Tree of Life

To get to the resurrection we need to go through the cross! Like Jesus tells us, "If you wish to be my disciple, you must pick up your cross and follow me!" We don't know what crosses we will or are carrying in our lives but we have the assurance that our Lord is walking with us. In our readings for today, we have two readings, but one image. That image is of being lifted up. From Numbers 21:4-9, the people were complaining against God and Moses. God sent saraph serpents to bite the people. Eventually the people asked Moses to pray to God and take the serpents away. God instructed Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole and lift it up so those who had been bitten would look at it and get well. In the gospel,
John 8:21-30, Jesus says that "I AM!" He goes on to say, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me." Our Lord is talking about being lifted up on the wood of the cross. The cross is no longer a means of punishment, but it is the tree of life. We look to the cross and remember how much God loves us. The cross has special emphasis during the Season of Lent, but it has a special place in our lives each day! Blessings to You!!!