Jesus Christ came to redeem the whole of human nature. All that happened to Him in His human nature was at the service of the Revelation of the Father and the gift of Salvation and Redemption won for us through the grace of the Holy Spirit operating in that nature. The suffering of Jesus, physical and personal, reveals to us how intimately one with us He is.
When Jesus was scourged, the cruelty of human beings to other human beings was made known without any hiddenness. An innocent Lamb, One Who was guilty of no crime -- declared innocent by Pontius Pilate himself -- was made to suffer in His very flesh. The mortification of the flesh that was inflicted on Him shows the strength inherent in our human nature. He kept going even after such ill treatment.
Our "sins of the flesh" are met with redemption through the scourging of the Lord. He took upon Himself the guilt of us all. Mercy was given mercilous punishment, and He met it with meekness. Compassion for the sufferings of the Lord leads us to have a greater compassion for our brothers and sisters, even those who treat us with cruelty.
God has redeemed us through Jesus Christ. "By His stripes, we are healed."
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Agony in the Garden
Moments of decision are an opportunity to exercise the greatest gift to human beings from God: our free will. When we make a choice, we perform an act that is distinctly human. A choice that comes from the depths of our being has implications far beyond the experience of the moment itself. What causes agony in decision-making is not the act itself, but the awareness of the results that will follow from the act. We fear the outcome of our choice whether we have a clear sight on it or not. For most human beings, the imagination can intensify the anguish due to its tendency to magnify our fears.
For Jesus, the moment of decision to embrace His suffering and death was intensely experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had poured out all He had to His disciples at the Last Supper. He brought them with Him to the Garden where they had often prayed, in sight of the Temple across the Kidron Valley. They fell asleep, so He was alone, humanly speaking, in this most profound moment of decision. If He chose, He could have left them in the garden to face His enemies. It would have been so easy to walk up the Mount of Olives in the darkness, to find His way alone to Bethany, where no doubt Martha, Mary and Lazarus would have assisted Him to escape. Instead, He remained. After His triple prayer, "Thy Will be done," He woke His disciples and entered into the encounter that would bring about His final act of surrender to the Father's Will.
The Agony was a moment of intense Love. The Father loved the world, and so sent His only Son to be our Savior. The Son so loved the Father and, sharing His love for the world, embraced all that Love required. The Spirit stretched the humanity of the Son of God to embrace the full reality of human life, even death, death on a Cross. The decision to embrace this experience beyond fear made all the difference.
For Jesus, the moment of decision to embrace His suffering and death was intensely experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had poured out all He had to His disciples at the Last Supper. He brought them with Him to the Garden where they had often prayed, in sight of the Temple across the Kidron Valley. They fell asleep, so He was alone, humanly speaking, in this most profound moment of decision. If He chose, He could have left them in the garden to face His enemies. It would have been so easy to walk up the Mount of Olives in the darkness, to find His way alone to Bethany, where no doubt Martha, Mary and Lazarus would have assisted Him to escape. Instead, He remained. After His triple prayer, "Thy Will be done," He woke His disciples and entered into the encounter that would bring about His final act of surrender to the Father's Will.
The Agony was a moment of intense Love. The Father loved the world, and so sent His only Son to be our Savior. The Son so loved the Father and, sharing His love for the world, embraced all that Love required. The Spirit stretched the humanity of the Son of God to embrace the full reality of human life, even death, death on a Cross. The decision to embrace this experience beyond fear made all the difference.
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