“When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM.”

The readings today draw us into a powerful mystery: how something that once symbolized punishment and suffering becomes the very means of healing and salvation. In the first reading from Numbers, the people of Israel grow weary and impatient on their journey. Their complaints against God reveal a deeper spiritual sickness, a lack of trust. In response, serpents come among them, and many are bitten. Yet even in punishment, God’s mercy is not absent. He instructs Moses to raise a bronze serpent on a pole, so that whoever looks upon it in faith will live. This moment is striking. The very image of what caused their suffering becomes the instrument of their healing. It is not magic; it is an invitation to trust. The people must look beyond their pain and fear and fix their gaze on what God provides. Healing comes not simply from the object, but from obedience and faith in God’s word. This event is a prefiguration, an anticipation, of something far greater. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks words that would have puzzled His listeners: “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM.” Here, Jesus points directly to the Cross. Just as the serpent was lifted up in the desert, so too will He be lifted up on the Cross. But unlike the serpent, which symbolized sin and punishment, Jesus takes sin upon Himself without being sinful. He becomes the one who bears the wound of humanity. The Cross, an instrument of shame and death, becomes the source of life and redemption. What appears to be defeat is actually victory. What looks like humiliation becomes glorification. In being lifted up, Jesus reveals His true identity: “I AM” the very presence of God among His people. The Cross, therefore, becomes our cornerstone. What the world rejects, God chooses. What seems broken becomes the foundation of new life. Jesus, through His obedience to the Father, shows us that true life comes not from avoiding sacrifice, but from embracing God’s will even in suffering. For when we truly look upon the One who is lifted up, we begin to understand, not just with our minds, but with our hearts, that He is indeed “I AM,” the God who saves, heals, and remains with us always.