From the Rev’d Vicky Falvey
The Cross: Lifted Up for Life
Readings: Numbers 21: 4-9, Philippians 2:6-11, John 3:13-17
The Feast of the Holy Cross- which we mark as a Church on Sunday - reminds us that what once was an instrument of shame and suffering has, in Christ, become the greatest symbol of hope, healing, and life. The cross stands at the centre of our faith because it is where the love of God was lifted high for the whole world to see.
In Numbers 21:4–9, the people of Israel were discouraged and rebellious in the wilderness. When serpents came among them, many were bitten and died. Yet God, in mercy, provided a way of healing: a bronze serpent lifted high on a pole. Whoever looked upon it lived. That moment of being “lifted up” was a turning point between death and life.
In John 3:13–17, Jesus uses this image to explain his own mission. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” On the cross, Jesus was lifted up—not to condemn the world, but to save it. The cross becomes the clearest picture of God’s love: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.”
St. Paul, in Philippians 2:6–11, reminds us that Christ humbled himself, taking the path of obedience even to death on a cross. But because of that humility, God exalted him, lifting him up and giving him the name above every name. The cross was not the end—it was the beginning of glory.
The Feast of the Holy Cross invites us to see how this “lifting up” speaks to our lives today. Each of us knows the weight of sin, worry, or grief. Each of us knows what it means to feel pressed down by the burdens of life. Yet the cross reminds us that Christ has carried the heaviest burden already. He was lifted up so that we might be lifted into forgiveness, healing, and hope.
The cross also calls us to a way of life. To “take up the cross” is not to live in despair, but to follow Jesus in humility, service, and love. It is to trust that God’s way of lifting up comes through the path of self-giving.
As we mark the Feast of the Holy Cross, let us look to the cross not only as a symbol of suffering but as a sign of salvation. Not as defeat, but as victory. Not as death, but as life. For Christ was lifted up for the world—and through him, God promises to lift us up too.
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