Feast of the Holy Cross: what "happened" for us in Jesus' death and resurrection?

A reflection for the feast of the Holy Cross, based on the first reading and the Gospel. Written and spoken by Kieran J. O'Mahony OSA. 

Gentle piano music to close the meditation

Transcript

John’s Lane
D08 F8NW
14 September 2025
Feast of the Holy Cross

Welcome
Some years ago, I was chatting with two nieces. It became possible for me to ask them two questions. The first was “how many gospels are there?” and the second was “when did Jesus live?” After 13 years of Catholic eduction and, in spite of an uncle who is a biblical scholar, they did not know the answers. If I had gone on and asked: what happened for us in Jesus’ death and resurrection, the result would, I think, have been blank stares. This is not unusual and there are good reasons for this unfamiliarity with the core Christian teaching.

Topic
So, what did happen for us in Jesus’ death and resurrection?

Steps
In the past, we knew what happened. Adam sinned; God was angry and demanded a ransom; Jesus paid the price. I hope that sounds both familiar and old-fashioned. We have all walked away silently from that narrative: there was no Adam; God is not so angry; Jesus never, ever says his death was a payment for the sin of Adam. The difficulty for us is that this old “narrative” has not been replaced by anything as powerful.

There are other ways of thinking about “what happened for us” in Jesus’ death and resurrection. In particular, the writings of Paul, the letter to the Hebrews and the Gospel of John are very helpful and inspirational. We focus on on today’s first reading and the Gospel.

Our first reading from the Book of Numbers must seem very strange to contemporary readers. It is a kind of folk tale, with obvious magical features. The mortally wounded Israelites are set free by facing what brings them death. It is a story of healing by facing down, so to speak, the forces of death. John’s Gospel, read today, refers to it clearly and directly.

and the Son of Man must be lifted up
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

Part of what that Gospel is saying is: God, in Jesus, faced the forces of death for us. He is offering us healing, the profound healing from the power of death — an extraordinary claim. The Gospel writer is able to sum it up in the familiar yet always powerful words:

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost
but may have eternal life.

The Gospel of John offers a three-fold understanding of “what happened for us in Jesus’ death and resurrection”, as follows:

Firstly, Healing: In Jesus God has healed us from the power and even the fear of death.
Secondly, Love: Jesus’ destiny — his cross and resurrection — disclose the astonishing love of God.
Thirdly, Service: In a paradoxical reversal of the expected “order”, God has come to serve humanity — a truly amazing conviction unique to Christianity. The washing of the feet in John 13 is the great illustration.

Conclusion
Each step merits careful examination and much more could be said. But perhaps enough has been said to invite us to open the Gospel of John again and, as we read, reflect on what did happen for us in Jesus’ death and resurrection in light of the great teaching of this Gospel: healing, love and service.