Just As Moses Lifted Up the Serpent in the Desert, So Must the Son of Man be Lifted Up

09-14-2025Weekly ReflectionFr Manasseh lorchir, VC

The Book of Genesis designated the eating of the forbidden fruit of the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden as the reason for the fall of man from where we acquire the tendency to sin. Prompted by pride and the inordinate desire to be his own god, Adam the first man committed the original sin of disobedience and brought upon the whole humankind separation from a loving Creator. At a time He considered appropriate for the redemption of man, God the Father sent His only begotten Son who in obedience to the Father's will, took flesh and died on the cross to destroy death, the consequence of sin and to restore all of creation to a righteous relationship with the Father.

Thus, what we lost in the disobedience of Adam in the Garden was restored to us through Christ's salvific work which culminated in the sacrifice on the cross. The cross which used to be a symbol of shame and suffering became, from the moment it received our Redeemer, the sign of victory over sin and death and the instrument with which salvation in its fullness was purchased for all people of all time. This weekend, we are blessed to celebrate the exaltation of the cross of Christ, the sign of victory and symbol of our redemption.

The First Reading presents to us a type of the salvific work that Christ would do for our redemption on the cross. While in the desert, the people forgot the wonderful deeds of the Lord towards them and grumbled for lack of quality nourishment. The Lord punished their lack of faith and grumbling by temporarily suspending His protective cover over them, allowing them to die of snakebites in the desert. When they cried out to Him, God's compassion replaced His justice, so He instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it on a stake, instructing the penitent people to look towards it in hope and faith in order to be saved. Those who obeyed got saved from the consequence of their collective mistake. A perfect fulfilment of this prophetic demonstration of God's mercy and love is found in the salvific work of Christ on the cross.

While speaking to Nicodemus, His nocturnal disciple, Jesus said, "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life." The cross is therefore not just a symbol of sacrifice and suffering but more importantly the symbol of God's unfathomable love demonstrated in the giving up of His only begotten Son who died on it in order to restore us to righteousness. We celebrate not just some wood of the cross but what it signifies: God's love for us all. This is why St Paul says, "May I never boast of anything but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!" (Gal 6:14).

Yet, what is given is hardly beneficial when it is neither received nor shared. We must "look" towards Christ who gives Himself for our salvation with faith, believing in Him and demonstrating our belief by sharing with others the joy of our salvation through a decisive commitment to a life of compassion, kindness and charity even when it is difficult. When God loved us, He gave us His Son to die so as to put an end to mortality, the consequence of disobedience, and to give us life in abundance. May we offer to each other, the Church and our community the gift of ourselves, talents, time and treasure in imitation of what the cross signifies.

Please be kind and may God bless you.

Fr Manasseh lorchir, VC