Pope: Christ cannot be reduced to that status of "spiritual master", nor can we lose hope in salvation
On the day dedicated to the Exaltation of the Cross, Francis stressed how the latter represents a "mystery of love," one that is not easy to understand. When he wants to explain it to Nicodemus, as in today’s gospel, Jesus uses two verbs "to go up" and "come down". "Jesus came down from Heaven to bring all of us up to Heaven."
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis celebrated his first Mass at Casa Santa Marta after his return. In his homily, he warned against two spiritual temptations, namely that of reducing Christ to the status of a simple “spiritual master” and that of not having any hope.
On the day the Church dedicates to the Exaltation of the Cross, Francis emphasised how the latter represents a "mystery of love”. This mystery is not easy to understand. "We move forward in the mystery of love only through contemplation."
When Jesus wants to explain the cross to Nicodemus, as in today’s Gospel, he uses two verbs: "to go up" and "to come down". "Jesus came down from Heaven to bring all of us up to Heaven. This is the mystery of the cross," the Holy Father said.
In the First Reading Saint Paul tries to explain this by noting that Jesus "humbled himself", becoming obedient to the death on the cross. “Jesus’ descent is to the lowest point, even unto humiliation. He emptied himself for love, and because of this God exalted him and made him go up. Only if we succeed in understanding this ultimate descent can we understand the salvation that this mystery of love offers us.”
This is not easy, however, because we can be tempted by one goal as opposed to the other. In fact, Saint Paul rebuked the Galatians for “giving in to the temptation not to enter the mystery of love but to explain it”.
Like the snake that bewitched Eve and poisoned the Israelites in the desert, so were they bewitched "by the illusion of a Christ without a cross or a cross without Christ. These are the two temptations."
The first one, that of Christ without a cross, is that of "a spiritual master" who calmly leads forward. Yet, “A Christ without a cross is not the Lord: He would be a teacher, but nothing more. This is perhaps what Nicodemus was seeking, without realising it. This is the first temptation: Jesus [was] good, a teacher, but . . . without the cross. [He was] Jesus Christ, but not crucified.”
“The other temptation is that of the cross without Christ, that is, the anguish of being left down, held down by the weight of sin, hopeless. This is a form of spiritual ‘masochism’. [It is] Only the cross, but without hope, without Christ.” In this situation, the Cross would be a “mystery of tragedy”, like a pagan tragedy.
By contrast, “The Cross is a mystery of love; the Cross is faithful; the Cross is noble. Today we should take a minute to ask ourselves these questions. Is Christ crucified a mystery of love? Do I follow Jesus without a cross: a spiritual teacher who fills me with consolation and good advice? Do I follow a cross without Jesus, without complaining, with this masochism of the spirit? Do I let myself be carried by this mystery of lowering, that is, of total emptying and lifting up of the Lord?”
The pontiff ended expressing the wish that the Lord may grant His grace, “not just to understand, but [also] to enter” into this mystery of love. “With heart, mind, and body, totally, we can understand something.”
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