I BOAST ONLY ABOUT THE CROSS OF CHRIST

XIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gal 6:14-18

Jesus’ cross, a proclamation of love’s victory

Is there anything to boast about in a cross? Certainly not. During Paul's time, the cross meant punishment and execution, and the ones crucified on it were considered cursed.

In his boasting, Paul is not speaking about suffering and injustice, and he is not boasting about the crosses of the criminal ones or the crosses on which countless people were left gasping for air until they suffocated and died. Paul speaks about the Cross of Christ, on which He offered his life in sacrifice for us, redeeming us and reconciling us with God. On that cross, Jesus surrendered his life and put himself totally in the hands of the Father. His death was the death of the innocent and pure Lamb, whose blood was shed, so that we may be cleansed and made anew. It is about this cross that Paul boasts, because it stands out as a proclamation of love's victory over hatred, and of faithfulness over disobedience and betrayal.

New creatures in Jesus Christ

There is nothing else we can boast about. It does not matter how good or how holy we are, because we will always fall far short of God's holiness. It is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus that we are made into "new creatures". That's why "it does not matter if a person is circumcised or not; what matters is for him to become an altogether new creature." (Gal 6:15)

According to Paul, being a "new creature", implies that "the world is crucified to me, and I to the world." (Gal 6:14), meaning that I am dead to the world. In his gospel, John presents Jesus praying for his disciples and saying that they do not belong to the world (Jn 17:14). Being dead to the world means that we cannot live according to the wisdom and the values of the world; instead, we accept God's gift of love, who transforms us into his beloved children.

The marks of Jesus’ suffering in Paul’s body

In his letters, here and there, Paul leaves little bits of information about his own life and his relationship with Jesus Christ. In relation to the cross of Christ, he tells us that "I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body" (Gal 6:17). This is a very rare experience of sharing in Jesus' passion, when the marks of his suffering on the cross are made visible in the body of someone. Besides Paul, we know of Francis of Assisi and of Padre Pio, who received the gift of this extraordinary experience, in order to give witness to the crucified Christ.