September 14, Wednesday, Exaltation of the Cross
Nm 21:4b–9 • Ps 78:1bc–2, 34–35, 36–37, 38 • Phil 2:6–11 • Jn 3:13–17
“Abandon the image of a God who is easily offended and ready to punish”
There are many people who believe in a god who is easily offended or angered by those who violate his commandments and is ready to punish them.
They think that calamities like typhoons and earthquakes or pandemics like covid19 are punishments coming from God to a sinful world. This image of God is not what Jesus taught. In our Gospel today Jesus proclaims the God who loves the world so much that he sent his only Son to save the world, and not to condemn it.
The Church celebrates today the feast of the exaltation of the holy cross. The cross which was used to punish criminals and rebels in the Roman Empire has become the symbol of God's saving love. Through the sacrifice of his Son on the cross, God manifested his love for the world. God wills that we all be saved from sin and evil.
It is time for us to abandon the image of a God who is easily offended and ready to punish people out of anger. This idea of God tends to influence parents in dealing with their children, teachers in dealing with students and government officials in dealing with citizens who go astray. This often results in physical abuse by parents and teachers and even extrajudicial killings of drug users carried out by those in authority. If God is a loving father, we his children should also be filled with love and compassion to those enslaved by sin and evil, willing to work for their salvation.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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