The Wisdom Of The Cross p1kp

THE WISDOM OF THE CROSS

FR. ANTHONY C. MBANEFO M.S.P

Copyright © 2012 by Fr. Anthony C. Mbanefo M.S.P.

ISBN: Softcover 978-1-4797-0496-5 eBook 978-1-4797-0497-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations marked NJB are from The New Jerusalem Bible, copyright © 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.

Front Cover Photo Attribution image credit: Historic Ireland - Glasnevin Cemetery Is A Hidden Gem And Well Worth A Visit via free images (license)

Rev. date: 10/06/2015

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CHAPTERS

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION: SIGN OF CURSE TO SIGN OF VICTORY

CHAPTER TWO: THE CROSS EXPOSES THE FOLLY OF THE WORLD

CHAPTER THREE: CROSS THE ROAD TO LIFE

CHAPTER FOUR: THE CROSS IS AN ESSENTIAL INGRIDIENT OF LIFE

CHAPTER FIVE: CALVARY, THE ROAD TO FREEDOM

CHAPTER SIX: THE CROSS IS A POINT OF CROSSING THE TRESHOLD

CHAPTER SEVEN: MEANS OF HEALING AND RECONCILIATION

CHAPTER EIGHT: FOR THE BENEFIT OF MANY

CHAPTER NINE: CROSS, EVIDENCE OF LOVE

CHAPTER TEN: CONCLUSION

Cover picture

The cover picture is that of Celtic crosses at Glasnevin Cemetery Dublin by the courtesy of infomatique photo stream.

BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR

• The Seven Words of Jesus on the Cross

• Grace And Nature, A Dialogue Between God And Humanity

• The Wisdom of the Cross

“The Wisdom of the Cross” by Fr Anthony C. Mbanefo, MSP, is a refreshing reflection of the power of the Cross. The author’s generous use of Sacred Scripture gives a perspective from before and after. Fr Mbanefo stresses the liberation of the Cross and how it is shared in our baptism and in the moment of our redemption. Like his other works, Fr. Mbanefo challenges the reader to use the Cross as a benchmark for our own commitment to discipleship. Ultimately, “The Wisdom of the Cross” leads to the love that God has for each of us.

+ Most Reverend Gregory J Hartmayer, OFM. Conv. Bishop of Savannah, GA

This book is an invitation for all Christian believers to confront the challenges of life with profound faith and docility to God’s will. God’s love for mankind is made visible in the suffering and death of Christ. Fr Mbanefo demonstrates how the ion and death of Christ makes the day to day sufferings of our human condition full of meaning and purpose. I recommend this book to all those who believing in Christ as their hope want to discover from him, the strength that will aid them in confronting the difficulties of life.

+Most Reverend Kevin J. Boland, Bishop Emeritus of Savannah GA

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all those who go through the trails of life with a deep faith in God and in Christ Jesus our crucified Savior.

ACKNOWLEDGEMNTS

My greatest gratitude goes to God the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ the inspiration and guidance of whose Spirit has made the writing of this book a reality. I thank my bishop, Most Rev Dr. Gregory John Hartmayer OFM and the bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Savannah, Most Rev Dr. J. Kevin Boland for their wonderful . I am equally grateful to Very Rev. Fr Paul Ofoha MSP, the Father General of the Missionary Society of St Paul and his council for their . I thank my regional superior Very Rev. Fr Desmond Ohankwere MSP for his help. I owe many thanks to my friend Fr Efiri M. Selemobri MSP for his advice and encouragement. I am also indebted to Fr Anselm Eke MSP who helped me a lot in editing this work. I sincerely thank the Xlibris Corporation for undertaking the publication of the book. Finally, I am most grateful to Mrs. Regina Mbanefo, my beloved mother, the great woman whose love, goodwill and prayers have mostly been the source of my success not only in this publication but in many other enterprises of my life.

Rev Dr Anthony Chukwudumeme Mbanefo MSP

OPENING HYMN

O loving wisdom of our God! When all was sin and shame, A second Adam to the fight And to the rescue came.

O generous love! that he who smote In man for man the foe, The double agony in man For man should undergo;

And in the garden secretly, And on the cross on high, Should teach his brethren, and inspire To suffer and to die.

Praise to the Holiest in the height, And in the depth be praise, In all his words most wonderful,

Most sure in all his ways.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION: SIGN OF CURSE TO SIGN OF VICTORY

Saint Paul was right when he told us that the hidden wisdom of our God which we proclaim as a mystery is a wisdom that none of the masters of our age has known or they would not have crucified the Lord of life (Cf.1 Corinthians 2: 79). How for example could the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate have handed the Lord Jesus Christ over to the Jews to be tortured and crucified if he had known the origin and identity of the man standing before him. The paradox of the situation however is that God used the ignorance and folly of the masters of our age as a means to achieve his wise plan. In this way the foolishness of the world has been converted into divine wisdom (Cf. 1Corinthians 1:27). It was the Romans of old who had invented the crucifixion as the most ignoble and inhuman way of killing the worst type of criminals of the non Roman race.

When Pilate, after the his insincere game plan with Jewish leaders which ended in the crucifixion of Jesus, placed an inscription on top of the cross, “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews” (John 19:19) clearly to be read in the three major languages of the place Hebrew, Greek and Latin, it was clear that the governor, far from intending to eulogize Jesus, was making a mockery of the highest order of his race. It was like saying: “Look you Jews; here is your great reformer, and hero. There is nothing that he is worthy of except the most ignoble kind of death meant for the worst and the most wretched of criminals”. The Jewish leaders caught the joke immediately, and that was why they protested instantly: “You should not write ‘King of the Jews’ but that the man said, ‘I am King of the Jews’” (John 19:23). Pilate knew quite well what he wanted to do so instead of backpedalling because of the protest of the Jews, he used the occasion to consolidate his position. To them he answered: “what I have written, I have

written’” (John 19:24). He obviously did not want to go home without his pound of flesh. They, out of their mischievousness have twisted his hands and compelled him to sentence a just man to death on the ground that his failure to do so will result in their implicating him before his master, the Roman emperor. The only way that he could exact his vengeance was to use the occasion to insult them in a subtle way and to use the rudest kind of language to tell them what he thought of them and the stock of which they were made. “This is a cursed race, a race whose king is worth nothing but the most shameful death of the cross.”

Yes, the cross was a curse both for the Jews and for the Gentiles of Jesus time. Even the scripture testified to this when it said, “Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:13[RSV translation]). It was not only that the Romans scorned the cross as was evident from the inscription of Pilate, subsequent events also showed that Romans despised Christians because they identified them as the disciples of the one that underwent the ignoble death on the cross. The Roman world of the first three centuries A.D was a hostile world to the Christian people. They were despised, persecuted and killed by the Romans, but there was something surprising which even their most bitter persecutors and adversaries could not deny. They were progressing and flourishing in the midst of bitter persecution. The oppressed were happier than the oppressors, the persecuted were having more peace than the persecutors, and the victimized were living in greater freedom than the victimizers. What was the source of their joy and peace and freedom? They were living the life of righteousness which was the very life that made Jesus Christ to be crucified. They loved one another and even loved and forgave those who persecuted them just as Jesus Christ loved everybody and even forgave those who killed him. Because of that, they were feeling the love of God in their lives and were swimming in that love. They were sharing the small that they had with others even as Jesus Christ gave out his entire life in this world for others. Because of that they were getting abundant joy from him in the Spirit of whom the Scripture said that there in is more joy in giving than in receiving. They were really like the biblical merchant who discovered the hidden treasure (Cf. Matthew 13: 44-46), the treasure that is concealed in Christ and his cross. More than just understanding the words of the beatitude, they experienced these words in their lives, lived them and gained strength, joy and consolation from them. “Blessed are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your names as criminals, on of the Son of man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, look—your

reward will be great in heaven” (Luke 6: 22-23). In a word, through their embrace of Christ and his cross together with its ignominy, they found that true wisdom which has eluded the world of their time.

A day came when the Romans had to accept the truth which was becoming obvious to any curious observer. The Romans through the centuries even before the days of Pontius Pilate and his master Emperor Tiberius Caesar had done all sorts of foolish thing and employed all kinds of political strategies known by the masters of this age in order to maintain the peace of the empire and to check external aggression and internal disorder but things got from bad to worse. Nearly three hundred years after the days of Tiberius, one of his successors, Constantine the Great, after having looked with envy and iration at the formidable Christian group, and following a revelation he received in a dream decided to explore that object called CROSS which the Christians claimed to be the source of their own wisdom and strength. In the year 312 AD, as he prepared to engage Maxentius his rival in a crucial battle that was to decide who becomes the ruler of the western part of the empire, he decided that the CROSS was to be attached to the standards of all his soldiers with the inscription: “In this sign you will conquer.” He came out of the war victorious, and from thenceforth lived all his life with the full conviction that it was the Christian God symbolized by the cross who has given him this great victory which changed the cause of the empire. He believed that the wisest decision he ever made was to adopt the cross as his standard in the decisive battle. The once ignoble cross of the Roman world has become their sign of victory. The sacrifice and prayers of Christians is now recognized as something indispensable for the welfare, peace and protection of the state.

Constantine might have thought of a physical cross as an isolated object, but the truth that was being affirmed was that the suffering and shameful death of Christ the righteous one is the hope of victory not only for the Romans but for any section of humanity in any worthwhile enterprise. God the Father designed the event of the cross as a part of his wise plan for the salvation of the world. Christ Jesus our Lord embraced the cross as a part of his wise sacrifice for the wellbeing of his brothers and sisters in any part of the world. The wisdom of the early Christians was demonstrated in their enduring persecution and persevering

in a life of righteousness and faith as is represented by Christ and his cross. Since the days of Constantine up to our days, countless crosses have been made in honor of Jesus by people of wisdom and of faith and mounted in different nooks and crannies of the world, public places as well and private homes, commercial centers as well as offices. Wherever we have the cross, we are saying that we believe in living a life of sacrifice and righteousness. Whenever we affirm our faith in the cross, we are affirming our belief that through the power of Jesus Christ, any suffering that men and women of truth and of religion have suffered for a cause that is noble will have an eternal reward. To affirm the wisdom of the cross is to say that it is wise to suffer in union with Christ so that we might rise to new life with him.

CHAPTER TWO

THE CROSS EXPOSES THE FOLLY OF THE WORLD

Introductory age: “Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Look, he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed—and a sward will pierce your soul too—so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare’”(Luke 2: 34-35).

To the Corinthian Christians of his time, Saint Paul addressed some inspiring words.

• “Themessageofthecrossisfollyforthosewhoareonthewaytoruin,buttothosewhoareonthewaytosal 19).

He went on to explore the depth of the message of the cross which being the wisdom of God is our own strength and righteousness. This message of the cross, he described as offensive to the wisdom of the Greeks and an obstacle to the Jews whose religion laid emphasis on signs. For all those who believe, St Paul saw in the cross, our one and only justification because it has made us to evade the folly of the Greeks which is brought about by their emphasis on elusive human wisdom and the downfall of the Jews which is brought about by their insistence on signs. He asked:

• “DoyounotseehowGodhasshownuphumanwisdomasfolly? SinceinthewisdomofGod,theworldwasunabletorecognizeGodthroughwisdom,itwasGod’sownp 21).

He went on to show how the event of the cross is a design effected by God to expose the folly of human wisdom and the weakness of human strength. All this is clearly calculated by God so as to make sure that in Christ alone is the wisdom and strength of God made visible. For this he decided to choose and enthrone in Christ, the apparently weak and foolish of the world to the shame of the said wise and to exalt the poor and lowly to the humiliation of the acclaimed strong and mighty of the world.

• “Godchosethosewhobyhumanstandardsarefoolstoshamethewise;hechoosethosewhobyhumanst —indeedthosewhocountfornothing— toreducetonothingthosewhocountforsomething,sothatnohumanbeingmightfeelboastfulbeforeG 30).

The very unfortunate thing about humanity is not so much her own foolishness as her ignorance of her pitiable state. People are proud of something they should be ashamed of and take joy in something they should loathe and run away from. “While they claim to be wise, in fact they were growing stupid” (Romans 1:22). One of the fathers of Greek philosophy Socrates as he tried to find out why the oracle of Delphi declared him the wisest man in the world, came to his conclusion after a great deal of consultation and exploration. It was because he was ignorant and he knew that he was ignorant, others are ignorant and they don’t know that they are ignorant. It was simply because of the wretchedness of

humanity that God sent his only Son in order to come and teach us and as such lift us up. The Eternal Son of God emptied himself of his divinity and became a wretched human being. He was striped of everything and was exposed naked, before the gaze of sinners, who in their folly, mocked him and made fun of him. This was aimed at exposing the folly of the world.

Who could have known how vain and empty headed the “learned” scribes and Pharisees were? Who could have known their insincere disposition towards God and how empty the religious doctrine they were preaching was and how artificial was their practice of the law? It was only their encounter with Christ Jesus, the man destined for the cross that laid bare the whole truth. The words of Simeon the old man at the temple of God in Jerusalem to Mary as regards Jesus and his imminent suffering were perfectly true. Let us just see a few of the secret thoughts in the minds of some of the people who were reputed to be people of leaning or of religion or of authority which were laid bare by the event of the cross. Even as Christ was an infant, it was the news of his birth and what he was meant to be which made Herod the king of God’s people to be filled with treacherous intention as he addressed some words to the magi, the great pagan people from the East who were searching for the truth of salvation. “Go and find out all about the child, and when you have found him, let me know so that I too may go and do him homage” (Matthew 2: 8-9). To these sincere minded pagan sages and to all of us, the secret thought of the wicked king was laid bare, for “they were given a warning in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way” (Matthew 2: 12). His secret thought was not only laid bare but was put into action.

“Herod was furious on realizing that he has been fooled by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and it’s surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years old or less, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men”(Matthew 2:16).

The wicked plan of King Herod which he secretly conceived in his heart and then executed must have been seen by him as a wise political strategy, the type

that the princes of this world normally employ to secure their sovereignty and keep it free from any treasonable interference. Contrary to the idea of King Herod, his wicked thought which was converted into action was a folly which was neither able to get rid of Jesus his target nor to secure his kingdom for him. The Jesus that he was even seeking to kill in his folly has come to establish another kingdom altogether, a kingdom which being spiritual in nature was not meant to interfere with his political empire. As a matter of fact, he would have acquired moral authority and spiritual security in his subjecting himself to the spiritual sovereignty of the one that he sought to destroy.

During the public ministry of Jesus, he constantly had to contend with the scribes and Pharisees who were the reputed doctors and teachers of the law. It was the person and ministry of Jesus destined as he was to the cross that constantly exposed the folly of the said religious sages. His personal encounter with Simon the leper who was apparently a very sincere minded Pharisee was a very curious demonstration of the truth of the case. Simon must have been reputed in the circle of the Pharisees as a role model. Even the very fact that he called Jesus to a dinner in his house, which an average Pharisee of his time and place with their growing antagonism towards Jesus could not have done, marked him out as a man who was still making an effort to live up to the values of Judaism. The incident that eventually transpired that day during this meal to which Simon has generously called Jesus exposed the folly and bankruptcy of Pharisaic piety as was represented by the secret thought of Simon which was laid bare by Jesus. This enabled us to see how Judaism as a religion even in the way it was being practiced by the best of its adherents and teachers has fallen short of the demand of true righteousness. It must have been for this that Jesus Christ gave the following onition to his disciples:

• “IfyouruprightnessdoesnotsurthenthatofthescribesandPharisees,youwillneverintothekingdo

A woman had come in, who out of sorrow for her past sins and out of love for Jesus Christ and faith in him, was making up for some obvious discrepancies in the service that Simon had rendered. Simon could not see the insight of the woman which covered his oversight, the service she rendered which took care of the service that he failed to render, her faith which made up for his faithlessness and her burning love which outweighed his cold love. Simon did not only condemn the woman because he looked at her from the lenses of his sinful mind, but he even condemned Jesus in his mind for not seeing the woman in the way that he saw her and as such not condemning and rejecting the woman in the way that he did. He thought to himself,

• “Ifthismanwereaprophet,hewouldhaveknownwhothiswomanisandwhatsortofpersonitiswhoisto

Jesus exposed the thought of Simon by telling him the story of a man and his two debtors after which he concluded with a remark concerning his attitude and that of the woman, showing him how foolish and irreligious his hidden thoughts were.

• “Youseethiswoman? Icameintoyourhouse,andyoupourednowaterovermyfeet,butshehaspouredouthertearsonmyfeeta 48).

The scribes and Pharisees missed the message of God. They laid emphasis on external formalities while they ignore the questions of truth and right, mercy and comion. They assessed people as right to the extent they were able to conform with external regulations of Judaism without caring how sincere they

were towards God and others, how truthful they were and how merciful they were towards their fellow human beings which was the main thing. Jesus and his cross exposed them in their foolishness and showed how their thoughts and words were counterfeits of true religion. On one occasion they bitterly criticized his disciples for eating without first washing their hands as was in their religious code. On this Jesus exposed their thoughts by telling them how the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled on them.

• “Thispeoplehonormeonlywithlipservice,whiletheirheartsarefarfromme.Theirreverenceformeisw 9).

He finally cleared the air, showing them how wrong they were in their religious understanding.

• “Hecalledthepeopletohimandsaid,‘Listen,andunderstand.Whatgoesintothemouthdoesnotmakea 11).

On another occasion, they rebuked his disciples for picking and eating the ears of corn on the Sabbath day. Jesus rightly onished them when he realized that in their process of chasing the shadow, they were going against the main issue.

• “Ifyouhadunderstoodthemeaningofthiswords:‘Mercyiswhatpleasesmenotsacrifice’,youwouldn

On the day that the synagogue president faulted him for curing the woman bent double on the Sabbath day, he showed how crooked minded the religious leaders have become and how they live a life of double standard.

• “Hypocrites,isthereoneofyouwhodoesnotuntiehisoxorhisdonkeyfromthemangerontheSabbatha Andthiswoman,adaughterofAbrahamwhomSatanhasheldboundforeighteenyears —wasitnotrighttountiethisbondontheSabbathday?”(Luke13:15-16).

On many occasions, the scribes and Pharisees, together with the elders of the people had so much been taken aback by the heavenly kind of prudence and maturity with which Jesus comported himself, even with his revolutionary teaching and way of life. This was because it has become extremely difficult for them to find an avenue through which to fault or implicate him. It was for this reason that they had to plan their strategy of trying to get him air his view publicly on some of the controversial issues of the time on which it was not easy for one to talk without falling into error or being misunderstood and as such becoming a victim of the party that has been aggrieved by his opinion. At one time, they questioned him about paying tax to Caesar, at another time it was about divorce, and at the third occasion, it was a woman who they were about to stone for having been allegedly caught in the very act of adultery that they set before him seeking his opinion. In all these incidents, Jesus who could see right through their hypocrisy was quite aware that it was not so much their sincere quest for truth as their eagerness to track him down that propelled their questions. The simple thing he did on each of these three occasions was to avoid their trap which was set on a wrong premise created by their erroneous reasoning and to go on to point at the right angle and therein provide a sound solution which while transcending the errors and agitations of all the parties with vested interest, exposes the foolishness of their original reasoning and their evil

purpose.

As they questioned him on whether or not they should pay tax to Caesar, he evaded their trap and exposed the folly of their thought and wicked plan.

• “Hewasawareoftheircunningandsaid,‘Showmeadenarius.‘Whoseportraitandtitleareonit?’Theys —andGodwhatbelongstoGod’”(Luke20:23-25).

When they questioned him on the permissibility of divorce, he showed them how in their own stubbornness of mind, they have set aside the original plan of God and followed their own foolish way.

• “Heansweredthem,‘WhatdidMosescommandyou?’.Theyreplied,‘Mosesallowedustodrawupaw 9).

When they confronted him with the case of a woman caught in the act of adultery who they were about to stone, he in turn confronted them with the reality of their own sins and made them to see the folly and wickedness of ing a verdict when they are themselves guilty. They had brought the woman as a sure culprit intending to use the episode as a snare to entrap Jesus. At the end, Jesus exposed them as the main culprits through a single question and they had to make their disappearance in such a way as to disentangle themselves from their own snare which they had fallen into.

• “Jesusbentdownandstartedtowriteonthegroundwithhisfingers.Astheypersistedwiththeirquestion 9).

If it were not for Jesus Christ, the man that was destined to suffer and die for the sins of mankind so that his cross may become a sign for us, the minds of many people, their secret thought and hidden agendas would not have been laid bare. As Christ approached nearer and nearer, his ion and death, the scribes and Pharisees were more intent on getting him to the cross which was his destination, so at each stage, their folly was brought to the bare all the more until in the end, it became obvious that nothing was left of them and their religion. All was gone. As for signs which was a very remarkable aspect of their religion, they had seen countless of them in Jesus, yet they closed their eyes to all these and continued to ask for a sign. How foolish and false they must have started to look in the eyes of most of their adherents who must have started to notice the increasing tension mounting between them and Jesus when such adherents hear that despite the overwhelming cases of healing the sick, the blind and the cripple, restoring the dead to life and many other miracles he was working publicly on daily bases, the former were faulting him on the ground of want of signs.

The crowd commented on seeing his miracles. “John gave no sign, but all he said about this man was true” (John 10:42). John might not have given some isolated signs but the very person and message of John the Baptist which was an occasion of great spiritual upheaval and messianic expectation was a sign, a sign that authenticated the messianic claims of Jesus whom his ministry has anticipated and prepared way for. The folly of the Pharisees and the chief priests could be seen even in the way that they were ill-disposed towards the person and ministry of John the Baptist who was acclaimed by the people as a great prophet of God. It was for this that on one of the occasion when they confronted Jesus with the question of a sign; he confronted them with their own idea about John the Baptist. They were afraid to let the insincerity that has informed their ill

disposition towards the person and message of John to be exposed by Jesus Christ, hence they terminated the discussion as “they argued this way among themselves, ‘If we say heavenly, he will say, ‘Then why did you refuse to believe him?’ But dare we say human?’—they had the people to fear, for everyone held that John had been a real prophet. So their reply to Jesus was, ‘We don’t know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Nor will I tell you my authority for acting like this’” (Mark 11:31-33).

When Jesus had exhausted all the signs that he had to give his insincere adversaries, he made it clear to them that no other signs could satisfy their wickedness as that of his ion, death and resurrection since the event that was to transpire therein would show how bankrupt they were in every virtue and right reasoning, soul, mind and heart.

“It is an evil and unfaithful generation that asks for a sign! The only sign that it will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah remained in the belly of the sea-monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.” (Matthew 12: 39-40)

It was in their eagerness to bring about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ that the very religious leaders of God’s people made their minds and hearts clear to the pagan governor and to the whole world. They did not want God to be their king again; they have rejected entirely the idea of messiah the holy one of God and what he stands for. They have rejected the freedom of the children of God. They want to live like pagans under the slavery and bondage of sin with a pagan king to lord it over them. With one voice “the chief priests answered, ‘We have no king except Caesar’” (John 19:15). Even the ceaseless plea that the pagan governor was to make on behalf of God’s people for their savior was to be in vain. They have said their minds and they must go by it.

• “InhisdesiretosetJesusfree,Pilateaddressedthemagain,buttheyshoutedback,‘Crucifyhim!Crucify Ihavefoundnocaseagainsthimthatdeservesdeath,soIshallhavehimfloggedandlethimgo.Buttheyk 23).

It was no more a question of preferring darkness to light in ones heart and yet posing externally as an angel of light, or of harboring hatred in one’s heart and talking of love with one’s mouth. The cross of Christ made the evil people to shout aloud their hidden intention, their preference of evil to good, and their willingness to get rid of righteousness and live with sin. They shouted that Christ who has restored their lives and brought them the healing and consolation of God should be killed, and Barabas, a criminal and murderer be released.

It is always our faith in Christ Jesus and our standing by him and his cross in moments of suffering and trial that exposes the inadequacies of those whose lives are not based on the principles of the cross. On the day that Paul was brought before King Agrippa to give an of his faith in Christ Jesus on whose he was in prison, Paul spoke so convincingly that the latter was becoming quite uncomfortable because of his immoral life and as such begged Paul to stop. Interestingly, when Governor Festus was about to bring Paul before King Agrippa for hearing, the whole issue which was Paul’s bone of contention with the Jews sounded so foolish. Festus reported to Agrippa the matter that was the centre of controversy between the two parties.

• “TheyhadsomeargumentorotherwithhimabouttheirownreligionandaboutadeancalledJesusw

One would have expected that an issue bordering on a dead man being alleged to

be alive would have made a trivial topic which basing on superstitious fabrication, could have turned Paul’s submission into an empty nonsense. On the contrary, the two leaders as they listened to the faith testimony of the prisoner for the cross were overwhelmed by the depth and wisdom of the exploration that they were afraid of the consequence that further exploration might have on their lives sunk as they were in moral bankruptcy. It is in the cross that true wisdom subsists; hence any thing contrary to it is folly and is bound to be brought to open when confronted by the cross of Christ. Those who wish the foolishness of their worldly thinking and way to be laid open before them in order for them to learn the way of true wisdom should have the courage to explore the message of the cross and to pray for the deep wisdom that is hidden therein.

PSALM 14

The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ Their deeds are corrupt and vile, not one of them does right.

Yahweh looks down from heaven at the children of Adam. To see if a single one is wise, a single one seeks God.

All have turned away, all alike turned sour, not one of them does right, not a single one.

Are they not aware, all these evil-doers? They who are devouring my people, this is the bread they eat, and they never call to Yahweh.

They will be gripped with fear, where there is no fear, for God takes the side of the upright; you may mock the plans of the poor, but Yahweh is their refuge.

Who will bring Zion salvation from Israel? When Yahweh brings his people home, what joy for Jacob, what happiness for Israel!

LET US PRAY

God Our Father, thank you for revealing to us your hidden wisdom in Christ Jesus. Thank you for exposing the folly of human wisdom through the suffering of your Son Jesus Christ. Give us the light that enables us to judge wisely the things of this world and the strength that enables us to reject anything that has no eternal value. Let the wisdom that radiates from our lives of righteousness help to inspire those who live crocked lives to realize the futility of their worldly way and as such to turn to you the source of true wisdom. Keep us pure in mind and heart so that being free from all encumbrances which is associated with preoccupation with the kingdom of this world, we may with heavenly wisdom set our hearts and minds after the immense riches of that eternal kingdom which Jesus has merited for us by his cross. We make our prayers through Christ Our Lord.

CHAPTER THREE

CROSS THE ROAD TO LIFE

Scriptural age: “Then, speaking to all, he said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me. Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, will save it’” (Luke 9:23-24).

The cross which since the days of Christ has become a symbol of the suffering and death of the righteous has by the virtue of the resurrection of Christ become the road to life. In order to live we must suffer, suffer for the cause of right. Christ said in the Gospel:

• “Blessedareyouwhenpeopleabuseyouandpersecuteandspeakallkindsofcalumnyagainstyoufalsel 12).

In order to have eternal life, we must die, die in the Lord and for him since he stated that “unless a wheat grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single grain” (John 12:24). Christ was raised by the Father on the third day because he accepted to undergo suffering and death on the cross in obedience to his will. In those prophecies which he made before his disciples concerning his ion, he had always made it clear that the whole episode of suffering and death was meant to culminate in the resurrection and life. Eternal life is the

inevitable result of the suffering and death of the righteous.

In common life outside the domain of religious faith, it is very clear that for any noble enterprise to yield a meaningful dividend there must be a considerable amount of vigorous effort and energy invested. The advancement of our civil society in the areas of science and art, infrastructural amenities, computer and modern technology are all evidence of ceaseless researches, experiments and ventures of very gifted minds that have lived in successive ages of mankind’s history. The beauty of any system or structure that we enjoy today, its durability and strength is supposed to remind us of the amount of energy invested and the difficulties overcame in the process of putting such a structure or system in place. Once in the presence of Jesus, the people were iring the beauty and splendor of the great temple of Jerusalem, “remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings” (Luke 21:5). We know that the temple was such a magnificent complex because the Jews spent not just a fortune, but their entire strength and the lifetime of more than a generation building it, hence they had previously remarked before Jesus: “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple”(John 2:20).

It is definitely the sufferings of many and the sacrifices they have made that made many sections of humanity to live the high quality of life that they live today. We want to preserve life, and because of this, many are working day and night, researching in the forests, in the air, in the soil and in the sea, experimenting in countless medical institutes and science laboratories in order to find the solution. It is a crusade in which many people are involved. It is a sacrifice, a sacrifice made in order to save and sustain life. It is a cross that many are carrying in order to better the lot of humanity. Many of these sacrifices, people have made without direct reference to God or explicit faith in Christ. Any cause that is pursued for the well-being of humanity be it spiritual or temporal well-being is the cause of Christ. It is for our well-being and redemption that he carried his cross, suffered and was crucified on it. It is because of our afflictions which make us to live at sub-human level that he came. He came so that the blind may see, the lame walk and the good news proclaimed to the poor.

During his first public speech at the synagogue of Nazareth his home town, he had identified his life and ministry with the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah:

• “TheSpiritoftheLordisonme,forhehasanointedmetobringgoodnewstotheafflicted.Hehassentmet 2).

He affirmed that this was his mission as the long awaited Messiah of Israel and savior of mankind. He gave his response to the disciples that John the Baptist sent to him from prison to clear their doubt as to whether he was the long awaited one or not:

• “GobackandtellJohnwhatyouhearandsee,theblindseeagain,andthelamewalk,thosesufferingfrom diseasesarecleansed,andthedeafhear,thedeadareraisedtolifeandthegoodnewsisproclaimedtothep 5).

Even before the last days of Jesus which were the days of his ion and death, his entire life was directed towards the improvement of the lots of his people and enabling them to breathe a new air of life physically and spiritually. Everywhere he went, he was healing the sick, casting out demons from the possessed and proclaiming the good news of salvation to all. It was for this reason that the people always followed him everywhere he went. They did not give him any breathing space and could even predict where his next destination could be in order to arrive there before him. At one point “He went home again, and once more such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal. When his relations heard of this, they set out to take charge of him, they said, ‘He is out of

his mind’” (Mark 3:20-21). At another point, he himself “made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and all kinds of illness”(Matthew 9:35).

So concerned was he about their lives and welfare that even after preaching to them at length and curing their afflictions, he made sure that they were fed materially, lest they collapse on the way.

• “Jesuscalledhisdisciplestohimandsaid,‘Ifeelsorryforallthesepeople;theyhavebeenwithmeforthre

Improving the lot of humanity took the whole strength and might of Jesus because that was why he came. He lived for it. He came on a mission of life, life for all. He acknowledged his full understanding of his mission before the Father who sent him. “I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

Ever before he took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary and was born into the world, it was through the Eternal Word of God that the Father has brought into being, all that ever existed. It is therefore quite logical that his becoming man like us in the fullness of time should be in order to provide a proper channel of life for all those who want to live and live to the fullness.

• “Throughhimallthingscameintobeing,notonethingcameintobeingexceptthroughhim.Whathasco

Any struggle that we make in order to advance and improve life must be made in Christ because he is the one who gives meaning and success to such a struggle and gives us the right disposition towards life, no matter what the suffering and tension of the period may be. To all who suffer, he said, “Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Suffering and death becomes cross of salvation when it is undertaken with faith in Christ Jesus and eagerness to advance the cause of life through him. If not, we could suffer and suffer in vain.

Most of the civilizations of the ancient world were also built on slavery and forced labor which is against the spirit of the cross. This in a way explained why those great pagan empires of antiquity rapidly declined and fell one after the other in the same manner in which they rose. The spirit of the cross is that of willful suffering for the cause of humanity. Ever before the Jews of the time of Jesus Christ rebuilt the temple which took them forty six years, it was the great King Solomon who first built the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem. As pious a religious enterprise as this building of the dwelling place of the God of Israel by this illustrious son of King David might appear, the scripture testified to the fact that the exercise was executed with forced labor (Cf. 1Kings 5: 27-28). The magnificent temple never became the monument of ages which Solomon had anticipated. It was destroyed by a pagan monarch Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon a few centuries later. If something so much associated with the name of God could easily be destroyed partly because despite the suffering that characterized the enterprise, the spirit with which it was implemented was at variance with that of the cross, we need not over-emphasize the inevitable failure of all human enterprise which has no explicit or implicit reference either to Christ or to the spirit of the cross.

When we contemplate the cross as the gateway to life, we look beyond this mortal life. Just as those of the ancient pagan empires that we have made

reference to, many minds of our time have been so zealous about building a qualitative human society. Some have invested in the cause of improving health care, but unfortunately their only concern is the material realm. No matter how great the achievement recorded in such enterprise might seem to be, they are bound to effect something short-lived and shallow, sometimes not worthy of the sacrifice invested if there is a total neglect or denial of man’s spiritual wellbeing, his conscience and eternal salvation. Last century (i.e. 20th century) witnessed the rise and fall of communism, a curious phenomenon in human history. When many enlightened minds and revolutionaries, mostly of Eastern Europe started to embrace communism because of it’s apparently attractive doctrine of the dignity of labor and the liberation of the poor from the oppressive structure of the wealthy class, they were convinced that humanity has at last found an answer to her problem, a way to push herself forward and improve her lot. Little did they know that by denying the primacy of God and suppressing religion which facilitates man’s journey to his eternal destiny, the system which they were applauding was self-destructive by preaching the negation of the source of the very value which she was trying to project. When the communist system started to crumble before the eyes of the very age that had witness its birth, it wasn’t surprising to any clear sighted observer. How miserable to suffer and suffer not in reference to the cross and life eternal but just for the things of the flesh.

• “Cursedisthemanwhotrustsinhumanbeings,whoseeksstrengthinflesh,whoseheartturnsawayfrom 6[TheNewAmericanBibletranslation]).

Even at purely temporal sphere of life, it is with great effort and discipline that individuals grow and come to maturity as responsible adults. Before the day of his suffering and cross at Calvary, the first stage of Jesus’ life was characterized by his growing in wisdom and coming to maturity in the home of Mary and Joseph through obedience and dedication to duty. “He went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. —And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature and in favor with God and with people” (Luke 2:51-52). Many young people today lose their bearing in life through laziness, bad

company and coldness to things of the spirit. They are easily deceived into embracing a false philosophy of life, and before they know it, their lives are already wasted. Some people today are quite eager to become something in life so soon that they lack the patience to sit down and learn properly, to acquire the proper discipline that life demands of them and to live by religious faith and its moral code. It is needless to say that the lives of most of such people end in one kind of tragedy or another. Christ the crucified is both our rule of life and our route to life. The urgent nature and enormity of the mission that he needed to accomplish not withstanding; he had long and hidden years of intense learning, praying, obedience and dedication to duty. When the days of his ion and cross eventually came, he ed through all the necessary agonies one by one, without attempting to evade any of it. It was for this that he won an accumulative victory over suffering and death and achieved a life that is eternal for all of us.

What Christ is asking of us is to be faithful to life so that life might flow to us in abundance. The suffering that we undergo for the sake of righteousness is the cross that makes our lives to prosper. We don’t need to seek out sufferings which will bring us life because many of them are already there on our way. What we need is not to escape from the challenges of life but rather to embrace them with the spirit of Christ so that life will become ours. When we are lazy and dishonest, when we worship false gods, become economical with the truth and give in to temptation to whatever sin it might be, just because we are trying to avoid difficult situations, we are denying Christ and his cross, our only route to life. We might be trying to have an easy avenue to life but what we have really done is to negate true life because “anyone who wants to save his life will lose it” (Luke 9: 24).

There is no suffering undergone with true Christian disposition which does not achieve something positive in the life of the one who suffers or that of the one for whose cause he suffers. This brings out again the main difference between our own suffering and death which is a share in the cross of Christ and those of unbelievers. Some have so much suffered to achieve a goal in life and have failed; some have wasted the whole of their energy and resources in an enterprise without achieving even a short-lived success. For the faithful, our suffering always bears the fruit of life; it is our cross of salvation. It is necessary always to

and to make a deep act of faith in the midst of the tensions of everyday life. Such an act of faith will bring us to the consciousness of the presence of Christ in the event of the present moment. It enables us to that we are at the mainstream of our Christian warfare and that victory is already being achieved and life being advanced by virtue of what we are going through. This act of faith and the consciousness of the grace that accompanies it enables us to guard ourselves against any kind of reaction that might frustrate what our suffering was about to achieve. The reactions are such as grumbling, backbiting, urge to exert revenge and to seek compensation for ourselves. Such attitudes could empty our suffering and endurance of its cross content, and put it at the same level with ordinary human suffering which merits little or nothing in its own strength.

Life as it were is not quantifiable and the same hold true of all spiritual values. We should therefore not think that whatever we have suffered for ourselves and for others bear fruit of life only when we could see and sense what we have achieved. To Nicodemus, an eminent teacher in Israel who was trying to grasp the affairs of the Spirit and of salvation, Christ addressed these words:

• “Thewindblowswhereitpleases;youcanhearitssound,butyoucannottellwhereitcomesfromorwher

What is mainly achieved is life eternal which being something of the Spirit and of the future is beyond the immediate comprehension of the material. As for the immediate results, they still belong to the realm of the Spirit and are seen through the eyes of faith and received through their fruits by those who have the faith disposition. The patience and calmness with which Christ endured his suffering was a real factor in the whole episode of his ion and death. The scripture strongly suggested that this kind of disposition has affected the quality of life that he won by the said ion and death. Christ was seen in Isaiah’s suffering servant as one who would win something unique by virtue of his

disposition towards suffering.

• “Likealambledtotheslaughterhouse,likeasheepdumbinfrontofhisshearersheneveropenedhismouth”(Isaiah53:7).

The end of Christ’s cross came with his last breath. With this, ‘he gave up the spirit’ (John 19:30b), and life started to flow in abundance for his people. Our death will become a gate-way to our own salvation and that of others if we have vigorously and faithfully ed through the tensions and trials of life with Jesus Christ. Christ could have chosen to be killed instantly for our salvation without all the sufferings that he ed through before his final death. If he had done that, a big vacuum would have been created. We would have been confused and in a position of ambivalence during moments of suffering because we would not have seen such occasions as path to life marked by the footprints of Christ the Lord of life. The ion and death was designed by God the Father and embarked upon by Christ Jesus in such a way that made provision for a maximum amount of insult, physical abuse, torture, mental and spiritual anguish that could be suffered by a single human being. Even to quench his thirst, he was offered vinegar. As for the wine mixed with gull which he was offered and he refused to drink, this was a kind of mercy killing concoction of his time which was aimed at reducing the pain of those dying in a state of terrible agony (and quickening the process of their death). That he refused to drink this meant that he wanted to keep undiluted and to drink to the dregs, the cup of suffering that the Father had for him. The reason therefore why to the surprise of the Roman governor, Jesus was already dead before the soldiers approached him to break his legs was because he had taken an overdose of the prescribed suffering meant for those who are victims of the dreadful sentence of crucifixion.

PSALM 16

Protect me, O God, in you is my refuge. To you Yahweh I say, You are my Lord, my happiness is in none of the sacred spirits of the earth.’ They only take advantage of all who love them. People flock to their teeming idols. Never shall I pour libations to them! Never take their names on my lips.

My birthright, my cup is Yahweh; you, you alone, hold my lot secure. The measuring-line marks out for me a delightful place, my birthright is lovely.

I bless Yahweh who is my counselor; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep Yahweh before me always, for with him at my right hand, nothing can shake me.

So my heart rejoices, my soul delights, my body too will rest secure, for you will not abandon me to Sheol, you cannot allow your faithful servant to see the abyss. You will teach me the path of life, unbounded joy in your presence, at your right hand delight forever.

LET US PRAY

God our Father, your Son Jesus Christ has taught us how to accept the sufferings of life and die to ourselves in order to live forever. Teach us to reject the false gods of this life, together with their empty promises of elusive pleasures and riches which lead only to death. Give us the grace we need to go through the day to day sufferings of our life with deep faith in you. Following the example of your Son Jesus Christ may we offer whatever inconvenience we through up for the life of the world. Teach us endurance and patience so that nothing will ever break us but that we may with faith surmount any obstacle that we encounter on our way towards you. May every difficulty in our lives be for us, a stepping stone to the eternal life of joy and peace which you have prepared for us in your presence. We make our prayers through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE CROSS IS AN ESSENTIAL INGRIDIENT OF LIFE

Introductory age: “Then he said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe all that the prophets have said! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer before entering into his glory?’ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the ages throughout scriptures that were about himself” (Luke 24:25-27).

Following the pattern of the life and death of Christ, the cross has been an essential ingredient of a Christian life. It is not possible to be a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ without having a share in his suffering and death. To be a Christian is to have a part in him, to drink from the cup of his suffering and to be washed by the hyssop of his ion. To Peter Christ said, “If I do not wash you, you can have no share with me” (John 13:8). He questioned the two sons of Zebedee who wanted to have prominent positions with him when he enters into his glory: “Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” (Matthew 20:22). It is very clear that our discipleship of Christ apart from guaranteeing us of our eternal salvation brings with it, a great deal of temporal blessing. People of faith are always in the position to count the favors that they have received from the Lord. Sometimes it is spiritual or temporal healing that comes our way on of our faith in Christ Jesus. At other times, it is progress or success in business or temporal joy and peace or the friendship and goodwill of others including gift of new and reliable friends in a strange country among other things. In the midst of all these blessings of Christ, our lives are never spared of occasional crosses which are the hallmarks of our Christian lives. Christ, while promising abundant blessing to those who have responded to the invitation to be his disciples has also buttressed the fact that they will not be spared of persecution.

• “IntruthItellyou,thereisnoonewhohaslefthouse,brothers,sisters,mother,father,childrenandlandfo —andpersecutionstoo— nowinthispresenttimeand,intheworldtocome,eternallife”(Mark10:29-31).

Even before the coming of Christ into the world, suffering has been the lot of humanity. It started right from the day that our first parents fell out of favor with God because of their sin of disobedience. From the words addressed to Adam and Eve by God the creator on that fateful day of their fall, it was clear that they were destined to suffer and to strain themselves in order to make both ends meet in life:

• “Tothewomanhesaid:‘Ishallgiveyouintensepaininchildbearing,youwillgivebirthtoyourchildreni 19).

Since the days of our first parents, humanity has grown in the path of accepting suffering as a part of life and as a necessity for that matter. Even among the pagan societies of antiquity, there had been great philosophies and models of heroic suffering. Some ancient legislative systems like the code of Hammurabi in Babylon have advocated for excellence in service and high sense of commitment to labor. Among God’s chosen people the Israelites, laziness was not tolerated. It was a part of the Decalogue that all Gods people must work diligently for the six working days of the week and then observe the Sabbath day rest on the seventh day. “For six days you should labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath for Yahweh your God” (Ex. 20:9). God’s people through the Old Testament have grown to love work and to see it as a necessary

ingredient of life. The only thing that beat their understanding was a situation whereby some people seem to suffer in vain or to labor without any reward. They used to pray that one doesn’t labor in vain and that a just man’s suffering doesn’t go unheeded. The psalmist prayed for the cause of the just man.

• “MayYahwehansweryouinthetimeoftrouble,maythenameoftheGodofJacobprotectyou!Mayhese 5).

The basic understanding of the Old Testament theology was that life is full of difficulties but that it is God who could grant success to his people’s’ toil. The psalmist exclaimed to God: “Confirm the work we have done” (Psalm 90: 17). God could minimize the sufferings of his people. He could enable them to have the right sense of priority so that they suffer for what is necessary. Even the Church in line with the New Testament mentality doesn’t believe in suffering for the sake of suffering. She believes only in the suffering that is united with that of Christ which is oriented towards salvation. She prays in her liturgy to the Lord to “deliver us from all anxieties”. This talks about those burdens of our lives which have nothing to do with our own salvation but which only bring us frustration and put us in touch with our own wretchedness without making us to look up to Christ crucified to receive our strength and salvation. There are those commitments and enterprises which enslave us, sap our energies and drain our strength but which having not been in line with the will of the Lord or having not been approached with Christ oriented disposition bring us frustration and agony. The psalmist knew that the Lord gives his people joy and success even with little suffering and effort invested in an enterprise while the godless could even increase their sufferings and at the end reap nothing but frustration and failure.

• “IfYahwehdoesnotbuildahouse,invaindoitsbuilderstoil.IfYahwehdoesnotguardacity,invaindoes

2).

The prayer of the psalmist was not that God should spare his beloved ones of suffering but that their suffering should bear the appropriate fruit. It is a blessing for one to suffer and reap the fruit of his suffering and such a blessing is meant for the just.

• “HowblessedareallwhofearYahweh,whowalkinhisways!Yourownlaborswillyieldyoualiving,hap

When the time for God’s visitation on mankind came, the appointed time for the merciful one to save humanity, he chose the way of suffering and used those who have learnt to work diligently and to accept their own share of the suffering that God has allotted to mankind with true faith in God and goodwill toward others. Apart from Mary and Joseph whose heroic sufferings and dedication to duty were already mentioned elsewhere in this book, we could also look at a few characters that were mentioned by the Gospel in the story of the Incarnation. The shepherds of Bethlehem were the first to receive the news of the birth of the savior in the city of David. These shepherds were poor people who have grown used to suffering and to service. They kept “guard over their sheep during the watches of the night” (Luke 2:8). It was because they were awake watching their flock at this night hour that they were able to see the vision of the angels coming to announce the birth of the savior. They were not people who just stayed awake to work for their money. They were on the contrary, a people whose life of suffering has been informed by a great deal of goodwill and faith in God. It was for this that God found it necessary to send the heavenly messengers to them to become the first recipients of the joy of the Incarnation. They themselves were inspired to respond spontaneously at the message of the angel. The angels announced “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those he favors” (Luke 2: 14). This announcement is echoed by the Church in her liturgy

every Sunday and feast day, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of goodwill”. They were definitely people of goodwill; hence they were instantly filled with joy and peace at this good news and were eager to explore its content. Their journey to Bethlehem made them to see things for themselves and to live with the joy of the Incarnation for the rest of their lives as they themselves became along with the angels, co-heralds of the good news.

• “Whentheysawthechildtheyrepeatedwhattheyhadbeentoldabouthim,andeveryonewhohearditwa 18).

In the Gospel of St Matthew, it was the wise men from the East, some pagan elite from some unknown and distant country that came into focus in the story of the Incarnation just as the shepherds who were Jewish peasants of the neighborhood came into focus in Luke’s gospel. These pagan people as the gospel portrayed them were people who had strained themselves and suffered to arrive at the knowledge of the truth of salvation. They traveled, inquired and studied until they arrived at the palace of King Herod of Judea in Jerusalem with the question “Where is the infant king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage” (Matthew 2:2). Even as they arrive Jerusalem after all these efforts, the success of their mission did not become instantaneous. They were tricked and nearly manipulated by the evil King Herod. They still needed much discernment, attentiveness and listening to the interior voice in order to arrive at their destination and not to make the mistake of letting their innocent dialogue be used to defeat the purpose of their mission. The Lord duly rewarded their hard labor and they successfully arrived where the child was.

• “Thesightofthestarfilledthemwithdelight,andgoingintothehousetheysawthechildwithhismotherM 12).

It doesn’t matter whatever race, class or creed that you belong to, difficult challenges come to all those who seek to penetrate the secret of life. It is a necessity. For Christians, it is a cross because it is through our knowledge of the one crucified and through the power of his cross that we go through them and find life. He enabled the poor shepherds of Bethlehem to know him and worship him through their sufferings, the same he did to the wise men from the East who were in desperate search for him, and so it is meant to be for us. The two old people in Jerusalem, Simon and Anna had suffered, praying and fasting, waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promise. It was for this that they recognized Jesus and rejoiced on the day that he was brought into the temple for purification. Even at this point the holy Simon knew that the event of Christ was to be an occasion of necessary suffering for Mary (who was destined to have a special share in his ministry) so that his mission may be accomplished.

As Jesus embarked upon his ministry, he saw his suffering as a necessity (not an option) which must be accepted if his mission was to be accomplished. He didn’t complain about it because he knew that that is how it should be. The only thing that he wanted was for those who seek to follow him to understand with him that this is the way and no other. Those who could not persevere in suffering are simply not fit for the enterprise of the gospel. Those who are eager to find excuses why they could not shoulder the responsibility that the gospel placed on them are either rebuked or disqualified instantly.

• “Anothertowhomhesaid,‘Followme,’replied,‘Letmegoandburymyfatherfirst.’Butheanswered,‘ byetomypeopleathome.’Jesussaidtohim,Oncethehandislaidontheplough,noonewholooksbackis 62).

Life needs a great deal of dying to self. It is because many are not ready to die to their greed, their selfishness, their ambition and their lust that they fall prey to disease, violence, one evil or the other.

• “Peoplewholongtoberichfallpreytotrial;theyaretrappedintoallsortsoffoolishandharmfulambition

Christ told the disciples on a number of occasions about self-renunciation and carrying of their cross. After having emptied himself of the riches of divinity, he came to live a life of poverty and suffering for us. He was teaching the apostles to accept the lost of whatever it is and to accept whatever suffering and pain that goes with it as a necessary road to life. About the Youngman who could not accept his invitation to the discipleship of the kingdom of Heaven because of the riches of this life, he said to his disciples, “In truth I tell you, it is hard for someone rich to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:23). It is very clear that the rich man must one day surrender his wealth. If he fails to do so willingly on the day that the gospel demands that he does it freely, he will be obliged to surrender it on the last day when life closes in on him and death stands at the entrance of the door. To the man then who accumulated the wealth of this world to his heart’s satisfaction that he thought of nothing but the ease of this life, the Lord gave an appropriate response.

• “Fool!Thisverynightthedemandwillbemadeofyoursoul,andthishoardofyours,whosewillitbethen

So the demand of Jesus Christ about disciples renouncing themselves and taking up their cross to follow him came as necessary demand which has no alternative.

• “Ifanyonewantstobeafollowerofmine,lethimrenouncehimselfandtakeuphiscrossandfollowme.A 25).

Sometimes, we might not know the positive implications of some ‘negative’ experiences that we through in life or the reason why some difficulties have characterized our lives. All these call for faith because God knows and will certainly make everything clear to us on the last day. It is only left for us to go through them with right spirit and to seek to get the best out of them for ourselves and for all those who are involved. Before and during the ion of our Lord Jesus Christ, no amount of explanation from him made his disciples to see the point of the whole experience. On many occasions, he had tried to let them understand and appreciate his imminent suffering and death by talking to them about it. They had reacted in different ways, all showing their unwillingness to understand or to accept the issue at stake. At one point, they were arguing about the question of their own position of prominence when he was drawing their attention to his coming ion and death(Mark 9: 30-34). At another time, they were sad and apprehensive and didn’t want such a talk to continue (Cf. Matthew 17: 22-23). At another instance, Peter took it upon himself as their leader to rebuke him and to debar him from mentioning such an intolerable topic. Sufferings don’t go by our wishing them away (Cf. Matthew 16: 21-22). Our own part should always be to pray for the understanding that we need on the day of trial and the courage to embark upon it in the best way. Victory will come if we persevere and a day will also come, when he will open our minds to understand as the apostles did after the resurrection how it is “necessary that the Christ should suffer before entering into his glory” (Luke 24:26).

One of the challenging things about the crosses that come to us in our lives is that we don’t choose the nature, the spacing and the size. All these are chosen for us by God the Father in the same way he did for his Only Begotten Son. Perhaps,

why he doesn’t allow us to choose is because he knows that we are lacking in wisdom and are as such bound to make mistakes if we are to choose on our own. In so far as we are truthful and faithful to life, we should know that whatever suffering that has come at any point has come because it is God’s time for it. Even if we don’t understand, we have to battle with it with a deep sense of faith and trust in God. On the day of Christ’s own cross, he knew that it was the very hour of darkness which God the Father in his own wise providence, has permitted to set in. To the armed soldiers and civilians who as a crowd came to arrest him on that night at the garden of Gethsemane, he addressed his words:

• “AmIabandit,thatyouhadtosetoutwithswardsandclubs? WhenIwasamongyouintheTempledayafterday,younevermadeamovetolayhandsonme.Butthisisy 53).

No matter whatever injustice or suffering we go through, violence and coercion can never be the way out of it. Immediately we go by the way of violence or even verbal assault, we are standing on the way of God’s plan. God’s plan could only be achieved through our gentle but firm insistence on what is right. If it is the time that dialogue is needed, we could pray to Christ to give us the spirit of wisdom and understanding in order to speak with such “an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict”(Luke 21:15). On the day of Christ’s cross, Peter wanted to defend him with physical sward, but Christ knew that such a weapon doesn’t bring victory but destruction. It only destroys the Father’s goodwill for us. He rebuked Peter. “Put your sward into its scabbard; am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (John 18:11). The only weapon that we need on a day of trial is that of righteousness, of faith and of prayer. This was the kind of weapon which Christ had meant originally when he earlier instructed them to dispose of whatever they could in order to purchase a sward in view of the battle imminent. Just as suffering is inevitable in our lives, in the same way is the inevitability of the might of prayer and faith which we need in order to subdue it and come out victorious with Christ. Listen to his instruction: “Stay awake, prying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to hold your ground before the Son of

Man”(Luke 21:36).

PSALM 119: 71-80

It was good for me that I had to suffer, the better to learn your judgments. The law you have uttered is more precious to me than all the wealth in the world.

Your hands have made me and held me firm, give me understanding and I shall learn your commandments. Those who fear you rejoice at the sight of me since I put my hope in your word.

I know, Yahweh, that your judgments are upright, and in punishing me you show your constancy. Your faithful love must be my consolation as you have promised your servant.

Treat me with tenderness and I shall live, for your law is my delight. Let the arrogant who tell lies against me be shamed, while I ponder your precepts.

Let those who fear you rally to me, those who understand your instructions. My heart shall be faultless towards your will; then I shall not be ashamed.

LET US PRAY

God Our Father, through your Son Jesus Christ, you have taught us how to embraces our everyday sufferings as essential aspects of our lives. Help us to grow through the daily challenges of life. Gives us your light to see your hands in whatever difficult challenge that comes our way and guide us so that we may always give a proper response according to the promptings of your Spirit. Following the example of your Son Jesus Christ, let what ever suffering we go through in this mortal life be a stepping stone to the life of glory which you have prepared for us in the kingdom of heaven. We make our prayers through Christ our Lord. Amen.

CHAPTER FIVE

CALVARY, THE ROAD TO FREEDOM

Introductory age: “In all truth I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave. Now a slave has no permanent standing in the household, but a son belongs to it for ever. So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free” (John 8: 34-36).

Christ came to set his people free from sin and death, from anxiety and many other evil ions that attack us in this life, to free us from the snares of the evil one and from spiritual darkness.

• “TotheJewswhobelievedinhimJesussaid:Ifyoumakemywordyourhomeyouwillindeedbemydisci 32).

It is mostly through sin that we forfeit our freedom. When we sin, we show that we are no more in control of ourselves; we are on the contrary, under the control of our evil desires.

We sin because we decide to do what pleases our sinful desire and not the will of God. It is in the will of God that we find our freedom, yet we are not under

compulsion to abide by the will of God. We however realize that immediately we freely choose to live in accordance with the will of God the door of true freedom has been opened for us and we grow in an interior disposition to live the life of grace and truth. If on the contrary we choose to go against the will of God by satisfying our sinful desires, we become slaves, slaves of our own desires or of whatever has become the object of our own choice, contrary to the will of God. Adam and Eve were very free in the Garden of Eden. They enjoyed a total freedom of the children of God which was a privilege conferred on them by God the loving Father and Creator.

• “YahwehGodgavethemanthiscommand,‘Youarefreetoeatofallthetreesinthegarden.Butofthetreeo 17).

They however forfeited that much cherished freedom of theirs on the day that they freely succumbed to the enticement of Satan and chose to satisfy their evil curiosity contrary to the commandment of God. It was then that their lives became characterized by darkness, insecurity, fear and shame. Man has now to hide and give excuses. He has ceased to act by interior liberty for he has lost it to sin. He is now being compelled by sin.

• “ThemanandhiswifeheardthesoundofYahwehGodwalkinginthegardeninthecooloftheday,andthe 10).

What Adam did by willful disobedience, Christ Jesus has undone by willful obedience. As Adam was in the beginning, Christ was without sin and as such

was not under any compulsion to follow the sinful dictate of Satan. During the forty days temptation in the desert, it was Christ’s own freedom that Satan was desperately fighting to get him concede. If his purpose in line with the first temptation of Satan is to satisfy his material hunger, then he is circumscribed to the realm of the material. It would mean that the vast scope of the word of God and the infinite realm of God’s grace, of his kingdom of truth and righteousness are entirely outside his reach. To Satan therefore, he told that “Human beings live not on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). If in line with the second temptation of Satan, Christ had jumped from the pinnacle of the temple in order for people to see and believe in him, then he has taken the path of an empty show of human pride and vanity which defeats the whole purpose of the kingdom of God which is basically a kingdom of spirit and truth, meant for the humble and the lowly of heart. One who tries to compel God to act in a way that serves only his human pride has lost that interior freedom which is supposed to make him be at the disposal of God and his will. He is testing God by not letting him to be who he is but compelling him to act according to his vain human desire. It means forfeiting his right and freedom as a true child of God. In response to this second temptation, Christ told Satan that the Scripture says: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Matthew 4:7). If the purpose of Christ, according to the last temptation of Satan was to inherit the kingdom of the earth and its glory, then as already said, his scope is quite finite and limited. It means that he has lost the right and freedom to aspire for dominance over principalities and powers. If he had to worship Satan in order to possess the elusive kingdom of this world, then he himself would become subject to destruction when God destroys the kingdom of Satan and all that are subject to it. The only true kingdom that one could boast of is the kingdom of the Father which is arrived at by freely rejecting the appeals of the false values of this world and worshipping God the Father with one’s whole mind, life and purpose. Christ became man in order to worship God the Father truly and freely so that through him, all those who worship God the Father properly may arrive at their eternal inheritance which is the kingdom of God. Satan definitely lied by suggesting that he should lose his freedom by worshipping him instead of the one true God. Jesus rebuked him: “Away with you Satan, for scripture says: The Lord your God is the one to whom you must do homage, him alone you must serve’” (Matthew 4:10).

At the event of the temptation, the whole pattern of the life, ion and death of

Christ was set. He was freely rejecting something that appeared easy, simple and glamorous because he knew that it leads to the darkness of slavery and death. He was freely embarking on a path that seemed rough and difficult because he perceived it as the path of freedom and life. He knew his mission, he was resolute in the road that he took, the road that leads to Calvary. The gospel testified to that: “Now it happened that as time drew near for him to be taken up, he resolutely turned his face towards Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).

The ministry of Jesus Christ was a daily march to Calvary. Everyday, new challenges came up and he had to respond to them. On many occasions, he realized that the expectations of the society were quite different from his purpose. It was left for him to freely decide on such occasions if he had to adjust his own line of action to meet the demands of the society or whether he had to go along with his planned mission and brave the outcome. At other instances, he realized that the authorities have been angered by his utterances and that he has stepped on the toes of some influential of the society by performing some miracles in some places and on certain days. Even some actions that he had done simply with the purpose of letting his people have a sense of the joy and freedom of the children of God became sources of great deal of storm and controversy raging around him and his ministry. It became very clear that at every session which he held with the crowd, there were some spies whose single purpose was to watch what he does and to listen to what he said with an intention of finding fault with him. They would negatively analyze whatever they heard and saw and then throw questions at him on some sensitive sociopolitical topics as a means of entrapping him and then report immediately to those that have planted them. More often than not, these agents were ready to misquote him and to misrepresent his actions provided that such is enough for their masters to find the much needed avenue to track him down.

In the midst of all these waves, what was Jesus to do? Was he to keep quiet as some must have advised him to do? Was he to avoid making comments on certain issues? Was he to adjust his idea on some burning questions and as such, arrive at a peaceful compromise with the authorities? Was he to stop working miracles? Was he to avoid the companionship of those with whom his companionship seemed to be raising dust? Was he to shift his base from Israel to

Greece as some Greeks apparently once came to request of him? (Cf. John 12:20-28). In the midst of all these, Christ decided to live freely and to embrace his portion freely. He was doing everything freely. He didn’t allow himself to be influenced by fear and human respect. He sought not the approval of men but of God. To the Jews, he said: “How can you believe, since you look to each other for glory and are not concerned with the glory that comes from God?” (John 5:44). Because the approval or disapproval of men meant nothing for him, Jesus was able to do freely the will of God.

Christ understood that his Father was the only one who had power over him and that in as much as he attune himself to the will of his Father, nothing could happen to him unless it was permitted by him. To his apostles, he said:

• “Donotbeafraidofthosewhokillthebodyandafterthatcandonomore.Iwilltellyouwhomtofear:fearh AndyetnotoneisforgotteninGod’ssight.Why,everyhaironyourheadhasbeencounted.Thereisnone 7).

On the day that he stood before the Roman governor in what actually was more of a trial of the latter than of him, the governor had tried to solicit for some unnecessary words by raising the question of his said authority to condemn or to free him. He gave an appropriate answer to this claim of Pontius Pilate. “You would have no power over me at all if it had not been given you from above” (John 19:11).

Christ knew that with his Father he can do and undo, so he talked freely and acted freely in as much as what he was saying and doing was in line with the will of his Father. Just as he never allowed people to provoke him to talk when he had nothing to say, he never allowed people to silence him or to intimidate him into keeping quiet when he needed to speak or to act. On the day that he

cleansed the temple of Jerusalem, he did it freely, knowing that the greatest form of prize that he could pay is death. He however knew that instead of silencing him forever, his death would be on the contrary, an avenue for him to exercise even a greater degree of freedom, freedom to triumph over death and to subject it eternally under him. To the Jews who questioned him that day on his authority, he replied, “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). He “was speaking of the Temple which was his body” (John 2:21).

Christ understood that it was his Father who bestowed on him his own freedom. To act contrary to the will of his Father would amount to alienating himself from the source of his freedom. During that trying moment of the agony in the garden, he realized that it was not a question of listening to his own human feeling but a question of his obedience to the will of his Father. “‘My Father,’ he said, ‘if it is possible, let this cup me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not as I, would have it” (Matthew 26:39). Neither his own convenience nor the best wishes of his friends for him should come between him and the will of his Father which alone guarantees him of his freedom. To Peter who came out strongly to defend him with a sword at the moment of his arrest, he said: “Put your sword back in its scabbard; am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given to me?” (John 18:11).

Our pride and joy is in doing freely the will of God, especially when such a will of his demands a great deal of sacrifice from us. God is very happy with us when he realizes that instead of our using our liberty to choose the easy way, we have decided to choose the way of suffering, sacrifice and death to self simply because we perceive such a path as the one marked out for us. This makes him to be generous with his blessings and love on us and to grant us an unlimited degree of freedom, true freedom of the children of God. Christ told us that it is because he freely laid down his life that his resurrection is guaranteed, and that it was for this reason that the Father’s love for him is assured.

•

“TheFatherlovesme,becauseIlaiddownmylifeinordertotakeitupagain.Noonetakesitfromme;Ilay 18).

PSALM 119: 30-40 [RVISED STANDARD VERSION translation]

I have chosen the way of faithfulness, I set thy ordinances before me, I cleave to thy testimonies, O Lord; let me not be put to shame! I will run in the way of thy commandments when thou enlargest my understanding!

Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statues; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep thy law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of thy commandments, for I delight in it.

Incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not to gain! Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; and give me life in thy ways. Confirm to thy servant thy promise, which is for those who fear thee.

Turn away the reproach which I dread; for thy ordinances are good. Behold, I long for thy precepts; in thy righteousness give me life!

Let thy steadfast love come to me, O Lord, thy salvation according to thy promise; then shall I have an answer for those who taunt me, for I trust in thy word.

And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in thy ordinances. I will keep thy law continually, for ever and ever; and I shall walk

at liberty, for I have sought thy precepts.

I will also speak of thy testimonies before kings, and shall not be put to shame; for I find my delight in thy commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on thy statues.

LET US PRAY

God Our Father, thank you for teaching us the way of perfect freedom and obedience through the life, suffering and death of your Son Jesus Christ. Our true liberty consists in doing what you demand of us no matter the material inconvenience that it involves. Teach us to discern your will for us at all circumstances of our life, and to follow it faithfully no matter whatever difficulty it might involve even as your Son followed the way of Calvary to the end. Gant to us, the peace which comes from a life of total obedience to your will. Gant to us, the joy which comes from freedom from the enslavement of the things of this world. Like your Son Jesus Christ, may the interior freedom with which we follow you through the daily trails of this life lead us to the eternal happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven. We make our prayers through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

CHAPTER SIX

THE CROSS IS A POINT OF CROSSING THE TRESHOLD

Introductory age: “In truth I tell you, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice, you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. A woman in childbirth suffers because her time has come; but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering in her joy that a man has been born into the world” (John 16:20-21).

In life, a transition from the old to the new, a taking a decisive leap, or even a coming to be of a life is always marked by one kind of suffering( anxiety or death) or the other.

Christ clearly saw in his ion and death, the necessary moment of transition that is needed, if life is to into something new, joyful and glorious. It is only when his disciples have been able to endure the sorrows, tensions and the physical death of life that they would be able to come up with a life that is total, full of peace and joy. Christ was never willing to let his disciples to daydream about the great joy of the kingdom ahead without preparing their minds for the suffering and endurance which is the necessary gateway to it.

Both the preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus’ own inaugural preaching of the kingdom of God were all given in a very severe tone, in a way that made it clear to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria that a great upheaval was taking place. In a way, it was a moment of great excitement but in another angle it was a kind of tension, a tension of sudden birth pangs gasping the entire

populace. We even have to that about thirty years back, before the ministries of John the Baptist and of Jesus Christ, the nature of the annunciation of the conceptions and the whole circumstances surrounding their birth were so dramatic developments that they instantly brought about a wave of anxiety even on the Holy parents of these two figures of salvation who were the original recipients of the relevant divine messages. It all started right at the Holy of Holies of the temple of Jerusalem where an old holy priest Zachariah who was faithfully exercising his priestly responsibility was caught unaware and thrown out of balance by an extra-ordinary vision.

• “ThereappearedtohimtheangeloftheLord,standingontherightofthealtarofincense.Thesightdistur 12).

The message which the angel brought was good news so good to be true. His holiness of life not withstanding, together with the fact that he and his wife had had long years of prayers and patience, there still seemed to be a kind of tension that needed to be undergone, and a sort of exercise of intensive purification that was supposed to serve as a bridge between the point at which he was and the new event that God was to work through him. Zechariah’s doubting of the angel’s message was not something extra-ordinary. If anything was an extraordinary development, it was the angel’s message in itself. The sign that the angel gave to Zechariah was not a punishment so to speak or an isolated phenomena. It was simply divine kind of birth pangs which took the form of stillness until the appointed time of giving birth to the fulfillment of God’s promises. This was made clear by the choice of words that the angel had used to announce the temporal fate of Zechariah at the end of the tension filled encounter.

•

“Look!Sinceyoudidnotbelievedmywords,whichwillcometrueattheirappointedtime,youwillbesil

During the period of her pregnancy when Zechariah remained dumb, Elizabeth understood that they were crossing through a very crucial point, so she kept her head low, prayed constantly within herself as she waited for the fulfillment of God’s promises which she perceived to be around the corner. “She kept for herself, saying, ‘The Lord has done this for me, now that it has pleased him to take away the humiliation I suffer among men”(Luke 1:25). During the moment of Mary’s visitation, the fruit of salvation that was growing inside Elizabeth has become so intense that it was already forcing to express itself, it was like a content that has increased beyond the size of the container and as such seeking to overflow and bust the container. It was the height of birth pangs in its positive nature which could be called overwhelming excitement. Elizabeth could no longer withhold herself. Being possessed by the Holy Spirit and overwhelmed by the force of the movement inside her, she burst into speech.

• “NowithappenedthatassoonasElizabethheardMary’sgreeting,thechildleaptinherwombandElizab Look,themomentyourgreetingreachedmyears,thechildinmywombleaptforjoy.Yes,blessedisshew 45).

As John was born a stage of the birth pangs was over so the Lord caused the mouth of Zechariah to burst into song of praise and joy. “At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God” (Luke 1:64).

As for Mary, her own experience would not have been quite different from that of Zechariah if not for her extra-ordinary faith, which like a consuming fire, burnt up all the tensions that surrounded the events of annunciation, the virginal

conception, the birth and the infancy of Jesus. The annunciation by the angel brought her a great deal of initial fear which with her faith, she commended into the care of God.

• “Shewasdeeplydisturbedbythesewordsandaskedherselfwhatthisgreetingcouldmean,buttheange 31).

Even after the angel’s submission, a point was still agitating her mind hence she questioned: “But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?”(Luke 1:34). As the angel Gabriel went on to give a divine answer to her human problem, Mary did not hesitate to seal the bond with a submission of faith which set God’s eternal plan in motion of immediate fulfillment. “You see before you the Lord’s servant, let it happen to me s you have said”(Luke 1: 38).

Our own disposition during those moments of tension and groaning, during those critical and trying moments of our lives, goes a long way in determining what we come up with. It doesn’t always follow that a woman who has gone through the pains of pregnancy and groaning of birth pangs ends up delivering a bouncing baby. Those who have gone through pregnancy with deep stress, lack of proper care or medical attention, or with a kind of sickness or the other, run the danger of miscarriage, delivery of stillborn baby, complicated pregnancy or even death at the point of pregnancy. As faithful as Zechariah the Father of John the Baptist was, his small doubt resulted in God putting him in a position of suspense until the time of the fulfillment of his words. How frustrating it would have been for God’s own plan, were he to be dealing with a faithless person entirely? We have to watch ourselves. It is better not to say much but to wait on the Lord in times of trials than to open our mouths wide and talk what we don’t know or do what is undesirable in the sight of God and as such frustrate his own plan. The Lamentations of Jeremiah said it all.

• “ItisgoodtowaitinsilenceforYahwehtosave.Itisgoodforsomeonetobeartheyokefromayoungage,to —maybethereishope— toofferone’scheektothestrikertohaveone’sfillofdisgrce”(Lamentations3:26-30).

Days of the cross are days of silent mourning, deep meditation and prayer of the heart together with Mary the Mother of Sorrows who treasured those sorrowful mysteries of our Lord and pondered on them in her heart. On the day that the Lord was setting Prophet Ezekiel as a pattern to the Israelites who were to go through the great ordeal of suffering, he thought him how to comport himself at the imminent news of the death of his beloved wife.

• “ThewordofYahwehwasaddressedtomeasfollows;‘Sonofman,atablowIamabouttodepriveyouoft 18).

Silence during a moment of crisis and sorrow is not meant to be a stale silence, it is a silence that is filled with intense sense of faith and trust in God, a silence that is like a deep question to God, a question asked in faith waiting for God to answer in his own time and way, an answer that is sure to come out in the positive. A royal ancestor of Jesus Christ by name Ahaz was a king who was reputed in the scripture as lacking in faith. He lived in a period of great political instability and military crisis for the Southern Kingdom of Judah. God had wanted to use the tension of the period to signal a green light for the great messiah who was on the way, but it needed a moment of silent faith from the man at the helm of affairs. Such a faith is one that questions God and challenges him to act. Unfortunately, the man could not just attempt questioning God in

silence; on the contrary, he rushed into forging a political alliance with Assyria a pagan nation. God denounced his faithlessness and insisted on proving through a Messianic sign that there is hope that lies ahead of the current crisis.

• “YahwehspoketoAhazagainandsaid:AskYahwehyourGodforasign,eitherinthedepthsofSheolorin TheLordwillgiveyouaanycase:Itisthis:theyoungwomaniswithchildandwillgivebirthtoason 14).

We talked about the response of the parents of John the Baptist and of Jesus to the tension surrounding the events of the conception and birth. One man who belongs to this group that we have not mentioned is Joseph. For him, his own silent faith response to a major crisis in his life propelled God to give him an answer, an answer which like the one earlier given to Mary was a divine answer to a human problem. He accepted the answer in faith, hence the road was through, the crisis over, and the stage was set for God to accomplish his work.

• “Beforetheycametolivetogether,MarywasfoundtobewithchildthroughtheHolySpirit.Herhusband 24).

Mary and Joseph had got extra-ordinary ways of receiving startling news, of going through tensions and of absolving shocks. Their ways were those of unreserved faith in God, total abandonment of self to God’s will, and eagerness to act on God’s order. It was with this that they were able to cross one huddle after another up to the point of the death of Joseph and then the public ministry of Jesus towards the end of which the tension, once again rose to its zenith.

The beginning of the public ministry of Jesus Christ which providentially took place at the climax of John’s own ministry was in itself a moment of intense anxiety. Every true heart in Israel knew that there was something around the corner, even if they were not able to put their finger on what exactly it was. They were trying to figure it out from the ministry of John the Baptist. “A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people, who were beginning to wonder whether John might be the Christ” (Luke 3:15). Even the Pharisees were so shaken up by the great wave of upheaval as some of them who were priests and Levites were sent by the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem to Galilee to question John on his identity, his mission and the event of the time.

• “WhentheJewssenthimpriestsandLevitesfromJerusalemtoaskhim,‘Whoareyou?’hedeclared,hed Wemusttakebackananswertothosewhosentus.Whathaveyoutosayaboutyourself?’Sohesaid,‘Iam 23).

John the Baptist announced the coming of Christ in clear to the people. The tension was a necessary condition for the advent of the messiah for there was supposed to be a radical shaking up of the whole system down to the foundation in order to make sure that the righteous are established firmly while the wicked are either reformed or destroyed. He stated the mission of the Christ.

• “Hiswinnowing-fanisinhishand,toclearhisthreshingfloorandtogatherthewheatintohisbarns;butthechaff,hewillborninafirethatwillnevergoout.”(Luke

When there is tribulation and agony, when there is tension and beclouded future, the only hope of God’s people is in repentance and in a righteous way of life. “Many keep saying. ‘Who will put happiness before our eyes?’ Let the light of your face shine upon us’”(Psalm 4:6). Those who want to be safe in the time that every thing is tensed up and uncertainty lingers on must seek the face of the Lord. This was the way that many made their initial response to the ministry of John the Baptist. “Then Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole Jordan district made their way to him, and as they were baptized by him in the River Jordan they confessed their sins”(Matthew 3: 5-6). Repentance in itself could not be something vague or abstract. Those who are seeking for favor and are eager to come out victorious and joyful through a moment of trial must seek to know their sins, to put a finger at the spot and to take practical measures to guarantee a total repentance. The people asked John practical questions on the areas of repentance and received practical answers with which to work on themselves.

• “Whenallthepeopleaskedhim,‘Whatmustwedo,then?’heanswered,‘Anyonewhohastwotunicsmu 14).

It is very dangerous to practice insincerity or any form of hypocrisy during our days of trial. The doom that looms over us could easily overtake us if there is no timely intervention of the God of mercy. The mercy of God supposes at least a deal of sincerity from our own angle. If that sincerity is lacking, it is easy to from our temporal darkness and anxiety into eternal darkness and agony. John properly addressed the insincere Pharisees and Sadducees who responded to the upheaval that greeted the advent of the messianic era by seeking baptism like others, but with no atom interior repentance:

• “Broodofvipers,whowarnedyoutoflyfromthecomingretribution? Producefruitinkeepingwithrepentance,anddonotpresumetotellyourselves,‘WehaveAbrahamaso

10).

Jesus saw the anxiety for the kingdom, right from the advent of John the Baptist as an intense affair, one that requires faith, truth and perseverance. It was like a tide which some are going to miss if they decide to drag their feet. The words of Jesus are frightening but they are nothing but a call to faith, faith and perseverance in moments of trial and tension which are the necessary path way to victory.

• “SinceJohntheBaptistcame”, he said,“uptothispresenttime,thekingdomofheavenhasbeensubjectedtoviolenceandtheviolentaretak 14).

When a battle reaches the pick of its intensity, it is a sign that each of the forces is trying hard to earn victory. It becomes clear that a side that pushes harder and harder at such a point is going to gain victory at the expense of the side which tends to relax. Christ understood that this is how the battle of life goes. People should not give up at the intensely trying moment which is the point of victory. One extra stroke or intensive pushing could secure the victory. He responded promptly to the person who questioned him on the number of those to be saved: “Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed”(Luke 13:24).

The kind of zeal and perseverance with which Christ went about his whole ministry even when things were getting more difficult was rooted in his conviction that tough time is a high way to victory. He has worked his miracles on many occasions for those who have persevered in their sufferings until they were nearly coming to a point of breaking. He was assuring them that they have

arrived through suffering and death to life. The day that he recruited Peter as his disciple, it was done following a miracle that has been the aftermath of Peter’s long night of empty toil. They had all toiled and waited in vain, now the miracle was a point of breaking through, the crossing of the threshold that was needed for him to overwhelm Peter. It was only a simple response of faith that was needed on the part of Peter for the Lord Jesus to work the miracle that he was intent on doing following the long night of toil. As Jesus demanded that Peter make a cast into the river, he responded: “Master, we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the net” (Luke 5:6). The success was great because he casted the net instantly at the direction of Jesus, a big catch of fish, and then the call of Peter, a call that overwhelmed him and made him to change the cause of his life from thenceforth.

Christ’s life was marked by tensions and controversies. He did not seek to avert them. He embraced them in a way that showed clearly that he could not achieve his mission except through them. His life was to end in a brutal way and he constantly made reference to it as he equally made it clear to his disciples that the agony and pain of the crucifixion and death would be followed by the joy and glory of the resurrection. He knew quite well that the victory could not come without the battle and he tried his best to put it across to his disciples. But it was beyond their comprehension. After his resurrection, he was to bestow the gift of peace to his apostles. Even on the eve of his ion, he had said to them, “Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you” (John 14:27). As important and fundamental as this peace is, he knew it could not be realized until a price is paid for it, the prize is going to take the form of violence and suffering, it is going to be as severe as fire. He said it clearly:

• “Ihavecometobringfireontheearth,andhowIwishitwereblazingalready!ThereisabaptismImuststil No,Itellyou,butratherdivision”(Luke12:49-51).

Christ could help us to handle our own sufferings. He could minimize them and make them fairly light for us. He could also give us the necessary grace that we need to avoid the unnecessary controversies and to handle the necessary ones with Christian maturity and prudence. We should however not expect him to free us from all atoms of suffering and controversy because of our eagerness to live at ease with all men. Controversy in many cases is the birth pang of peace, and it is those who go through it with true Christian disposition of perseverance, forgiveness, truth and eagerness to do right who eventually emerge as true peacemakers, acclaimed by Christ with the title of “the children of God”(Matthew 5:9).

As he was about to encounter his suffering and death, Christ knew that it was the last point of the battle, after which the victory is sure to come if there is true perseverance. Some Greeks seemed to have come to persuade him to go and take shelter in their territory because of the imminent danger. To them, he pointed out that there is no other alternative, since his victory and glorification cannot come without his paying the supreme price. Jesus gave replied to them.

• “NowthehourhascomefortheSonofmantobeglorified.InalltruthItellyou,unlessawheatgrainfallsto 24).

After the last supper just before his ion, he solemnly declared before the apostles that the battle has reached its last and most critical phase. They were to arm themselves more than they ever did before in order to withstand the pressure and to gain the final victory. He said to them: “If you have no sword, sell your cloak and buy one, because I tell you, these words of the Scripture are destined to be fulfilled on me: He was counted as one of the rebellious” (Luke 22:36-37).

Evidently, they as closed as their minds were, seemed not to have realized that

he was talking of a spiritual not a physical warfare hence they alluded to physical swords in their reply (Cf. Luke 22: 38). As he took three of them to the garden of Gethsemane, he prayed intensely. It was a moment of great sorrow and anxiety. The battle was definitely at its peak. The force of darkness was pushing with great might while Christ was containing it with intense prayer and absolute self-surrender to the will of the Father. “He said to his disciples, ‘Stay over here while I go over there and pray. He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him. And he began to feel sadness and anguish’” (Matthew 26: 36-37).

Prayer of faith and perseverance is all that we need at the point of the final battle. After the agony in the garden, it was clear to Christ that victory has been achieved. With serenity, calmness and interior silence, he went through the ion and death. The insults, the spitting and the torturing were all absolved patiently. No amount of effort by Annas and Caiaphas the high priests or by King Harold and Governor Pontius Pilate was enough to squeeze out unnecessary words from his mouth. The few words that he spoke on the cross (and a few other events that transpired around the cross in fulfillment of the Scripture) all showed that the battle has been fought accordingly and that the threshold has been crossed. Even before the body was laid on the tomb, awaiting the inevitable resurrection, signs of victory had already started to appear as he breathed his last. “And suddenly, the veil of the Sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, the rocks were split, the tombs opened and the bodies of many holy people rose from the dead, and these after his resurrection, came out of the tombs, entered the holy city and appeared to a number of people”(Matthew 27:51-53).

PSALM 126

When Yahweh brought back Zion’s captives we lived in a dream; then our mouths filled with laughter, and our lips with song.

Then the nations kept saying, ‘What great deeds Yahweh has done for them!’ Yes, Yahweh did great deeds for us, and we were overjoyed.

Bring back, Yahweh, our people from captivity like torrents in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears sing as they reap.

He went off, went off weeping, carrying the seed. He comes back, comes back singing, bringing his sheaves.

LET US PRAY

God our Father, the weeping and groaning of your Only Son on the cross was a birth pang that brought forth the joy of the resurrection. Teach us the perseverance that we need in the days of trial and suffering. Let us always that the dawn of glory always follows the night of faith. Give us the strength of faith and the amour of righteousness that we need in order to keep pushing with a greater degree of intensity when the battle of life gets to its peak. May the wall of sin which Satan has erected around us crumble as we use the power of that spirit which Christ has breathed upon us to push him back to that uninhabitable region of darkness which you have designated for him. Let our union with Christ in every battle of our life always guarantee us of the immediate victory ahead of us. We make our prayers through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

CHAPTER SEVEN

MEANS OF HEALING AND RECONCILIATION

Introductory age: It is all God’s work; he reconciled us to himself through Christ and he gave us the ministry of reconciliation. I mean, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not holding anyone’s faults against them, but entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2Corinthians 5:18-19).

Among the major afflictions that we suffer in our lives are the wounds of our sins and those of our brothers and sisters. We go through life with a great deal of pain and brokenness on of the impact of our sins and those of others on us. Sometimes, this prevents us from arriving at a point of maturity and living in the joy and freedom of the children of God. God sent Jesus Christ to heal us of the wounds of our sins and of our brokenness, and to bring us restoration and life. The miracle that so much characterized the public ministry of Jesus more than any other miracle was that of healing. Everywhere he went, he was healing those under the power of sickness and diseases of every kind. People came to him not so much to ask for food, water or any other favor, but simply to be healed, or to secure healing for their friends and relatives. The understanding seemed to be that immediately they have healing, any other thing would follow. Jesus never hesitated to grant healing to people because he knew that that was what they needed desperately. To the leper who knelt before him and pleaded, ‘“If you are willing, you can cleanse me,’ Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying, ‘I am willing, Be cleansed’” (Matthew 8:2-3). When he entered Peter’s house and found Peter’s mother-in law in bed with fever, “he touched her hand and the fever left her”(Matthew 8:15). On the evening of the day that he cured Peter’s mother in-law, “they brought him many who were possessed by devils. He cast out the spirits with a word and cured all those who were sick. This was to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah: He took our sicknesses away and carried our diseases” (Matthew 8: 16-17). Jesus ministry of healing

even reached a point of overwhelming the whole crowd until they were full of iration for him. “Their iration was unbounded, and they said, ‘Everything he does is good. He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak” (Mark 7:37). Even as he sent his disciples to proclaim the good news, he realized that the gospel of salvation could not be complete if it is not accompanied with healing. He “gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal” (Luke 9:1-2). They carried out his instructions. “So they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and healing everywhere” (Luke 9:6). It would seem at first look as if what Jesus was healing was simply physical sickness, but what he was healing was mostly deeper than ordinary physical sickness. He was healing the affliction of the soul which is sin. It was for this reason that on many occasions, a mention is made of devil or unclean spirit which afflicts the soul with the wound of sin. Of the woman bent double for eighteen years, Jesus confirmed that it was Satan who was holding her in bondage when on curing her; he addressed the protesting Synagogue president. “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has held bound theses eighteen years—was it not right to untie this bond on the Sabbath day?” (Luke. 13:16). The boy who was an epileptic was also being afflicted by the devil. The gospel therefore told us that “Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and cured the boy and gave him back to his father” (Luke. 9:42). Even the violent mad man of Gerasene who lived in the tombs was known by the gospel as one who was simply being afflicted by demons, hence his name the demoniac. To cure him, Jesus simply had to drive the unclean spirits out. “Jesus had been telling the unclean spirit to come out of the man. It had seized on him a great many times, and then they used to secure him with chains and fetters to restrain him, but he would always break the fastenings, and the devil would drive him out into the wilds”(Luke 8:29). If the curing that Jesus was effecting and the one that he sent his apostles to ister were to be mere physical healing, it would have been out of proportion for it to be occupying so central a place in the ministry of Jesus. Jesus ministry for the kingdom is basically something that transcends the temporal order. Even when things are carried out by Jesus at the level of the physical, they are only means to and a symbol of the spiritual order which is the realm at which the ministry of Jesus has its purpose and meaning. Christ healed the afflictions of the body as a means and symbol of healing the deep wounds of the soul. If the body is healed but the soul is not affected; the healing has no root and is bound not to last. If the soul is healed, the healing of the body is bound to follow albeit in God’s own way. The way to heal the soul is to set it free from sin and that is the mission of Jesus. To the paralytic who was brought before Jesus by his four faithful friends,

Jesus said, “Take comfort, my child, your sins are forgiven” (Matthew 9:2). Despite the violent agitation of the scribes present, Jesus wanted to prove; first that he has the authority to forgive sins, but also that spiritual healing is what we need to gain our much needed freedom. “But to prove to you that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’—then he said to the paralytic— ‘get up, pick up your bed and go off home.’ And the man got up and went home” (Matthew 9: 6-7). It is because affliction is caused mostly by sin that Jesus Christ wanted those who have been liberated to keep themselves free from the poison. To the man the he cured at the pool of Bethesda of a sickness that has lasted for thirty-eight years, Jesus said: “Now you are well again, do not sin any more, or something worse may happen to you” (John 5:14).

Jesus’ mission of healing was so much connected with that of rehabilitation. Another name for this rehabilitation is reconciliation. When people are wounded or sick, they live in isolation and couldn’t interact properly with the rest of the society. A blind cannot even see those around him and on himself cannot embark on trying to find them out when they are not there. A lame cannot march along with the rest of the society. A dumb cannot express himself or communicate in a meaningful way with others. The deaf cannot hear, receive or appreciate what others are saying. Leprosy is contagious and as such makes the victim to be secluded from the rest of the community. All the other sickness that we think of, also weaken the body and the soul which together with their pains, make the victim entirely incapable of sharing in the life of the community. When healing takes place then, there is a rehabilitation which accompanies it. One is made to re-integrate himself as soon as possible into the life of the community and to play his role toward the building of the community. In Jesus ministry of healing, we see this other aspect also being highlighted by the gospel on number occasions. When the Gerasene demoniac was cured, Jesus said to him, “‘Go home to your people and tell them all that the Lord in his mercy has done for you.’ So the man went off and proceeded to proclaim in the Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him (Mark 5:19-20).

Christ knew how the sins and brokenness of his brothers and sisters has caused them to be separated from God and from one another. The lepers are ostracized, the publicans are scorned and rejected, the Samaritans are despised and avoided,

and the gentiles are condemned. Jesus Christ came to heal, to forgive and to reconcile. He forgave public sinners, mixed up with them and called them into his discipleship. One of such sinners was a tax collector called Matthew who became both an apostle and an evangelist. On the day of the conversion of Matthew, there was such a big gathering of sinners in the company of Jesus Christ celebrating his conversion that the sight infuriated the scribed and Pharisees who complained bitterly. To the complaints, he responded, “It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I came to call not the upright, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). On another occasion, he was at the house of another tax collector called Zaccheaus to celebrate his conversion. As the crowd protested, the man professed publicly his repentance and Jesus Christ instantly gave his own verdict. “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of man has come to seek out and save what was lost” (Luke. 19:10). On the day that he was asking the Samaritan woman of water at the well of Jacob, the woman was scandalized that the Jewish prophet was moving to break the boundary which pride and prejudice among other sins have created between the two races. It was for this then that the woman protested strongly. “‘You are a Jew. How is it that you ask me, a Samaritan for something to drink?’—Jews, of course, do not associate with Samaritans” (John 4:9). Apart from calling this woman to faith, one main aim of Jesus was to make all the races to be reconciled to the Father through him so that being healed of their wounds, they may transcend whatever it is that separates them and look up to the Father as one people, worshipping him in spirit and in truth. On realizing in the cause of their dialogue that he was a prophet, the woman asked him of the Jewish holy place and the Samaritan’s which was the right place to worship God. He replied. “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. But the hour is coming— indeed is already here—when true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth” (John 4: 21; 23). At the point that this encounter drew to a close, Jesus was already achieving the reconciliation of the races and their being reconciled to God through faith. The Gospel reported what happened at the end of the encounter. The Samaritans were eager not just to associate with a Jewish prophet but to have him live with them.

• “TheSamaritanscameuptohim,theybeggedhimtostaywiththem.Hestayedfortwodaysandmanymo

4: 40-42).

Christ dedicated his ministry to the healing and reconciliation of his people so that he might crown the exercise with the cross of his ion and death. Christ was destined to be wounded and broken so that through him, the wounds of his brothers and sisters may be healed and that they may be reconciled to one another and to God. Even right from the Old Testament, God showed the healing and reconciliation that he was going to effect through the man hanging on the cross. He did this on an occasion when the sins of the children of Israel caused their affliction, death and separation from God. They had sinfully murmured against God and Moses, and God on of that sent them a fiery serpent, the bite of which brought death to many in Israel. As they pleaded with God through the intercession of Moses, he provided a solution.

• “Yahwehreplied,‘Makeafieryserpentandraiseitasastandard.Anyonewhoisbittenandlooksatitwill 21: 8-9).

The bronze serpent of Moses was only a figure of Christ. It is in Jesus hanging on the cross that all sinners are meant to find healing and their reconciliation with the Father. To Nicodemus, a Jewish teacher sincerely searching for the truth of life, Jesus declared, “As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him”(John 3:14).

The irregularities in our own lives could only be cured when even in the midst of the pains that we feel, we are able to look beyond, and see the way we have caused our sufferings, and the sufferings that we have caused others and the

system. We have to gaze intently, penitently and lovingly at Christ on the Cross acknowledging that all the pains go to him. He took our mortal human body so that he could carry all the pains and wounds of humanity in his body.

God permitted his only begotten Son to become a victim of sin, to be wounded, to suffer and to die, so that we might be healed and be reconciled to God. “For our sake, he made the sinless a victim of sin, so that in him we might become the uprightness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

It is only when we gaze intensely at Jesus on the cross as his body bleeds with wound from every side, when we look at the sufferings and afflictions of many of our human society which have partly been caused by others wickedness and lack of comion, when we see thing that have been spoilt in the system because of the greed, individualistic and unpatriotic attitude of many of us that we would see the much need we have to cry and to embark on the works of penitence and reconciliation. If our efforts toward repentance are sincere and our actions genuine, at the end of the day, we would be surprised to see the much that we have rectified by looking at the one that has been wounded for and by us. God promised through the prophecy of Zachariah, what he could achieve in us by raising our eyes on to the one we have afflicted.

• “OvertheHouseofDavidandinhabitantsofJerusalem,Ishallpouroutaspiritofgraceandprayer,andth bornchild.Whenthatdaycomes,themourninginJerusalemwillbeasgreatasthemourningforHadadR (Zech.12:10-11).

The bitterness in our hearts must be brought to Christ. The grudges, the fears, the doubts and the suspicions that have grown in our hearts over the years following one kind of unpleasant experience at the hands of our neighbors or the other, together with those bad memories and pains we carry because of one kind of evil

thing or the other we have done in the secret of our lives or in public are all pains that need to be healed. It is only when there is healing that we could live our lives properly and relate in a mature, free and joyful way to others. They must be carried to Christ and positioned before him as we lift up our hearts to him in prayer. As we focus our attention on Christ, we should allow him to feel the pain of whatever it could be and then sincerely implore him to heal, to restore and to put things aright. If this is done sincerely and faithfully, he is going to heal us and bring us to peace with God. He suffered as innocent as he was and was wounded in his own sinless body, so that we could be healed of all the wounds that sin has inflicted on our souls. “He was bearing our own sins in his own body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for uprightness” (1Peter 2:24).

The gospel recorded some works either of conversion or of reconciliation that were achieved instantly by the ion of Jesus. It must have been because of the penetrating gaze that the people concerned were able to cast at Jesus. He effected the reconciliation of Pilate and Herod who were enemies. “And though Herod and Pilate had been enemies before, they were reconciled that very day” (Luke 23:12). He made Peter to be filled with sorrow at his denial of him and he shed tears of repentance; “and he went outside and wept bitterly” (Luke 22: 62). He made the centurion that was at the head of the Roman soldiers that crucified him together with others to praise God on seeing what happened and to profess him as the Son of God. “They were terrified and said, ‘In truth this man was the son of God’” (Matthew 27:54). He made the crowds who had participated in the whole episode of his condemnation and crucifixion to be sorry for their sins at the end and to beat their breasts in sorrow. “And when all the crowd who had gathered for the spectacle saw what had happened they went home beating their breasts” (Luke 23:48). He made Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus, two righteous men who had their discipleship of Jesus hidden because of their fear of their fellow Jews to let go their fear and come out openly as true disciples to give Christ a descent burial (Cf. Jn. 19: 38-41). What the wounded and crucified Jesus effected in the lives of all these people, he is willing and eager to effect in our lives, and even more, if only in obedience to the scripture we look on him with faith and trust in line with the prophecy of the scripture which said that “they will look on the one whom they have pierced” (John 19:37; Zech.12:10)

INSPIRED PROPHECY: ISAIAH 53:3-5

He was despised, the lowest of men, a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering, one from whom, as it were, we averted our gaze, despised, for whom we had no regard.

Yet ours were the sufferings he was bearing; ours were the sorrows he was carrying, while we thought of him as someone being punished and struck with affliction by God;

whereas he was being wounded for our rebellions, crushed because of our guilt; the punishment reconciling us fell on him, and we have been healed by his bruises.

LET US PRAY

God our Father, we thank you because, through the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, you have healed the wounds of our sins and reconciled us to yourself and to one another. Teach us always to look up to Jesus whenever we are overwhelmed by our spiritual and physical weaknesses and infirmities. Give us the grace in order to let go, whatever withholds the process of healing that Jesus Christ has through his ion and death, put in place for us. Let us be agents of healing for our wounded brothers and sisters through our penance, prayers and acts of kindness. May we be worthy to be called your true sons and daughters through our sincere effort to bring your peace and reconciliation to the world around us. Grant that every pain which we go through and every sacrifice which we make in our life may in union with the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ help to facilitate the peace and wellbeing of all mankind. We make our prayers through Christ our Lord. Amen.

CHAPTER EIGHT

FOR THE BENEFIT OF MANY

Scriptural age: “But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all; you do not understand that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish.” He did not say this on his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad”(John 11: 49-52[Revised Standard Version translation]).

Through the cross of his suffering and death, Christ brought about the salvation of many. As it was the purpose of God, Christ understood quite well that his life was meant to be poured out for the wellbeing and for the salvation of all. As he gave the apostles the cup of wine which was a sacrament of his life poured out for our salvation, he said, “Drink from this, all of you, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Mt. 26:28). St John in the prologue of his gospel testified that it is from the fullness of Christ that we receive abundance of gifts. “Indeed, form his fullness we have, all of us, received—one gift replacing another” (John 1:16).

Christ himself, before his ion cried out to the people:

• “Letanyonewhothirstscometome!Letanyonewhobelievesinmecomeanddrink!AstheScripturesay

38).

The life and ministry of Christ drew many to him. People came to him in hundreds and thousands to be healed of their sickness and other complaints, to be fed with the word of God and occasionally to be fed with material bread. It was however through the cross of his suffering and death that Christ was meant to become the benefactor of the whole human race. Christ himself alluded directly to this when he declared: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself” (John 12:32).

One of the initial shortcomings of the Old Testament spirituality was that it did not underline the value of the suffering of the just one. This has constituted a major problem which the Old Testament theologians were not able resolve. This in a way became a blockage in their own understanding of God’s way which equally retarded their growth in their own relationship with God. If suffering is a punishment for the wicked as their traditional understanding was, why should the just suffer? We see the psalmist on a number occasions pouring out his resentment against God in times of suffering and affliction. He argues for his innocence and protests against the progress of the wicked, advocating for immediate justice. He would go on to decry God’s delayed intervention and to apparently contest the Most High’s sense of right judgment although not without affirming his unwavering faith in him at the end. The following lines are typical of such sentiments we find regularly in the psalms:

• “Youhaveplungedmetothebottomofthegrave,inthedarkness,inthedepths,weigheddownbyyouran 7).

With the ing of time and growth in their understanding of God, some of the prophets of the Old Testament started to pronounce the great value of the suffering of the just man as it affects the salvation of many. There are many who are on the way of perdition, some out of their own doing, and others not necessarily out of their own doing. If these countless people have to be saved, someone has to suffer in order to effect their salvation. If it is the wicked man who suffers, he suffers as a result of his own wickedness, and his suffering as intense as it could be can only pay the price of his wickedness (His suffering cannot even effect his liberation. He could in a way suffer for his crime, but at the end, a prisoner needs another person to pay either a bail or a ransom). Jonah, an Old Testament prophet who was tasked with the difficult job of preaching the word of God to the sinful nation Nineveh had made the mistake of not realizing that instead of becoming God’s agent of destruction of the great city, God has found in him a just man whose difficult task of preaching to a sinful people was to become the hope of their salvation. When Jonah therefore protested against the mercy granted to the Ninivites instead of rejoicing at what God has used his prophetic role to achieve in them, God gave him the following response:

• “WhyshouldInotbeconcernedforNineveh,thegreatcity,inwhichtherearemorethanahundredandtw

The Scripture told us that God “wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth” (1Timothy 2:4). How could this salvation be possible for an overwhelming population who are either in error or ignorant or out of the right track and as such couldn’t achieve it by themselves. It is possible only through the ceaseless sacrifice of a just one, who offers his time, energy and entire self just to facilitate the wellbeing of others. A professional driver is on the steering and on the road for the whole of the day not for his own transportation but to facilitate the journey of many other travelers who would never make it to their destinations without his service. His knowledge of the route and ability to stop and then continue at any necessary point all serve the purpose of the overwhelming majority who could travel only through the means of public transport.

When God in his own time, called a single patriarch Abraham and justified him by faith, he knew that what he was doing was just a means of getting the whole of humanity justified through an individual whom he has proposed to use as a faithful point. It is therefore certain that Abraham’s call even from the beginning was a responsibility just as it was a privilege. It seemed that the blessed promise made to Abraham was not destined to come to it’s fulfillment without his starting to play the role of an advocate for the welfare of a multitude. It was then quite in line with his vacation and not as an isolated incident that on the eve of the terrible day of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham, the just and faithful patriarch had taken his firm position before the Lord to plead endlessly on their behalf for the Lord’s mercy. Abraham understood quite well the position that he represented. Many, especially the sinners, are meant to benefit from the life, prayers and sacrifice of a just man. His intercession as a just man was therefore fitting in order to effect the salvation of the whole people of Sodom and Gomorrah. He was also banking on (and his prayer was anticipating) the life and sacrifice of some just men and women in Sodom and Gomorrah whose presence were to authenticate his prayers. The way that God the Almighty attended and gave positive answer to Abraham’s endless prayers on that very day showed that his providence was in line with Abraham’s understanding, namely that the just are the benefactors of sinners.

• “Abrahamsteppedforwardandsaid,‘willyoureallydestroytheuprightwiththeguilty? Supposetherearefiftyuprightpeopleinthecity.Willyoureallydestroyit? Willyounotsparetheplaceforthesakeofthefiftyuprightinit? Donotthinkofdoingsuchathing:toputtheuprighttodeathwiththeguilty,sothattheuprightandguiltyfa Yahwehreplied,‘IfIfindfiftyuprightpeopleinSodom,Iwillsparethewholeplacebecauseifthem’”(G 26).

The prayers and dialogue continued in this way until in the end it was clear that the destruction of the city became imperative because there was not found in it a

few just people on whose sacrifice God could anchor to save the entire populace.

In his prophecy of the suffering servant, it was revealed to Isaiah[meaning the author of Deutero-Isaiah] how the servant’s years of suffering and apparent futile toil were destined by God not only as a source of restoration to the House of Israel but equally as a means of salvation for the entire mankind. Despite his initial lack of understanding and his belief that his suffering has come to nothing, everything was being reckoned by God and was to be a source of the salvation for a vast majority in the long run. The prophecy so to speak was a messianic prophecy per excellence for it is only in Christ that the toil and suffering of a single individual was to become the means of salvation for the whole world.

• “CoastsandIslandslistentome,payattention,distantpeoples.YahwehcalledmewhenIwasinthewom uniteIsraeltohim;— IshallbehonoredinYahweh’seyes,andmyGodhasbeenmystrength.— Hesaid,‘Itisnotenoughforyoutobemyservant,torestorethetribesofJacobandbringbackthesurvivor 6).

It is something noble which we are meant to take pride in when our lives become means of salvation for a multitude of people. People are happy when they realize that they are going to gain something by their suffering. It is an incentive for them to persevere. How much more should we be happy whenever we realize that whatever we suffer is going to be for the benefit of a vast majority? For those who have sincerely suffered in order for others to benefit, it is evidently clear that in the last run, they are going enjoy together with our Lord Jesus Christ, a great deal of goodwill and gratitude from those who have been the beneficiaries of their life of sacrifice. We should always endeavor to see that our suffering is for the right cause and that there is no irregularity on our own part either before or during or after the suffering since such a disposition serves to take away all the merits of our suffering and equally deprives us of the goodwill

of many who would have been the beneficiaries of our sacrifice. Many holy people who understand the much that others could gain from their own suffering have through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit been possessed with the desire to suffer and die without any reward, provided it could become of other’s benefit. Paul was one of those people. He declared:

• “Thereisgreatsorrowandunremittingagonyinmyheart:IcouldpraythatImyselfbeaccursedandcuto 3).

Those who bear the burden so that others may have life in abundance are really blessed. They are co-dispensers of Divine favor and blessing with Christ the savior. They are specially chosen. It is not for such people to complain and grumble but to thank God, to seek blessings and from Christ so that their burden may be made lighter by him and that everything may be used to achieve the maximum benefit. We can reach a point in our spirit of sacrifice and in our journey with God where a single word that we utter becomes capable of achieving an immense amount and a single act we perform becomes a source of favor for countless people. Samuel was a priest, prophet, seer and judge who lived at a very crucial era of transition in the history of Israelites. During his infancy, his mother consecrated him to the Lord at the temple of Shiloh. Under the tutelage of the old priest Eli, he learnt how to be attentive to the voice of the Lord and responsive to his command. At his old age, the Israelites came as a body, asking him to give them a king. He anointed Saul and David as the first and second king of Israel respectively before he eventually died and was buried at Ramah. Of him the scripture made the following submission as it narrates the story of his call while ministering under Eli:

• “Samuelgrewup.Yahwehwaswithhimanddidnotletasinglewordfalltothegroundofallthathehadtol

20).

So it is possible for a single man to achieve so much for the people and to live his life without even a single word of his being wasted. This is simply the grace of God aided by one’s cooperation, in other words, the life and suffering of a just man sustained and crowned by God’s grace.

Moses was one of such men in the history of religion whose life was the hope of the entire people. Through the grace of God, he understood his role and played it to the fullness. Many times, he had to put up with the people’s bad will, anger, insensitivity, endless complaints and ingratitude because he realized that God has stationed him as their only source of hope. He was once overwhelmed by the amount of sacrifice that he, a single human being was meant to make for the survival of a multitude that he was moved to his own agitation before the Lord.

• “Whydoyoutreatyourservantbadly? InwhatrespecthaveIfailedtowinyourfavor,foryoutolaytheburdenofallthesepeopleonme? WasitIwhoconceivedthispeople,wasitIwhogavethembirth,thatyoushouldsaytome,‘Carrythemin fathercarryinganunweanedchild,tothecountrywhichIsworetogivetotheirfathers’?,WhereamItofi Icannotcarryallthesepeopleonmyown;theweightistoomuchorme.Ifthisishowyoumeantotreatme. 15).

God’s own spirit was with him and he carried on. He was a figure of Christ who carried the burden of the whole of humanity to the point of death on the cross. There were even those moments that God’s anger used to rise high against the whole community resulting in threat of their destruction only for the intercession of Moses to save them from such divine wrath. Even at a time, God promised to

form a nation of Moses as a substitute for his people but even such a promise didn’t debar Moses from his role of making supplication to secure the life of the whole people.

• “YahwehthensaidtoMoses‘Iknowthesepeople;Iknowhowobstinatetheyare!Soleavemenow,sotha 11).

Those who are destined to be the hope of others through their sacrifice and suffering should like Moses who was a figure of Christ never allow insinuations toward self interest to creep in and distract them from their noble and rewarding vocation. Moses reached a point in his sacrifice for his people that it was only his perseverance in suffering that guaranteed their survival, as his giving up would have spelt a total destruction for them. On the memorable day of the war against Amalekites, he had to put his hands up from morning to night in order to secure a total victory for his people.

• “TheAmalekitesthencameandattackedIsraelatRephidim.MosessaidtoJoshua,‘Picksomemenand 13).

Many people suffer and perish in times of danger because there is no just man to stand up and suffer for them. During the early years in the Promised Land which followed the death of Joshua the son of Nun, the Israelites were on a number of occasions left at the mercy of their enemies simply because there was no judge to bear their burdens, to put them in the right track and to take their case before the Lord (Cf. judges 2: 18-19). In the days of the Babylonian Captivity, the

psalmist came to a point of understanding that what they lacked was a visionary to see into the future, an authentic leader to direct them, a martyr to carry the burden of their sins and sorrows and to mediate the mind of God for them. He cried out: “We see no signs, no prophet any more, and none of us knows how long it will last” (Psalm 74:9). When Christ Jesus was sent by God the Father in the fullness of time, the kind of moral bankruptcy into which the whole nation and their religious leaders had sunk made it quite clear that the whole people were heading for a doom if there was no just man to salvage the situation. This was only a symbol of the pitiable state at which the whole of humankind was. It wasn’t only out of share wickedness and human design then that Caiaphas the Jewish primate declared to the ruling religious body that it was better for one man to die than for the whole nation to be destroyed. The gospel underlined that on his capacity as the chief priest, he was inspired to prophesy that the suffering and death of Jesus was necessary not just for the wellbeing of the Jewish nation but for the unity and salvation of God’s children throughout the world.

The sacrifice has an eternal effect on all sections of mankind because the one who suffered and died is the Eternal Son of God who took the human nature. If it were to be an ordinary just man, his sacrifice could have affected many of his time and place but in no way could it have had an eternal effect over all sections of humanity of every time and place. What the suffering of ordinary human beings, no matter how just, could do even on people of their age and time is also limited bearing in mind that no matter how perfect as human, we are inadequate creatures living within the confines of material finitude and weakness. The just man who could mediate adequately for all sections and ages of humanity therefore is only that one who has a divine and eternal origin.

• “Suchisthehighpriestthatmetourneed,holy,innocentanduncontaminated,setapartfromsinners,and

It is only in union with him that our lives and sufferings could be of enduring

benefit to many. Those who have ion for the for poor, the sick, the afflicted and different sections of the groaning and suffering humankind should seek to grow in the intimacy of prayer with Christ since it is only through the grace of his suffering and death that they could achieve something substantial and enduring.

PSALM 106: 19-32

At Horeb they made a calf, bowed low before cast metal; they exchanged their glory for the image of a grass-eating bull.

They forgot the God who was saving them, who had done great deeds in Egypt, such wonders in the land of Ham, such awesome deeds at the Sea of Reeds.

He thought of putting an end to them, had not Moses, his chosen one, taken a stand in the beach to confront him, to turn his anger away from destroying them.

They counted a desirable land as nothing, they put no trust in his promise; they stayed in their tents and grumbled, they would not listen to Yahweh’s voice.

So he lifted his hand against them, to strike them down in the desert, to strike down their descendants among the nations, to scatter them all over the world.

They committed themselves to serve Ball-Peor, and ate sacrifice made to lifeless gods. They also provoked him by their actions that a plague broke out among them.

Then up stood Phinehas to intervene and the plague was checked, for this he

is the example of righteousness, from age to age for ever.

At the waters of Meribah they so angered Yahweh, that Moses suffered on their .

LET US PRAY

God our Father, thank you because you willed that your Son Jesus Christ should be the innocent victim for the salvation of the entire world. Right from the days of Abraham and Moses you have never ceased to raise up just men and women whose ceaseless sacrifice and prayers is always your people’s hope and salvation in their moments of need and suffering. In the heroic sacrifice made by your chosen judges, priests and prophets of old for the wellbeing of your covenant people Israel, you foreshadowed the eternal sacrifice that Christ your just one is destined to make for the benefit of people of every time and place. Teach us to utilize the sacrifice that he has already made for us by imitating the pattern of his life and calling on his name with faith in our moments of need. Help us to be just in our words and our deeds so that the small sufferings we go through in our day to day lives may not just serve for our wellbeing but may facilitate others wellbeing as well. Give us a generous heart so that we may not consider any worthwhile enterprise as a waste of time and energy provided it is going to be of benefit to our brothers and sisters. Grant us the grace we need so that every sacrifice we make and every help we give to others may be done in a spirit of true love and with a deep act of faith in you. In this way all our inputs may be united with that eternal sacrifice that your Son made on the cross of Calvary for the benefit of all. We make our prayers through Christ our Lord Amen.

CHAPTER NINE

CROSS, EVIDENCE OF LOVE

Introductory age: “The love of Christ overwhelms us when we consider that if one man died for all, then all have died; his purpose in dying for all humanity was that those who live should live not any more for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life”(2Corinthians 5:14-15).

The greatest love story ever told for all Christian believers is the story of Calvary. “No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). The depth of love is assessed by what it is able to endure or to sacrifice for the one loved. There is no other thing that could be endured more than the intense agony and shameful death endured on the cross. There is no other thing that could be sacrificed more than one’s life as was done on Calvary. Sometimes, people make sacrifice for the ones they love and go through heroic suffering and endurance for them, but still with a hope of getting one kind of reward or the other or at least of their efforts being appreciated if not reciprocated. The love which propelled Christ Jesus to die on the cross of Calvary was a love which never anticipated any reward or reciprocation. It was on the contrary, a love that was greeted with mockery and scorns by the very ones the love of whom has brought him to the point of agony and shameful death. Even at that, he didn’t stop loving, he didn’t close his heart at such an unbelievable show of ingratitude and wickedness on the part of the loved ones, but used the last breath in him to make excuse for them and pray for their forgiveness. It could have been understandable if the person for whom one is dying is good and at least well disposed to him. This love of Christ on the cross becomes exceptional when put into consideration the fact that those, the love of whom has brought Christ to the point of death are evil and ill-disposed towards him. St Paul put it this way:

• “Youcouldhardlyfindanyonereadytodieevenforsomeoneupright;thoughitisjustpossiblethat,forar 8).

We could further the point by saying that it is not only that Christ died for us while we were evil and ill-disposed toward him, but that it was even we ourselves who made him to die, and we added insult and rejection to the pain of the suffering and death which he underwent out of love for us.

That one should be willing to die for the sake of his impenitent murderers and still be desiring of the possible way of exonerating them from their guilt and win their love is a kind of love ever unheard of before the event of Christ. This is a love that endures forever, no matter where we find ourselves or at whatever stage we are in life or whatever we are suffering at such a moment, this love is with us. It is nearer, more meaningful and real in the moment of suffering for it was through suffering and death that God perfected his love for us in Christ Jesus. It was in it that the love of God for us was tested as gold is tested in the fire and found to be more durable than the finest gold. The scripture questions us:

• “CananythingcutusofffromtheloveofChrist— canhardshipordistress,orpersecution,orlackoffoodandclothing,orthreatsofviolence;asthescriptur No,wecomethroughthesethingstriumphantlyvictorious,bythepowerofhimwholovedus.FrIamcer 39).

It is the sense of God’s love for us that makes us to be well disposed to the

sufferings we encounter in life as we become aware that they are not signs of God’s hatred or his alienation from us but rather a living proof of his love and his surest way of training us as his children and making us to be familiar with his path. There is no path that leads to our heavenly home which is the home of the God of love than the stony and thorny route of Calvary, the road in which Christ sustained mortal wounds in his human body. Christ himself confirmed it: “It is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:14). It is God’s favorite children that he trains to tread this path, since the act of getting familiar with such a path and being able to walk confidently and trustfully in it is an evidence of living in the love of God the Father. The scripture onishes all true children of God:

• “Myson,donotscorncorrectionfromtheLord,donotresenthistraining,fortheLordtrainsthosehelove 7;Proverbs3:11-12).

One of the things that the Lord wants to do for us at those times when we are carrying the cross of his suffering and death with him is to make it easy and light for us. He is conscious of the fact that we are enduring out of love of him and as such, his love is quite intense on our side. He is eager to approach us, to shoulder it for us and to make it quite light. The only thing that we need to do is to invite him directly into the scene through prayer of faith. We have his words as guarantee:

• “Cometome,allyouwholaborandareoverburdened,andIwillgiveyourest.Shouldermyyokeandlear 30).

People who have advanced in the school of the love of God have on many occasions found an immense amount of consolation and joy even in the midst of the persecution which they have endured for Christ’s sake simply because they have seen in such persecutions, an evidence of the love of God growing in their lives. The scripture gave a testimony about the apostles on the day that they were arrested by the Sanhedrin and flogged for proclaiming the good news of Christ. “And so they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, glad to have had the honor of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name” (Acts. 5:41).

The cross shows that it is impossible for Jesus Christ to hate. There is nothing possible to be given out of love that he has not given. Before his very ion and death, his soul has reached a point of being broken with sorrow, sorrow for his people’s sins and impenitence, sorrow because of the fact that the people he loved and was about to pour out his life for have not accepted that love which is the only remedy for their sins and the consequent judgment that threatened them. He cried out: “My soul is sorrowful to the point of death” (Matthew 26:40). The sorrow was not just because of his horror for his imminent bodily suffering. It was rather an evidence of love for his people whose eternal salvation was being threatened by their bad disposition. Most of the fear and anxiety which Christ underwent on the night of his ion was precisely out of his immediate concern for his dear ones on whose souls he knew that Satan could use such a trying occasion to inflict some fatal wounds if they are not on their guard. During the last supper just before the moment of his last agony at the garden of Gethsemane, he had used the words of the prophecy of Zechariah (13:7) to warn them of what their fate was going to be, but he still assured them that his love will be enough to gather them together again and save them from final destruction:

• “Youwillfallawayfrommetonight,forthescripturesays:Ishallstriketheshepherdandthesheepofthef 32).

It was out of his love that Jesus had so much feared about the salvation of his friends and their ability to survive the imminent assault by the power of darkness which was bound to be at it’s height during the crucial hour of his ion. He told them to keep watch with him even for an hour. It wasn’t just because of the companionship and the consolation which he was anticipating to get from such company that he longed that they stay awake and watch with him. It was because of the strength which they needed from that great hour of prayerful vigil to conquer the power of evil which was bound to be mightily against them in the imminent hour of darkness. He spelt out to them the reason why they badly needed to utilize the crucial hour of prayerful vigil when he came back from the place at which he was praying and found them asleep: “Stay awake, and pray not to be put to the test” (Matthew 26:41).

There has been a number of other gestures and remarks made by Jesus Christ during the moment of his ion and death which showed that he was at that point filled with joy at those who have opened their hearts to his love and as such have gained their salvation just as he was quite sad at those who were closing their hearts from his love and as such missing what seemed to be the last opportunity for salvation. He had to speak in praise and defense of the woman who just before his ion had lavished a jar of costly ointment on him and was as such embarrassingly criticized by the disciples:

• “Whyareyouupsettingthewoman? Whatshehasdoneformeisindeedagoodwork.Youhavethepoorwithyoualways,butyouwillnotalwa 13)

As for the apostles he was at a point in the last supper, so joyful to recall the faithfulness that they have demonstrated so for, and to announce to them the victory and the eternal inheritance that would be theirs through their last act of perseverance:

• “Youarethemenwhohavestoodbymefaithfullyinmytrials,andnowIconferakingdomonyoujustasm 30).

Most of the words spoken by Jesus on the cross were spoken with sentiments of love, showing that his love has reached the point of explosion, which could not be suppressed either by the pain of his suffering or the bitterness of his death. The one spoken to Mary his mother and to John his beloved disciple were particularly words of joy to beloved ones whose salvation has been guaranteed by their love and faithfulness. The words to the good thief were those of joy at a sinner that has been won over in the last minute by his love. The ones spoken in reference to his murderers were an appeal of love to his heavenly Father on behalf of people who have meted the worst kind of inhuman treatment on him.

One of the men that Jesus has loved so much was Judas Iscariot. Jesus had chosen him along with the other eleven to be his very close apostle and intimate friend after that long and fateful night that he spent in the mountain praying to his heavenly Father(Cf. Luke 6:12-16). He had so much prayed for him and for the rest and has kept very watchful and loving eyes on him. When it became evident to Christ that Judas was starting to tread the path of perdition, it was a source of big concern to him not because of the pain of the treachery that he was going to suffer at his hands but because the one he loved has chosen to be lost. He tried to make many more gestures of love to Judas in order to see if he could win him back but at each juncture, the gesture was not only turned down but betrayed by Judas. At each of these instances, Jesus was filled with the pain of a lover, and not with the bitterness of a victim of hatred and treachery. At one point, Jesus commented with a deep sigh of sorrow that one of the apostles was to betray him. Instead of repenting of his evil purpose, Judas insincerely ed the rest of the apostles in asking if he was the one that he meant (Cf. Matthew 26:21-25). Even when Jesus Christ pointed out to him that those were his words, he did not think of repenting of his sinful intention. Jesus commented that the

hands of the one to betray him were in the same dish with him (Matthew 26:24). He even went to the extent of dishing bread in the bowl and giving it to him (which is a Jewish gesture of love) so as to appeal to him again by the power of his overflowing love (John 13:26). Despite all these gestures, Judas was adamant, he has accepted Satan. It was a great source of mental anguish to Jesus that the one he loved so much has refused either to be touched or even to be saved by his love. With painful and broken heart, he made some other references to it just before his ion. To the disciples he said in fulfillment of the scripture: “He who shares my table takes advantage of me” (John 13: 18, Psalm 49:1). To his heavenly Father he prayed as follows during his last prayer of consecration of the apostles to him: “I keep those you had given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is lost except the one that choose to be lost” (John 17:12). To Judas, he addressed this question at the very point of the formers betrayal of him: “Judas, are you betraying the son of man with a kiss?”(Luke 22:48)[Kissing was for the Jews just as it is for many other cultures, an expression of sincere intimacy].

Even the Roman Governor who eventually sentenced him to death was a man that the love of Jesus did not spare. The love of Christ has made a deep impression on Pilate which he tried to resist because of the pressure pulling him from the opposite direction. Many evidences in the trial of his sympathy for Jesus and his eagerness to set him free suggested that he never fully succeeded in resisting the love of Jesus which was exerting a great deal of internal pressure on him. Jesus definitely had a great deal of interest in Pontius Pilate. His interest had nothing to do with a desire of evading the unjust death sentence from the hands of the pagan governor; on the contrary his love was propelling him to win the man to salvation. It must have been for this that Jesus on realizing that the man couldn’t resist the opposite pressure under which he was, had tried to exonerate him by affirming before him that the whole affair was providential and that some other person was more guilty than him. He said to him: “You would have no power over me at all if it had not been given you from above; that is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater guilt”(John 19: 11).

One of the highpoints of the ion and death of Jesus must have been the point of the triple betrayal of Peter. What Christ predicted has happened. He was sad

not just because his closest friend has denied him but because of the fact of Peter falling from grace. His love for Peter must have plunged him into a mental distress which was by far more than the one that he was physically undergoing at that instance. After his resurrection, on the day that he encountered Peter by the side of River Tiberius, he questioned him on his love before giving him a mandate as to make him to understand that it was not a question of hurt and disappointment as that of propelling love. Peter was hurt when he asked him three times if he love him, but it doesn’t call for hurt for if anyone has a right to be hurt, it was Jesus who was denied three times by Peter. The only issue there is love, abiding love. It was his love that made him to care so much about Peter and his welfare until he came to a point of selflessness. He wanted to make sure that the love has been instilled into Peter so that he in turn may be able to take care of his flock with the same amount of selflessness.

• “JesussaidtoSimonPeter,‘SimonsonJohn,doyoulovememorethantheseothersdo?’Heanswered,‘Y 18).

Peter was to feed the Lord’s lamb and look after his sheep out of love for Christ and as reciprocation for the overflowing love that he has received from him. He even had to lose his own freedom in order to make sure that he cares for his brothers and sisters with the selfsame love. Out Of his love for us, Jesus Christ surrendered his freedom to the will of his Father. He did not choose where to go. He did not choose what to do. In all things, it was the will of his Father that he sought to do. On this , he told Peter that his love will propel him to go, not where he chooses to go but where another wants him to go.

Since suffering for others is an evidence of love and Christ has suffered to the point of death for love of us, we should allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit of Christ to do whatever true love compels to do for others, despite the suffering and deprivation that it might involve. We are not permitted not to love just as we

are not permitted to hate. Everything in our lives is supposed to portray us as disciples of him who said, “It is by your love for one another that everyone will recognize you as my disciples” (John 13:35). It is the love of Christ that compels us to love, love that has no limit, love that could bring us to the point of suffering and even death since that is where his love for us has lead Christ to.

PSALM 119:153-159

Look at my suffering and rescue me, for I do not forget your law. Plead my cause and defend me as you promised, give me life.

Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your will. Your kindness to me are countless, Yahweh; true to your judgment, give me life

Though my enemies and oppressors are countless, I do not turn aside from your instructions. The sight of these renegades appals me; they do not observe your promise.

See how I love your precepts; true to your faithful love, give me life.

LET US PRAY

God our Father, in the suffering and death of your Son Jesus Christ, you demonstrated your everlasting love for us. You want us to reciprocate this love by being kind and comionate to our neighbors no matter how difficult it may be. You want us to go even beyond the boundary set by natural justice and the Decalogue of old by making sacrifice not only for those who seem to be worthy of it but even for the wicked and the ungrateful. Teach us not to set any boundary to our love. Let the wounds of your Son Jesus Christ heal the wounds in our hearts which prevents us from forgiving and from opening our hearts to embrace others. Let the sweetness of his love even as he was suffering the physical pain of our treachery dispel the bitterness of hatred and malice that we cherish in our hearts. Give us the grace to forgive at all times, to offer our pains and sorrows for the good and wellbeing of others and to be well disposed towards every member of the human family even as your Son Jesus Christ was well disposed towards all. We make our prayers through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

CHAPTER TEN

CONCLUSION

Our Christian faith does not make us to suffer more than the rest of mankind. It rather gives us a better disposition to suffering. It makes us rather to see meaning in our sufferings and to go through our afflictions with faith. Whatever we suffer and endure for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ and for the cause of righteousness is a test of our faith in God and in Christ our savior. Our ability to endure such trials makes our faith to grow and to come to maturity. Some people during a time of sickness, persecution, business misfortune or even hunger, are encouraged to surrender themselves to the Lord and to challenge him with endless prayers and other spiritual exercises like fasting, sacramental confession, almsgiving and works of charity. The result is that at the end of the day, their faith has grown over and beyond the initial size, while whatever their agitations are have been addressed by God in his best way as he must have also given them the patience to endure those situations that need a very long waiting, and the fortitude to accept those situations which for a higher goal, he has ordained to be their lot. Paul reported the response which he got from his prayer of faith in his moment of trial which made him to persevere and to take pride even in the weakness of his suffering which the Lord has left to stay with him:

“I was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger from Satan to batter me and prevent me from getting above myself. About this I have three times pleaded with the Lord that it might leave me, but he has answered me, ‘My grace is enough for you: for power is at its full stretch in weakness!’ It is, then, about my weakness that I am happiest of all to boast, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me; and that is why I am glad of weaknesses, insults, constraints, persecutions and distress for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12: 7-10).

We become great through suffering and death, because that was the road that our divine master has marked out and followed. We cannot have any other way. Any other greatness that is not arrived at through the route of Calvary is not a true greatness. Anyone who wants to go by the road of manipulation and easiness of life will arrive at nothing but degradation, since he who sows wind is bound to reap whirlwind. Christ said to us: “In all truth I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, no messenger is greater than the one who sent him” (John 13: 16).

It was on the day that the apostles were willing to endure persecutions and undergo sufferings for the sake of Jesus Christ and to preach boldly in his name that their faith started to grow even stronger (Cf. Acts 5:40-42). They started to perform the same type of miracles performed by Jesus (Cf. Acts 5: 12-16). They were held in great esteem on of Christ because of the suffering they were undergoing for his sake and the immense miracles that they were working in his name. They must have ed the words of Jesus Christ and known for certain that they were becoming great heirs to that kingdom the possession of which he guaranteed them that their perseverance in suffering and life of righteousness would lead them to. May the Good Lord grant us the grace we need to stand by Jesus in the day to day trails of our life so that we may be able to inherit that kingdom of which he spoke to the disciples with such a great assurance. Through the cross of Christ, that faithful and immortal tree which unites heaven to earth, may we the disciples of Christ the crucified be able to through the sufferings of this age to the joy of eternity.

CLOSING HYMN by Cardinal John Henry Newman in 1865

O Cross of Christ, immortal tree On which our Savior died’, The world is sheltered by your arms That bore the Crucified.

From bitter death and barren wood The tree of life is made; Its branches bear unfailing fruit And leaves that never fade.

O faithful Cross, you stand unmoved While ages run their course: Foundation of the universe, Creation’s binding force

Give glory to the risen Christ

And to his Cross give praise, The sign of God’s unfathomed love, The hope of all our days.