RE NEWS

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION

John 3:13-17

The Son of Man must be lifted up to gain eternal life.

This weekend we commemorate the Exaltation of the Cross. At first glance, it can be a little tricky to know exactly what we are meant to take away from this day. Are we supposed to feel sad? Happy, because Jesus rose again? And how is this different from Easter?

While we might reflect on all these things, I believe the Exaltation of the Cross asks us to look at the Easter story from a different viewpoint—Jesus’ own. In the Church, we often focus almost entirely on Jesus as God.

 We see images of Him in stained glass or artwork: radiant, with a halo, standing among clouds, preaching in spotless robes to crowds of followers. But as my university lecturer, Mary Coloe, once said, the pity of this kind of thinking is that it can make us forget Jesus was also fully human. 

Like all of us, He experienced real emotions and moments of doubt. During His 40 days in the desert, He felt abandoned by God the Father. In Gethsemane, His sweat of blood revealed His very human fear of impending death. We read of His frustration with His disciples and with the religious authorities—His cleansing of the Temple is a reminder that He also had a temper.  

Jesus shared the same human limitations we do: He had to gradually discern His mission from the Father and learn to place His trust in Him. Rather than seeing Jesus’ humanity as something to be cautious of, we should embrace it. It tells us that Jesus truly understands us and our experiences. When we feel upset, frustrated, embarrassed, jealous, joyful, or even silly—He gets it, because He has been there too. When we pray to God, we are not speaking to a distant stranger who cannot relate to our lives. Quite the opposite: Jesus gets it… and He gets us!

It reminds me of a time when, as a child, I tried to run away from home after a disagreement with my brother. I didn’t get far—only down the road—before being convinced to come home with the promise of lasagna for dinner! Later, my dad spoke with me (after reminding me about safety) and shared that, as a child, he had also once tried to run away. We even realised that we had thought of similar plans about how we could make it work! Like most parents, he understood my feelings because he had lived through something similar.

So it is with Jesus. Just as parents understand the struggles of their children, Jesus understands us—our joys, our sorrows, our fears, and our failures. The Cross is the ultimate reminder that He is one of us, and that He is always there, ready to listen and to walk beside us.

By Jonathan Rooney 

Religious Education Leader 

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