The Glory and The Cross

Hag 2:1-9, Psalm: 42, Lk 9:18-22

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, the Word of God today presents us with a divine paradox, a mystery at the very heart of our faith: that God’s greatest glory is revealed not in overwhelming power, but in the shocking humility of the Cross.

The prophet Haggai speaks to a people filled with disappointment. The returned exiles have begun rebuilding the Temple, but those who remember the former glory of Solomon’s masterpiece look upon this new, modest structure and weep. It seems like nothing in comparison. But the word of the Lord comes to them: “Take courage! For I am with you.” He commands them not to dwell on the past, but to look to a future glory that will far surpass anything they have known. “Greater will be the future glory of this house than the former… And in this place I will give peace.” This is a promise not of mere architectural splendor, but of a definitive, dwelling presence of God that will bring true and lasting peace. This temple would one day be visited by the Prince of Peace Himself.

This promise finds its breathtaking fulfillment in the Gospel. Jesus first asks the disciples what the crowds are saying about Him. Their answers are flattering—a prophet, John the Baptist, returned. But then He makes it personal: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter, inspired by the Father, answers for them all: “The Christ of God.” He is the One anointed by God, the long-awaited Messiah, the glory Haggai promised.

But then, immediately, Jesus unveils the true, paradoxical nature of His messiahship. He must “suffer greatly and be rejected… be killed and on the third day be raised.” The glory of God would not be revealed in a political triumph or a majestic temple made of stone, but in the loving self-sacrifice of the Son of God on the wood of the Cross. The Cross is the new Temple, the ultimate place where God’s glory is fully revealed and where true peace is given to the world.

This is the Catholic faith we profess. We believe in a Messiah whose throne is a cross, whose coronation is a crucifixion, and whose victory is a resurrection. As Pope Benedict XVI taught, “The Cross reveals the power of God to bridge every chasm and to heal every wound.”

This World offers us immense comfort and strength. We all have moments where our lives, our efforts, or our Church can seem like the second temple—humble, flawed, and disappointing compared to an idealized past or our own grand plans. God tells us, “Take courage! I am with you.” His glory is often hidden within the struggles, the sacrifices, and the daily crosses we are asked to embrace.

The question, “But who do you say that I am?” is posed to each of us today. Do we believe in a Christ of our own making—one who promises only success and comfort? Or do we believe in the true Christ, the Suffering Servant, who tells us that the path to resurrection life always passes through the Cross?

Saint Rose of Lima understood this when she said, “Without the burden of afflictions, it is impossible to reach the height of grace.”

Let us take courage. Let us embrace the crosses of our daily lives—the hardships, the rejections, the patient endurance—not as failures, but as the very place where God chooses to reveal His glory and grant us His peace. For we know that the story does not end on Friday, but bursts forth into the eternal glory of Sunday. Amen.