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September 14, 2008
(see other dates)
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
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Reading 1 Reflection Today's first reading recalls one of the many hardships the Israelites experienced in the desert. More importantly, it offers another example of God saving his people. Because of their grumbling and complaining, the Lord exposed the people to poisonous snakes which bit them, and some even died. This led the people to acknowledge their sinfulness to Moses and ask his prayers. The Lord then instructed Moses to mount a serpent on a pole so that anyone who had been bitten and looked upon the serpent would recover. Moses did this and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked on the pole, he or she recovered. The important thing in this story is not any magical powers that the bronze serpent might possess, but the faith and repentance on the part of the people, and the forgiving, healing love of God for his people. Much later in history (Wisdom 16:5-10), the bronze serpent is portrayed as a sign of God's salvation. |
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Reading 2 Reflection In the second reading, St. Paul reminds us that "Jesus emptied himself, taking the form of a slave...; he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross." Paul encourages us to follow Jesus' example in our attitude towards others. As followers of Jesus, treating each other with the same kind of self-emptying love as Jesus should be like "second-nature to us. Such attitudes are desperately needed today when our culture presents us with very different messages: "Get ahead, no matter what it takes;" "look out for yourself;" "take care of number 1." Spend some time thinking about what kinds of attitudes you show towards other people. |
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Gospel Reflection Today's gospel offers us a great insight into Jesus' teaching. In response to the searching questions of the Pharisee Nicodemus, who came to see him under cover of night, Jesus leads him gradually into the deeper truths about God's love for us. We hear Jesus explain so beautifully that "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world," but to save the world. And why? Because "God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son..." (John 3:16). In other words, God would do anything for us! |
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Lift High the Cross Give each child a piece of heavy paper such as oak tag with the outline of a cross on it. Ask the children to draw pictures on their cross of things they are grateful to Jesus for, and then cut out the cross. Gather the children around your prayer space. If available, play the hymn, Lift High the Cross, while the children raise their crosses in the air. End with this short prayer, "Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross for us." Cross Bearers Ask the children to think about all the people they know who are suffering. Explain how because of their suffering, we say they are each carrying a cross. It might be family members, people in the neighborhood, or others they've seen on TV. As they name each of these cross-bearers, write that person's name or category (e.g., soldiers in war) on a large outline of a cross. Mount the cross in a special, prominent place and lead the children in prayer that God will help each of them carry their crosses. |
Speak Up for Right Attitudes Peer pressure can often prevent us from speaking up when a group starts suggesting selfish behavior. What do you think you might do to help your friends when they demonstrate selfish attitudes? In groups of four, role-play the following scenarios where one person needs to speak up for the right thing to do. a. the group decides to shoplift some DVDs in the local store b. the group decides to let the air out of a teacher's tires c. the group decides to pick on a small boy after school We may often feel like a "voice crying in the wilderness," but even one voice may be all that is needed. |
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