Choose Joy

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, September 14th, 2025:
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

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Philippians
2:6-11

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
and being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death
—even death on a cross.

Therefore God highly exalted him
and gave him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

I clearly remember one Good Friday when the truth of the incredible sacrifice Jesus made for us soaked through to my very core. I was part of the music ministry, standing at the front of the church as my fellow parishioners made their way up toward us to venerate the Cross. As we sang, I watched them approach and one by one, offer their gratitude. The elderly using walkers or holding the arm of someone … young children … parents with babes in arms … and the magnitude of what He had done overwhelmed me. When it was my turn to approach the Cross, my heart swelled with both gratitude and shame.

Jesus knew what He was about  to endure, and yet with all humility, He obeyed God. He knew that God had a perfect plan, and He knew that following that plan was going to be difficult and painful. He put the world before himself. He could have walked away and left the world to fend for itself, and instead, He opened His arms in an act of true selfless love. The gratitude that I felt as I knelt before the Cross and pressed my own head into it was sincere, and the shame that washed through me reflected how cavalier I had been with His priceless gift.

The Scripture tells us that God highly exalted Him for His sacrifice. That even just the sound of His name would cause every knee to bend. His sacrifice gave the world its freedom, along with a challenge to live like Him. During His time on earth, Jesus served others. He taught. He healed. He shared what He had, feeding others physically and spiritually. He laughed and shared joy. And He did it all knowing His Father had a plan that could only be fulfilled through pain and suffering. Yes, He questioned and asked for the cup to pass from Him, but only if that was God’s will.

The shame I felt was because I knew how lukewarm and complacent I have been (and at times, continue to be) in times of struggle and in times of plenty.

That Good Friday challenged me to live a life of joy and gratitude. It was soon after that I began a gratitude practice–challenging myself to find a number of things for which to be grateful daily. Some days I find it in the big, important things and people in my life, and other days I find joy in a good cup of coffee. But I find something every day, and it has begun to change how I approach life. And when the tough times came…  and they did come…  I have found that I am better able to trust in God’s plan for that situation and for my life, and the shame has begun to disappear. Knees won’t bend at the sound of my name, but I feel more confident that by following Jesus Christ’s example of living a life of humility, obedience and joy, I may just hear “Well done, good and faithful servant” when my time here on earth is done.  




Sandy Graves

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