Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross: Aquinas on the fittingness of the cross

 

In this reflection I’d like to offer the seven reasons St. Thomas Aquinas gives for why it was fitting for Jesus to die on a cross. Aquinas expounds on these reasons in  question 46, article 4 of the Summa Theologica. By reflecting on these seven reasons given by Aquinas, hopefully we may begin to more deeply appreciate this feast day in which we exalt the Holy Cross of Christ.

The first reason Aquinas gives for why it was fitting for Jesus to die by crucifixion is that it is an example of virtue for us. Aquinas quote St. Augustine who says that one reason Jesus came down from heaven was to show us how to live righteously. One part of righteous living is to not fear things which shouldn’t be feared. Many people are afraid of death and are afraid of the manner in which they will die. Jesus chose an excruciating (ex – cruce literally means ‘from the cross’) way to die in order to set an example for us to also die courageously.  

The second reason Aquinas gives for Christ dying by crucifixion on a cross is that it parallels the reason why we need atonement for our sins in the first place. Just as by a tree man fell from grace in the garden, so too, by a tree shall man be restored to grace. St. Augustine says, "Adam despised the command, plucking the apple from the tree: but all that Adam lost, Christ found upon the cross."

The third reason Aquinas gives is that by being lifted up on the cross he purified and renewed the cosmos. Just as his blood poured out renewed the earth, his being lifted up renews the air, sky, and celestial realm of creation.

The fourth reason given by Aquinas is that by dying on the cross, Christ prepares a way of ascent for us into heaven. “If I be lifted up from the earth, I draw all things to myself” John 12:32

The fifth reason that it was fitting for Christ to be crucified on a cross is because the shape of the cross is itself a symbol of universal salvation. St. Gregory of Nyssa says “the shape of the cross extending out into four extremes from their central point of contact denotes the power and the providence diffused everywhere of Him who hung upon it” and St. John Chrysostom says, “He dies with outstretched hands in order to draw with one hand the people of old, and with the other those who spring from the Gentiles."

The sixth reason is that the cross is itself a teaching about virtue and God’s love. St. Paul writes about the breadth, height, width, and depth of the love of God (See Colossians 3:18). St. Augustine says that the breadth of the cross is the beam which Christ’s arms are outstretched and represents the good works man does. The length of the beam refers to the vertical part that goes from the good works to the ground which represents the virtues of standing and abiding in God even in suffering. The height of the cross is the beam the extends vertically above the horizontal beam and is at the head of the crucified Christ. The head of Jesus is the supreme hope and desire of every soul. Last, the part of the cross that goes into the ground is the depth. It is hidden from view yet is the source and foundation of the entire cross. It represents the depth of gratuitous grace. St. Augustine goes on to say that "The tree upon which were fixed the members of Him dying was even the chair of the Master teaching."

The last reason Aquinas give is that the cross corresponds to many objects and events in the stories of the old testament. Noah’s ark, which preserved the human race from the flood was made of wood, the Passover sacrifice at the Exodus had a door post that looked like a cross as the means of deliverance for the people. Moses with a rod divided the red sea and delivered the people. Moses’ wooden rod turned bitter water into sweet water and made water originate miraculously from a rock. The ark of the covenant is made of wood and is a type of the blessed virgin who will carry God in her womb. All of these types are steps along the way to the wood of the cross.

Let's take some time to meditate on the reasons and ask St. Thomas to pray for us to enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ's Holy Cross. 

Reflections on the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

             

    Delivery of the Keys by Pietro Perugino 1481-1482

The readings for this Sunday center on the theme of the Papacy. In what follows, I'll provide some comments and reflections on the biblical passages for this Sunday's readings drawing primarily from Biblical Scholar Dr. John Bergsma. The readings for this Sunday are Isaiah 22:19-23; Psalm 138; Romans 11:33-36; and Matthew 16:13-20. 

I'm going to focus only on the Old Testament reading from Isaiah and the Gospel passage from St. Matthew. 

Isaiah 22:19-23

What I find most interested about this passage is that it involves a discussion about the royal steward of the Davidic Kingdom. During the time of the Davidic Kingdom, the kingdom was set up in such a way that in addition to the King of Israel, there was also the royal steward of the Kingdom. Functionally, the royal steward was the second in command in the Kingdom and he held the keys to the kingdom which granted access to the presence of the King. The royal steward wore the key as a badge of his office. When the royal steward died or if he was removed, another royal steward succeeded him. 

During the time of the prophet Isaiah which is referenced in this passage, the royal steward was a man named Shebna. Shebna began to take upon himself privileges of the King and the sons of the King that didn't rightfully belong to him, namely, to begin making a gravestone for himself that would be in the area of the sons of the David. God through the prophet Isaiah tells Shebna that he will be replaced as royal steward by the righteous Eliakim. 

Let's take a step by for moment and discuss biblical typology for a better understanding of the connect between this passage in Isaiah and the Gospel reading. The Bible can be read typologically although this isn't the only way the Bible can be read. Simply explained, typology is reading the Bible in such a way that people, places, things, and events can be a foreshadowing of or a type of a future person, place, thing, or event that is fulfills or is an anti-type of what was foreshadowed. 

For example, Jonah and the whale is a type of Christ and his resurrection (anti-type). Or the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus is a type of Christian baptism (anti-type) in the New Testament. St. Paul says that Adam is a type of Christ (Romans 5:14) and St. Peter says baptism is an antitype of the crossing of the Red Sea (1 Peter 3:21). 

In our readings for today, we see that the office of royal is a type of the office of the Papacy. Just as the royal steward was the second in command to the king in the Old Kingdom of David, so too will there be a new royal steward in the New Kingdom of David in which Jesus is King, St. Peter is his royal steward who receives the keys to the kingdom, and the apostles are the royal judges or governors over the New twelve tribes of Israel, the Church. 

Let's now turn to the Gospel reading from St. Matthew.

Matthew 16:13-20 

With the comments discussed thus far about Isaiah 22, we see the obvious parallels with what is going on between Jesus and St. Peter in the gospel passage. Of notable importance are the words "binding" and "loosing". In the Judaism of the time of Jesus, these terms were used as technical theological and ecclesiological terms that referred to the authority to excommunicate and to welcome into communion within the Jewish community. To bind and to loose was understood as the authority to say what is permissible and what is forbidden with respect to the practical application of Divine Law. 

We see in this passage that Jesus gave St. Peter as the chief and the apostles the authority to authority to apply Divine Law to specific circumstances. St. Peter and and the Apostles are given by Jesus the authority to teach teach and govern. 

In this passage, Jesus knew what he was doing by establishing the hierarchical structure of his new Kingdom. Kingdoms are structured hierarchically, and so is Jesus'. He knew that the early Church and the Church throughout the centuries would need a teaching and governing structure so as to ensure that the faith and practice of Christianity would be preserved. Not every theological or moral issue the Church would face was answered by Jesus during his earthly life nor was it written down. Jesus didn't abandon his people to fend for themselves concerning faith and morals. He gave us the papacy and apostolic college and the Pope and Bishops as their successors. He gave us fathers. 

The word pope, comes from the word papa, or father. We see this foreshadowed in the passage from Isaiah that reads "he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem" (Is. 22:21). The royal steward is described as a priestly figure and the word father in the Old Testament also often referred to a priest. 

We see that Jesus continues this tradition in the establishment of his New Kingdom of David in which the Chief Father (the Pope) and his college of apostles and bishops as their successors, are fathers to the people of the New Israel, the Church. 

Fathers help protect their children from danger. For example, when many Christians were giving in to the culture and accepting chemical contraceptives as permissible, our Father, Saint Pope Paul VI exercised his God-given power to bind and to loose by declaring all forms of chemical contraceptives as impermissible in his encyclical letter Humanae Vitae in 1968. 

Applications of these comments

What are some ways in which we can apply what we've learned about these two scriptural passages from these Sunday readings? 

A few things that stand out to me are the following: 

First, Jesus hasn't abandoned us to figure things out on our own. Jesus established a Church that has the authority to teach and rule in his name because He knows that we aren't meant to live the Christian life alone or in complete confusion as to what is true Church teaching. Additionally, Jesus gave us fathers. He didn't just give us book with a list of all the teachings and rules to be followed. I'm not denigrating the importance of the Holy Scriptures, Catechism, or writings of the Church fathers, rather, I'm highlighting the importance of also having human persons who can be with us and communicate to us these deep truths about God. Jesus knows who we are and he knows we need other people, not just books, to help us truly come to know how to live the Christian life. This is one reason why I think he gave us human Fathers in the pope, bishops, and priests, to teach and govern us. 

Second, God gave us human spiritual fathers to help protect, teach, and encourage us and to give us a glimpse of God's fatherly protection, teaching, and encouragement. The doctrine of the Papacy isn't a merely academic doctrine to fight about with other Christians, it's something that is deeply hopeful and comforting and gives us insight into God's loving fatherly nature. He wants what is best for us and he cares for us and he will do whatever it takes to protect us and bring us back to himself.