14 April 2026
Lifted up
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says something that can feel almost mysterious: “The Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” That phrase—lifted up—is the key.
Because Jesus is not just predicting the Cross. He is revealing how God has always been working. He points back to the Old Testament: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert…”
That moment comes from Israel’s journey in the wilderness. The people had sinned, and serpents afflicted them. But God gave a strange remedy: a bronze serpent lifted up on a pole. Anyone who looked at it lived.
At first, it doesn’t make sense. The image of what was harming them became the means of healing. But Jesus says: that was never just about that moment. It was pointing forward. Everything was leading to this: “The Son of Man must be lifted up.”
That word—must—matters.
The Cross is not an accident. It is not a failure. It is not something that simply happened to Jesus. It is the way God chose to bring life into the world.
And that changes how we understand everything.
Because if God brings life through the Cross, then He is not working primarily through comfort, control, or ease. He is working through self-gift. Through surrender. Through what looks like loss but becomes life.
Now look at the first reading. “The community of believers was of one heart and mind… no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own.” That kind of life doesn’t happen naturally. To hold everything in common… to give freely… to live without clinging to what is “mine.”
Where does that come from?
It comes from the Cross.
Because once you understand that life comes through self-gift, everything begins to shift. You don’t cling to things the same way. You don’t define yourself by what you have. You don’t live closed in on yourself. Instead, you begin to live outward. Just like Christ.
That’s why the early Church looks the way it does. It’s not just generosity. It’s transformation.
Barnabas sells a field and lays the money at the apostles’ feet. That’s not just a kind act—it’s a sign that the life of Christ has taken hold of him. He’s living the same pattern: giving leads to life.
And that brings us back to the Gospel. “Everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Belief here is not just about knowing something is true. It means entrusting yourself to Jesus completely. It means accepting that God’s path to life is not always the one we would choose.
And that’s where this reading challenges us.
Because we often want resurrection without the Cross. We want new life without surrender. We want transformation but without letting go.
But Jesus is clear: The Son of Man must be lifted up.
And if we want to share in His life, we are drawn into that same mystery. Not in some abstract way but in how we actually live. In how we give. In how we let go.
And the surprising part is that’s not where life is lost. That’s where life is found.
So today, the question is not just: do I believe in Jesus? But: do I trust the way He works?
Do I trust that God brings life through self-gift? Do I trust that surrender is not defeat but the path to something greater?
Because everything in Scripture has been leading here. The serpent lifted up… fulfilled. The Cross… revealed as the source of life. And now, even our lives when united to His become part of that same pattern.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says something that can feel almost mysterious: “The Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” That phrase—lifted up—is the key.
Because Jesus is not just predicting the Cross. He is revealing how God has always been working. He points back to the Old Testament: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert…”
That moment comes from Israel’s journey in the wilderness. The people had sinned, and serpents afflicted them. But God gave a strange remedy: a bronze serpent lifted up on a pole. Anyone who looked at it lived.
At first, it doesn’t make sense. The image of what was harming them became the means of healing. But Jesus says: that was never just about that moment. It was pointing forward. Everything was leading to this: “The Son of Man must be lifted up.”
That word—must—matters.
The Cross is not an accident. It is not a failure. It is not something that simply happened to Jesus. It is the way God chose to bring life into the world.
And that changes how we understand everything.
Because if God brings life through the Cross, then He is not working primarily through comfort, control, or ease. He is working through self-gift. Through surrender. Through what looks like loss but becomes life.
Now look at the first reading. “The community of believers was of one heart and mind… no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own.” That kind of life doesn’t happen naturally. To hold everything in common… to give freely… to live without clinging to what is “mine.”
Where does that come from?
It comes from the Cross.
Because once you understand that life comes through self-gift, everything begins to shift. You don’t cling to things the same way. You don’t define yourself by what you have. You don’t live closed in on yourself. Instead, you begin to live outward. Just like Christ.
That’s why the early Church looks the way it does. It’s not just generosity. It’s transformation.
Barnabas sells a field and lays the money at the apostles’ feet. That’s not just a kind act—it’s a sign that the life of Christ has taken hold of him. He’s living the same pattern: giving leads to life.
And that brings us back to the Gospel. “Everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Belief here is not just about knowing something is true. It means entrusting yourself to Jesus completely. It means accepting that God’s path to life is not always the one we would choose.
And that’s where this reading challenges us.
Because we often want resurrection without the Cross. We want new life without surrender. We want transformation but without letting go.
But Jesus is clear: The Son of Man must be lifted up.
And if we want to share in His life, we are drawn into that same mystery. Not in some abstract way but in how we actually live. In how we give. In how we let go.
And the surprising part is that’s not where life is lost. That’s where life is found.
So today, the question is not just: do I believe in Jesus? But: do I trust the way He works?
Do I trust that God brings life through self-gift? Do I trust that surrender is not defeat but the path to something greater?
Because everything in Scripture has been leading here. The serpent lifted up… fulfilled. The Cross… revealed as the source of life. And now, even our lives when united to His become part of that same pattern.