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The Glory of the Cross, the Glory of the Empty Tomb
Homily St. Joseph Parish, Detroit
We have accompanied Jesus through his suffering and death. Jesus called his suffering, his “glory,” when he said to the Greeks, “The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. Amen, amen I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”[1] He meant his being raised on a cross, as the serpent in the desert. And he continued, “Father, glorify your name.”[2] So there was a second glory after Jesus’ glory. The cross glorified Jesus because it showed his incomprehensible and infinite mercy and love for us sinners. But now it was time to glorify the father. And this is signified by the cloth which covered Jesus’ head. We read St. Paul in 1 Cor where he says, “I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and a husband is the head of his wife, and God is the head of Christ.”[3] And he discusses the covering of one’s head as the covering of one’s glory. Jesus in the world had hidden the Father’s glory. In seeing Jesus, we see the Father. Yet we do not see him as Moses did, as the nine choirs of angels do. The angels covered themselves with their wings, to shame their glory in the presence of God. Jesus had revealed his own glory on the Cross, but now he had to reveal the Father’s glory. This is the meaning of the divine revelation given to us by Saint Paul where he says in the same place, “For this reason a woman should have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.”[4] For they covered their glory in God’s presence. The Father sent him to lay down his life for us, and now the Father would exalt him, in the flesh, above all creation, and so the glory of the Father was revealed in the resurrection. This is why the Gospel makes a point to describe the removal of the head cloth, a removal perhaps performed by the angels, for Jesus passed through the shroud and it simply collapsed, folded over, with no body in it any longer. And if this is how Jesus was glorified, with the resurrection of the flesh – and indeed, we will be all raised in the flesh at the end of time, be it for punishment or reward forever – then why do we flee the cross? Why do we resist humiliation? The cross, suffering and humiliation were the only road to the resurrection. Let us lead new lives, then, crucifying our sins, which can be sloth, wrath, envy, gluttony, lust, avarice or arrogance. These things lead to death. What leads to live is Jesus Christ, his Church, his sacraments, his virtues and the gifts of his Holy Spirit. Be not afraid, then, and live a new life in the Lord. For the Lord is risen from the dead, and the glory of the Son on the Cross and the Father in the Resurrection have been revealed. The glory of the Holy Spirit has yet to be revealed at Pentecost, so great is the love of God. Never doubt or be suspicious of his love. Amen. |