Sept. 14, 2008: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

We saw in the evenings this past two weeks around this neighborhood pitch black darkness. Then there it was, B-Quick sign lit up the night. Finally we had a place to fill up our generators and our cars and get some snacks. The lines were horribly long, but hey it was worth the wait. Then tall signs of the fast food places began to lit up. Finally, we had places to get some hot hamburger and fries. 

We had our share of grumblings this past two weeks, not too different from the grumblings of the Israelites of our First Reading. They complained to God and to Moses, "Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food." Haven't we found ourselves complaining about the same things? After throwing out all our food from freezer and refrigerator, we got tired of eating peanut butter sandwiches, crackers with Vienna sausages, and MRE's. When our rectory finally got power this Wednesday, I went out to Walmart to buy some comfort foods--you know, Bluebell Homemade Vanilla ice cream, Wheat Thins, and chips. Then this Friday morning at 5 in the morning, Fr. Burns woke me up and dragged me to his office because rain was pouring through his office from the tree damage from Gustav. Then blip, the power went out. Do you know where my thought went to? I was asking God, "Lord, are you going to let my Bluebell ice cream melt?" 

Around this neighborhood the past two weeks there was one light that never went out despite the power outages from Gustav and Ike. It remained lit as a beacon of hope, a sign of relief for those who were thirsty, tired, and disappointed from all the damages from the hurricanes. That light was our sanctuary light by the tabernacle. People who regularly walked along Stuart Ave. as an exercise told me how they could see the sanctuary light from the street and knew that Jesus was there. Those who came to daily mass told me how looking at Jesus on the cross consoled them. Jesus who suffered on the cross in some way knew about our restlessness and anxiety about our lost wages, trees on our roofs, children stuck at home driving their parents crazy, and downed power lines. 

And inexplicably we are drawn to this place this past two weeks, making the sign of the cross, genuflecting before taking our seats, and kneeling before Our Lord. In some way we know and believe that our suffering and fears are nailed upon that cross. And as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent on a pole, we see the Lord of lords, the King of kings, emptying himself to be nailed to that holy cross along with our sufferings. Why? For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. This sign trumps all other man-made signs--including B-Quick, Burger King, and Walmart. No other sign heals, quenches thirst, and satisfies hunger like this holy cross. 

I would like to invite you, when you arrive at your home, to make a sign of the cross before a crucifix that you have placed in your home. And you can also sing this little song  if you remember it from the Good Friday, "Behold, behold the wood of the cross. On which is hung our salvation. O come let us adore."

"We adore you, O Christ, and we bless You. Because by your holy cross You have redeemed the world."