Love Stronger Than Pain!

Monday, September 14, 2026

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Nm 21: 4b-9; Phil 2: 6-11; Jn 3: 13-17

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross invites us to celebrate Jesus’ overwhelming love for us. 

In history, the cross has never enjoyed a uniform understanding. It meant many things to many different people. In Jesus’ time, the Jews saw it as a scandal. Because Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross, it became an obstacle for Greeks to believe in the Lord. For some, it is an instrument of torture and death. Still, some are reminded of it only as a burden, and that is why they do not want to possess any image or statue of the cross because, in their view, they are already carrying crosses enough. 

But for Christians, it is a powerful sign of God’s self-giving love. This is why, as we reflect on the meaning of the cross, we ask: Amid all these, where do we, Christians, fit when we adore the Holy Cross of Christ? What meaning does it hold for us? Why do we celebrate it?

The Cross of Christ carries a unique and distinct message for Christians because we see what others fail to see. We may reflect on three such insights. 

1. Others see the cross as an instrument of torture and death. On the contrary, we find it as a manifestation of God’s love. In Jesus’ time, the cross was understood in punitive terms. The Romans used crucifixion to punish rebels. It was also a public message to deter others from challenging the Roman authority. It was viewed as the ultimate penalty and the most humiliating death as well. However, Christians find it to be the noblest expression of God’s love. We may all remember the famous one-liner: ‘I asked Jesus, ‘How much do you love me?’ And Jesus said, ‘This much.’ Then he stretched out his arms and died.’ By accepting the most humiliating and painful death on the cross, Jesus, the Son of God, revealed how far God was willing to go for us. In Jesus, God not only entered human history but also identified Himself one with our suffering. The Stable of Bethlehem and the Cross of Christ proved to the world that our God does not love us from a distance. The God who declared that he is one ‘with’ us through his birth also declared that he is ‘for’ us through his death on the cross. Hence, this cross is a symbol of God’s love that is stronger than death. 

2. Others reflect on the burden of the cross. But we reflect on the willingness of Christ to die for us. As a symbol of torture and death, the cross often became a symbol of burden. Hence, those who associated physical pain, wounds, humiliation, rejection, and finally death with the cross ignored Jesus’ love, which was willing to suffer all these. Hence, Christians do not look at the burden of the cross, though in every sense of the word, it was true. Instead, what we contemplate is the love of Christ that willingly walked through all that others could barely think of tolerating. Hence, carrying our daily cross should not just remind us of enduring difficulties. Instead, it must teach us to learn from the willingness of Christ to live and die for others. By his willingness, Jesus made the cross look so easy as an expression of love. But we should know that though it was not easy for him too, it was his love for us that made it possible for him. In sum, we understand that Jesus’ willingness was greater than the burden that the cross presented. 

3. Others see what Jesus’ enemies did to him. But we see what Jesus did for us. For others, the cross is a symbol of cruelty meted out to a victim like Jesus. Therefore, they tend to explain cross in terms of injustice and betrayal. This view often reflects the perspective of Jesus’ enemies. But we, Christians, reflect from the point of view of Christ, who made a choice to love us. It is out of such sublime love that Jesus died for us on the cross. This is what makes Jesus’ love very powerful. Jesus’ love helps us understand that he was not a helpless victim hanging on the cross. Rather, he showed what true love is capable of doing for others. Thus, the way Jesus has turned the cross into a powerful message and what he did for us forms the heart of the Christian understanding of the cross. In sum, Jesus’ self-giving love was greater than the cruelty that his enemies inflicted upon him. 

For Christians, the cross reveals the heart of Jesus, which is full of love. 

Let us pray that, looking at the cross, we may always ponder what Christ’s love achieved for us. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar