There’s an old joke about a schoolboy whose parents enrolled him in a Catholic parochial school in the hope that the school could help the boy in his struggles with mathematics.  Neither the parents nor the boy knew anything about Catholicism or Christianity, but they knew the school had a good reputation among local parents. 

At the end of his first day at the new school, the boy went to his room to study as soon as he came home.  He left his math studies only to eat dinner but went back to studying as soon as he was dismissed from the table. 

The parents were astounded by the change in his attitude toward math.  They asked the boy whether it was the nuns, the uniform, or the textbook that had made him so enthusiastic about math.  “No, none of those,” said the son. “I just don’t want to end up like that guy who’s in every classroom.”  The parents asked, “What guy?”  The boy responded, “The one they nailed to a plus sign.  Those people are really serious about math!” 

Despite its irreverent character, that old joke might provide some helpful perspectives on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  

In his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus referred directly to the event in today’s first reading.  The reading from the book of Numbers recounts one of several times that the Israelites doubted God during their sojourn in the desert.  Their lack of faith incurred God’s wrath in the form of venomous snakes.  The People repented and God relented.  Then, God instructed Moses to create a bronze likeness of the venomous snakes so that “everyone who has been bitten will look at it and recover.” (Nm 14:8) 

The story in the book of Numbers is an example of what repentance means and how one does it.  The People caused their own sufferings by being unfaithful to God.  God’s remedy was to warn them, by means of the image of the seraph serpent, that all sin brings with it its own consequences.  The bronze image of the seraph exerted a moral influence over the Israelites, leading to their repentance and reform. 

Conversing with Nicodemus, Jesus said that his crucifixion and resurrection would be a sign to the whole world in the way that the bronze serpent was a sign to the Israelites.  In John’s Gospel, those who see Jesus “lifted up” repent and put their faith in him.  It is important to note that repentance and reform are not automatic consequences of encountering the crucified and risen Jesus.  Rather, one’s encounter with the Chosen One of God makes repentance possible where it was not possible before. 

This theme of moral influence gained some popularity in Christian theology during the Middle Ages.  Peter Abelard said that looking at the Cross of Jesus was sufficient to lead a person to repentance, faith, and redemption.  Again, these are not automatic consequences of religious experience; they are merely made possible by religious experience. 

In Catholicism, we say that the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist make one a Catholic.  We make this claim, however, with the caveat in mind that the Sacraments of Christian Initiation make repentance and faith possible; making faith actual is the responsibility of each baptized person. 

Every person is born with the ability to know and love God.  Like all natural abilities, the capacity to know and love God must be informed, trained, and practiced; in the absence of conscious nurture, however, it remains an unused capacity.  Like the schoolboy in the joke, one must apply one’s energies to learning how to repent and believe.  Unlike, the schoolboy, however, faith is not a result of fear.  The schoolboy’s fear of punishment prompted him to study energetically, much to the satisfaction of his parents.  Faith, on the hand, does not grow from fear, as fear is an immutable obstacle to faith. 

The Israelites sinned freely and frequently during their sojourn in the desert.  In equal measure, they repented often, not because of fear but because they knew God to be faithful and merciful.  The bronze serpent was a reminder that God remains faithful even when God’s People are unfaithful.  Their knowledge of God’s faithfulness was, for the Israelites, a cause for hope and an inspiration for faith.   

The experience of the ancient Israelites in the desert is available today to all people who see Jesus lifted up on the Cross in faithfulness to God and lifted up in his resurrection.  The Cross is a sign of humanity’s faithlessness and God’s enduring faithfulness; for this reason, it is a sign of hope rather than condemnation.  Fear has no value in religion because the guarantee of salvation is given to those who trust.