glory of God the Father.

Gospel Introduction:

Gospel Reading: Jn 3:13-17

Jesus said to Nicodemus, "No one has ever gone up to heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man.

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

"Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through him the world is to be saved."

Commentary

NICODEMUS cannot have been a very great teacher-and Jesus hinted it-because Jews at that time spoke of converts to Judaism as people who were "born again." He didn't seem quite to understand this expression.

The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James, first issued in 1902, is an enduring classic. There he illustrates the contrast between the "once-born" and the "twice-born" (or "born again") Christian. The soul of the once-born (or "healthy-minded," as he calls them) "is of a sky-blue tint their affinities are rather with flowers and birds and all enchanting innocencies than with dark human passions [they] can think no ill of man or God. They have a certain complacency and perhaps romantic sense of excitement." In contrast to these, the "twice-born" or "morbid-minded" are more likely to feel that "from the bottom of every fountain of pleasure, as the old poet said, something bitter rises up." All natural happiness is infected; there is a deep sense of sin and failure. To people of this stamp, the attitude of the once-born seems "unspeakably blind and shallow," while to the once-born the attitude of these "seems unmanly and diseased."

These are still battling it out, under new names: "creation-centered spirituality" versus "sin/redemption spirituality." Original blessing or original sin? Nature or the Cross? But we mustn't forget that it was the same Jesus who said, "Behold the lilies of the field…" and who died on the Cross. The challenge, as always, is to refuse to become partisan, but rather to enter into the drama and refuse to be limited by labels.

General Intercessions

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son to save us and bring us life by his death and resurrection. Let us pray to Jesus for all who suffer and let us say: R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

- For those whose life lacks direction, that they may discover Christ the way, let us pray: R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

- For those whose ideals have faded, that they may see and accept the lasting novelty of life and constantly renew themselves, let us pray: R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

- For the perennial losers of their personal struggles against the forces of evil, that they may trust in Christ, whose grace is mightier than sin and death, let us pray: R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

- For those who are lonely, deserted, or shut up within themselves, that they may accept the companionship of Christ and through him open themselves to others, let us pray: R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

- For all of us, that we may learn from our Lord himself to bear our crosses in patience and humility, that in some way they may bring life to us and to whoever is tired and discouraged, let us pray: R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

- For this community, that with Jesus our Savior it may be poor and serving and open to all people and all needs, let us pray: R/ Lord, save us by your cross.

Lord Jesus Christ, your cross remains a mystery to us, as does all pain and want. Yet we rely on your word and example that the cross is a way to joy and freedom. Turn our crosses into bearers of happiness and life, now and for ever. R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord God, with this bread and this wine
we celebrate the saving death of your Son.
In moments when suffering strikes
and when we find it hard to bear,
give us the strength, Lord God,
not to murmur and to contest
but to accept that it is your way to glory,
even if we do not understand fully.
We ask you for this courage
through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

Remember that in this and every eucharist we celebrate the sacrifice of the cross by which Jesus brought us forgiveness and life. Let us thank the Father for it and offer ourselves with Jesus our Lord, that we may overcome evil with him.

Introduction to the Lord's Prayer

Grateful for his saving love,
we pray to our Father in heaven
in the words of Jesus, our Savior: R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and forgive us the sins
that caused your Son's death on the cross.
Help us to join our crosses to his;
give us courage and patience in life,
as we wait in joyful hope for the coming in glory
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom…

Invitation to Communion

This is the Lamb of God
who died on the cross
to take our sins away.
Happy are we to be invited
to eat his bread of strength. R/ Lord, 1 am not worthy...

Prayer after Communion

God, our Lord and Father,
we know that you have made us
for joy and happiness,
yet humiliation and death was the price
that your Son had to pay.
Let us never be ashamed of his cross
or proclaim a painless Christianity,
for we trust you when you call us
to bear witness to you the way you want us to,
through Jesus Christ, your Son and Lord. R/ Amen.

Blessing

We ourselves have been marked
with the sign of the cross
as people saved by a serving Lord.
On account of the cross,
we have to learn to forgive,
to bear one another's burdens
and to accept the realities of life
as people of hope and trust,
with the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

Let us go in the peace of Christ. R/ Thanks be to God.

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