This is Holy Wednesday. And the last day before four of the most important days in our faith begin.
But before we begin them, let's look at a few more Stations of the Cross.
Jesus has just fallen a second time and risen again on his walk to Calvary.
The Eighth Station is when the women of Jerusalem and their children come to Jesus to bless and thank him. Amidst all the chaos of this journey, they recognize his glory and want to thank him for being there with them, for healing the sick, for opening their heart. And what does Jesus feel? He feels sorry for leaving them. He knows his death will bring sadness and suffering, and even as he dies for us, he doesn't want to leave us.
The Ninth Station is when Jesus falls a third time. Here Jesus doesn't have the strength to move on. His killers help him back to his feet after this final fall and God's strength alone gets him to Calvary. God's strength, having to bring his own Son to death. Jesus is already humiliated and beaten down. He's pathetic for having fallen. He's a joke. They mock him with a "King of the Jews" sign. And then they strip him.
The Tenth Station is when Jesus is stripped. As if being whipped, spat on, jeered at, mocked, and laughed at wasn't enough, they make him even less dignified by stripping him before nailing him to the cross. Yet his eyes turn to Heaven.
But why? This man is on the brink of a painful, humiliating death for what? He has been disgraced enough, hasn't he? They never even brought any real charges against him. They never found anything in his past actions worthy of crucifixion. Yet he is crucified. Why?
Because crucixion was God's plan for our salvation. Jesus knew you already even though you weren't yet born. He knew you and was and is in love with you. And when they strip him, after all of this torture that he's already endured, he thinks of you. He turns to Heaven. And he believes that this will be worth it, for you. Not for all of mankind, although his sacrifice did save all of mankind. He didn't do it for the betterment of mankind. He did this; the journey, the torture,the crucifxion, the death, the Resurrection, for you.
Just you.
We adore you,
O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
40 Thoughts: Day 36
Holy Tuesday!
As we get closer to Jesus' Crucifixion, let's continue on our walk.
At the Fourth Station of the Cross, Jesus meets his mother. Mary is a beacon of hope, of peace, and of a great big "yes" to God's Will. Jesus meets his mother again on this path after he has already fallen and in her he finds that trust and hope that we so fervently search for. Even in the horror of this moment, Jesus and Mary know God's peace because they've followed God's Will.
At the Fifth Station, Simon is asked to help Jesus to carry his Cross. Jesus is weak and frail at this point and he needs help to carry this burden. How many times have we fallen beneath the weight of a heavy load? We all need help sometimes, and Jesus was no different. In his prefect humility, he accepted help from Simon, knowing he would need it to carry out God's Will.
At the Sixth Station, Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. Here Jesus is, carrying this heavy load with Simon's help, splattered with blood and spit, mocked, humiliated, beaten down, rejected, hated by the people who he is about to save. And she takes pity on him. As a true disciple, she wipes the blood, sweat, and spit from his face. In this moment, she and all others can truly see him. Even in this mockery and pain, Jesus is still the Son of God and in his humility he stays true to his place as a servant and obedient to God's Will.
At the Seventh Station, Jesus falls again. This second time, even with Simon's help, Jesus is even more exhausted and weak. He is on his way physically to death not just by the path he's taking, but by how he's taking the path. His is not a peaceful death, not a gradual aging, but a horrible agony. But he is helped up and he walks on after this second fall, because it's God's Will.
God's Will is the only thing that Jesus followed through the Stations of the Cross. He didn't follow human rules or expectations or abstract theological laws. He knew that God wanted this suffering from him, and he willingly suffered.
Why?
Jesus met with his mother along his walk so they could share their last moment before he gave her to us as a mother.
Jesus humbled himself in receiving help to carry his cross because he sought to experience our needs and struggles so that he could love and carry us ever more faithfully.
Jesus accepted blood, sweat, and spit to be the ultimate sacrifice for us. He became so lowly and then let himself be wiped clean, giving his humility and love to Veronica, allowing her to help him just as he allowed Simon to. Because he desires to be one with us and in accepting these people along his most painful journey.
Jesus fell even after being helped. He is torn apart, exhausted, whipped, and beaten. He is humiliated and mocked. And he gets up again to finish the journey. Not because it's good for his health. Not because he had something to prove to the onlookers. But because his greatest desire was to save you, and he knew the only way to do so would be to follow God's Will wherever it leads.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
As we get closer to Jesus' Crucifixion, let's continue on our walk.
At the Fourth Station of the Cross, Jesus meets his mother. Mary is a beacon of hope, of peace, and of a great big "yes" to God's Will. Jesus meets his mother again on this path after he has already fallen and in her he finds that trust and hope that we so fervently search for. Even in the horror of this moment, Jesus and Mary know God's peace because they've followed God's Will.
At the Fifth Station, Simon is asked to help Jesus to carry his Cross. Jesus is weak and frail at this point and he needs help to carry this burden. How many times have we fallen beneath the weight of a heavy load? We all need help sometimes, and Jesus was no different. In his prefect humility, he accepted help from Simon, knowing he would need it to carry out God's Will.
At the Sixth Station, Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. Here Jesus is, carrying this heavy load with Simon's help, splattered with blood and spit, mocked, humiliated, beaten down, rejected, hated by the people who he is about to save. And she takes pity on him. As a true disciple, she wipes the blood, sweat, and spit from his face. In this moment, she and all others can truly see him. Even in this mockery and pain, Jesus is still the Son of God and in his humility he stays true to his place as a servant and obedient to God's Will.
At the Seventh Station, Jesus falls again. This second time, even with Simon's help, Jesus is even more exhausted and weak. He is on his way physically to death not just by the path he's taking, but by how he's taking the path. His is not a peaceful death, not a gradual aging, but a horrible agony. But he is helped up and he walks on after this second fall, because it's God's Will.
God's Will is the only thing that Jesus followed through the Stations of the Cross. He didn't follow human rules or expectations or abstract theological laws. He knew that God wanted this suffering from him, and he willingly suffered.
Why?
Jesus met with his mother along his walk so they could share their last moment before he gave her to us as a mother.
Jesus humbled himself in receiving help to carry his cross because he sought to experience our needs and struggles so that he could love and carry us ever more faithfully.
Jesus accepted blood, sweat, and spit to be the ultimate sacrifice for us. He became so lowly and then let himself be wiped clean, giving his humility and love to Veronica, allowing her to help him just as he allowed Simon to. Because he desires to be one with us and in accepting these people along his most painful journey.
Jesus fell even after being helped. He is torn apart, exhausted, whipped, and beaten. He is humiliated and mocked. And he gets up again to finish the journey. Not because it's good for his health. Not because he had something to prove to the onlookers. But because his greatest desire was to save you, and he knew the only way to do so would be to follow God's Will wherever it leads.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Monday, March 25, 2013
40 Thoughts: Day 35
Welcome to Holy Week!
For the next six days, we'll be focusing in on Jesus' walk to the Cross; the Stations of the Cross.
First, Jesus is condemned to die. God had planned for him to be crucified, but Jesus had to say yes. He chose to walk to his crucifixion.
Second, Jesus begins to carry his own Cross. He is given this heavy, wooden Cross which he will be nailed to and eventually die on. Then he is made to carry it a long way, crowds jeering and screaming, cheering and bellowing at him the whole way.
Third, Jesus falls for the first time. He falls under the weight of the Cross as he carries it, for it is extremely heavy. Here the savior of the world is terribly weak in everyone's eyes.
These are the first three Stations of the Cross. They sound just like stories, different plot points in a movie script. But they're not. They are our salvation saving our souls.
First, Jesus chooses to die for us. He decides that we are worthy of the ultimate sacrifice, even after our sinful ways.
Second, Jesus carries the weight of the Cross. It is the Cross we built for him, full of our sins and shortcomings. He picks it up and carries it.
Third, Jesus falls. He falls beneath the weight of our sins because they are heavy. He is overburdened. But he gets up, and he walks on it. Because you alone are worth it.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
For the next six days, we'll be focusing in on Jesus' walk to the Cross; the Stations of the Cross.
First, Jesus is condemned to die. God had planned for him to be crucified, but Jesus had to say yes. He chose to walk to his crucifixion.
Second, Jesus begins to carry his own Cross. He is given this heavy, wooden Cross which he will be nailed to and eventually die on. Then he is made to carry it a long way, crowds jeering and screaming, cheering and bellowing at him the whole way.
Third, Jesus falls for the first time. He falls under the weight of the Cross as he carries it, for it is extremely heavy. Here the savior of the world is terribly weak in everyone's eyes.
These are the first three Stations of the Cross. They sound just like stories, different plot points in a movie script. But they're not. They are our salvation saving our souls.
First, Jesus chooses to die for us. He decides that we are worthy of the ultimate sacrifice, even after our sinful ways.
Second, Jesus carries the weight of the Cross. It is the Cross we built for him, full of our sins and shortcomings. He picks it up and carries it.
Third, Jesus falls. He falls beneath the weight of our sins because they are heavy. He is overburdened. But he gets up, and he walks on it. Because you alone are worth it.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Palm Sunday
Today in Mass we read from the Lord's Passion.
As a congregation, we asked for Jesus to be crucified today during our reading. Jesus may have died 2000 years ago, but it was our voices calling out for him to be crucified. The sins he died for are our
sins. The souls he died to save are our souls.
We only have one week left of Lent, and it has been designated by the Church as Holy Week. In his homily today, Father Paul left us with one very important thought: Jesus would have gone through his Passion and Crucifixion for you if you were the only human being on Earth.
He would've gone through all of it just for you. He loves you that much.
So as we look forward to this all-important week in our Liturgical year, let's follow Father's Paul's advice and make Jesus' Crucifixion personal. Because it is.
Our daily lives get muddled and muddied and confusing, so it's understandable that we lose sight of some things during our day. But it's doesn't have to be that way. Jesus Christ died for you. It didn't matter to him how much you would sin or how many times you messed up or how often you forget about him or deny him or ignore him. He loves you exactly how you are. He died for you already knowing you and what you would and wouldn't do throughout the course of your life.
Knowing this spectacular truth is crucial to our peace and happiness. So now for Holy Week try to take some time out of every day and remember that Jesus finds you worth dying for. Once you can understand everything that means and you can believe it to be true, then you can start living like it.
Start living like someone died for you. Because Jesus did.
Have a Holy day
As a congregation, we asked for Jesus to be crucified today during our reading. Jesus may have died 2000 years ago, but it was our voices calling out for him to be crucified. The sins he died for are our
sins. The souls he died to save are our souls.
We only have one week left of Lent, and it has been designated by the Church as Holy Week. In his homily today, Father Paul left us with one very important thought: Jesus would have gone through his Passion and Crucifixion for you if you were the only human being on Earth.
He would've gone through all of it just for you. He loves you that much.
So as we look forward to this all-important week in our Liturgical year, let's follow Father's Paul's advice and make Jesus' Crucifixion personal. Because it is.
Our daily lives get muddled and muddied and confusing, so it's understandable that we lose sight of some things during our day. But it's doesn't have to be that way. Jesus Christ died for you. It didn't matter to him how much you would sin or how many times you messed up or how often you forget about him or deny him or ignore him. He loves you exactly how you are. He died for you already knowing you and what you would and wouldn't do throughout the course of your life.
Knowing this spectacular truth is crucial to our peace and happiness. So now for Holy Week try to take some time out of every day and remember that Jesus finds you worth dying for. Once you can understand everything that means and you can believe it to be true, then you can start living like it.
Start living like someone died for you. Because Jesus did.
Have a Holy day
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)