The Son of Man

Today's Reflections

 

The Son of Man 

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Jn 3:13-17

[Jesus said to Nicodemus,] ¹³“No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

¹⁶For 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. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

Reflection:

So must the Son of Man be lifted up. Though today’s feast celebrates the exaltation or triumph of the cross, the Gospel makes no mention of the cross. Instead, we have Jesus, the Son of Man, lifted up like the serpent image in the desert which Moses used for the people’s healing from snake bites. This time Jesus is lifted up for the people’s salvation, that they may have eternal life, that they may be free from the venom of sin and death.

The motive for Jesus’ sacrifice is love (v 16). God’s great love drives him to give his only Son to the world. Love does not condemn but saves. God does not stop loving despite the mortal hatred of his enemies.

Jesus is lifted up on the cross to show how great God’s love is, to show how far he would go just for our sake. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be identified with him by being crucified with him.

What could possibly be our crosses?

Uncharitable criticisms, insults, indifference,

ingratitude, illness, disability, infidelity,

endless tasks, unrewarding work, abandonment, etc.?

Do you identify with the cross of Christ

so you find meaning in your sufferings?