Liturgical Readings for : Saturday, 14th September, 2024
09-14 The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Numbers 21:4-9
If anyone is bitten by a serpent, let them look at the bronze serpent and live.
On the way through the wilderness the people lost patience. They spoke against God and against Moses,
‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness?
For there is neither bread nor water here; we are sick of this unsatisfying food.’
At this God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel. The people came and said to Moses,
‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you.
Intercede for us with the Lord to save us from these serpents.’
Moses interceded for the people, and the Lord answered him,
‘Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, they shall live.’
So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, looked at the bronze serpent and lived.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 77
Response Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
1. Give heed, my people, to my teaching; turn your ear to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable and reveal hidden lessons of the past. Response
2. When he slew them then they would seek him, return and seek him in earnest.
They would remember that God was their rock, God the Most High their redeemer. Response
3. But the words they spoke were mere flattery; they lied to him with their lips.
For their hearts were not truly with him; they were not faithful to his covenant. Response
4. Yet he who is full of compassion forgave their sin and spared them.
So often he held back his anger when he might have stirred up his rage. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians 2: 6-11
He humbled himself therefore God raised him high.
The state of Jesus Christ was divine,
yet he did not cling to his equality with God
but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave,
and became as men are; and being as all men are,
he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.
But God raised him high and gave him the name
which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens,
on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus
and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you;
because by your cross you have redeemed the world.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 3:13-17 Glory to you, O Lord.
The Son of Man must be lifted up.
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
‘No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven,
the Son of Man who is in heaven;
and the Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost
but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world,
but so that through him the world might be saved.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Reflection Sept.14 The Exaltation of the Holy Cross John 3:13-17
Today’s feast of the exaltation or triumph of the Holy Cross is not like Good Friday. Our focus is not so much on the sufferings of Jesus. Rather, we celebrate what the gospel reading refers to as the ‘lifting up’ of the Son of Man. The term ‘lifting up’ suggests not just his being lifted up physically on the cross but also his being lifted up in glory. There are some depictions of the cross which highlight this double sense of Jesus being lifted up, where the body of Jesus on the cross is almost glorified. You may be familiar with the cross of San Damiano in Assisi. When Saint Francis was praying before it, he heard the Lord call on him to rebuild the church.
The image of Jesus that is painted on that cross has a glorious, luminous, quality. It is that kind of depiction of the cross that reflects the meaning of today’s feast, which is the feast of the triumph or exaltation of the cross. In what sense was the crucifixion of Jesus a triumph? It was firstly the triumph of love over hatred, the triumph of God’s love over human sin. All authentic love is life-giving and God’s love is supremely life-giving. That is why the crucifixion of Jesus was a triumph in another sense, the triumph of life over death, of God’s life over human death, a triumph in which we can all share. That verse in today’s gospel reading which has spoken to believers down the centuries really sums up the meaning of today’s feast, ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him’. Today we are invited to look upon the cross as the explosion of God’s life-giving love for us all and then to allow ourselves to be drawn into that love so that we can reflect it to others through our lives.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
