The serpent "is a charmer," but he is also "a liar". "He promises many things but when the time comes to pay, he pays badly, is a bad creditor." "If a Christian wants to move forward on the road of Christian life he must humble himself, as Jesus humbled himself. It is the path of humility, yes, but he must also bear humiliation just as Jesus did".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Beware of the temptations of evil "he promises many things but when the time comes to pay, he pays badly, is a bad payer" and follow the path indicated by Jesus. "The path of humility, yes, but he must also bear humiliation just as Jesus did”, said the Pope at Mass celebrated today, feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, at Casa Santa Marta - which was also attended by the cardinals of the C9 who meet today with Francis until September 16 - commenting on the readings of the day in which he highlighted, the protagonist is the serpent.

Genesis, he noted, shows us that the serpent is cunning, "He is a charmer, and also has the ability to charm", to fascinate. The Bible, he said, also tells us that "he is a liar, he is jealous, because it was through the envy of the devil, the serpent that  sin entered into the world”.

The Pope continued, that this ability to seduce ruins us. "He promises many things but when the time comes to pay, he pays badly, is a bad creditor. But he has this ability to seduce, to charm. Paul gets angry with the Christians of Galatia who troubled him so much and he said, 'But, foolish Galatians, who enchanted you? You who have been called to freedom, who has enchanted you? '. They were corrupted by the serpent. And this is not something new, it was in the consciousness of the People of Israel. "

The Pope also highlighted the fact that the Lord told Moses to "make a bronze serpent" and those who looked at him would be saved. This is a figure, but also "a prophecy, it is a promise, a promise not easy to understand", because Jesus himself says to Nicodemus, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. "

So "the serpent of bronze was a figure of Jesus raised on the Cross." "But why has the Lord taken this image that is so ugly, so evil?” the Pope asked. “Simply because He came to take upon Himself all of our sins and become the greatest sinner without having committed any [sin]. And Paul tells us: ‘He made Himself sin for us’, taking the image, ‘He made himself a serpent.’ It is ugly! He made Himself sin to save us, this is what the message of the today’s Liturgy of Word means, the path of Jesus".

God became man and bore the sin. Speaking to the Philippians, "whom he was so fond of," Paul explains this mystery: "Despite being in the form of God, Jesus did not consider it a privilege to be grasped but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. "

Jesus "emptied himself, became sin for us, He who knew no sin." This "is the mystery, we can say: 'He became like a serpent', ugly." " When we look at Jesus on the Cross, there are some beautiful paintings, but the reality is another: He was all torn, bleeding from our sins,” he explained.

“This is the path He has taken to conquer the serpent in his field. Look at the Cross of Jesus, but not those artistic crosses, beautifully painted: look at the reality, what the cross was at that time. And look at His path and at God, who destroyed Himself, who lowered Himself to save us. This is also the path of the Christian. If a Christian wants to go forward on the path of Christian life, he must lower himself, as Jesus lowered Himself. It is the path of humility, yes, but also to take upon himself the humiliation as Jesus carried it.”

On the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, concluding his homily, Pope Francis called on the faithful present to pray for the grace to weep in gratitude “to our God who loved us so much that He sent His Son to lower Himself and destroy Himself to save us.”

 

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