THE SYMBOL OF OUR SACRIFICE

TUESDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF LENT   

Numb 21:4-9; Ps 102:2-3,16-21; Jn 8:21-30

The Lifting of the Son of Man

We can understand the revelation of man as the temple of God in a slightly different way, which enriches our appreciation of our vocation to God. The fact that God created us for himself, to be his dwelling place, implies that our nature is supposed to be a sacrifice to God. Since human nature is ours, the sacrifice ought to be made by man, and not by God or any angel. However, the fact that corruption lies at the root of our nature makes this sacrifice impossible. By their original disobedience, our first parents admitted the seed of corruption into our common nature. Because of this corruption at our origin, God promised a new beginning for the human person when He promised to create enmity between the serpent and the woman, between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. The new beginning of human nature was necessary for its sacrifice to God, as divinely envisioned and planned. The seed of the woman promised in the Proto Evangelium would be the first in human nature, for in him would be found the perfection of our nature. One cannot offer what does not belong to him; no corrupted human person can offer the common nature, which the ancient serpent has enslaved by his hellish subtlety. The true sacrifice of the pure and original human nature would end the reign of the serpent, through sin that is its seed, over man, in all who reconsecrate themselves to the new head of human nature.

The drama of the Israelites’ journey, redeemed from the house of slavery in Egypt by God, through the desert led by Moses, depicts the difficulty of offering or sacrificing what is not yet ours to God. Because the children of Israel were subjugated by the Egyptians and enslaved all their lives, they found it impossible to dedicate themselves to God and follow Him through the desert. Moses, who never knew such enslavement, easily followed God by consecrating his mind and heart to doing His bidding and carrying out His instructions. The fact that they witnessed the signs and wonders worked by God in Egypt and in the wilderness could not change their slave mentality. They kept complaining at every turn of their journey. “On the way, 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.’” In His goodness, God let them experience the manifestation of what lies within them, sin, which is the seed of the evil serpent. “At this God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel.” The symbol of what dwelt in them or formed their inner structure was displayed for them to see. By resisting and rejecting God’s will, they formed themselves in the image of the ancient serpent, the rebellious one. The sin of disobedience and rebellion was the cause of their death within. The fiery serpents were just the manifestation of this cause without.

God fulfilled His original plan and promise when He sent His Only Begotten Son to assume our nature, to consecrate it to God as divinely willed from the beginning. The psalmist envisaged this rebuilding and reconsecration of our nature when he says: “The nations shall fear the name of the Lord and all the earth’s kings your glory, when the Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory. Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless; he will not despise their prayers.” The Son of Man confirmed that this sacrifice or consecration of human nature is accomplished in his person when he said to the Jews: “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I have told you already: You will die in your sins. Yes, if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” By resisting and rejecting the word of God, we propagate the likeness of the serpent through sin within us. But the recognition of God within our nature in the Son of Man grants us a new beginning in our minds and hearts in the likeness of the Son of Man. The death and resurrection of the Son of Man is the cause of this recognition. “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of myself: what the Father has taught me is what I preach; he who sent me is with me, and has not left me to myself, for I always do what pleases him.” This is the meaning of the consecration of the Son of Man. Thus, following Jesus Christ, we learn how to sacrifice our nature to God in true worship. The crucifix is the symbol of this reality in the minds and hearts of the faithful.

Let us pray: Grant us, we pray, O Lord, perseverance in obeying your will, that in our days the people dedicated to your service may grow in both merit and number. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.