Tuesday, April 11,
2017
Tuesday of Holy Week
Thoughts about the Cross and the
Death of Jesus:
1) Jesus is both human and
divine. This Son of God, in his humanity, suffered what all human beings
suffer. This means that God is not remote from suffering, but rather that God
has participated in all the suffering in the world through Jesus. In Jesus, God
knows our suffering experientially.
2) Consider this profound
reflection by Olivier Clément:
United with us
in being and in love, Christ took on himself all the hatred, rebellion,
derision, despair—‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ – all the
murders, all the suicides, all the tortures, all the agonies of all humanity
throughout all time and all space. In all these Christ bled, suffered, cried
out in anguish and desolation. But, as he suffered in a human way, so he was
trustful in a human way: ‘Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit’. At that
moment death is swallowed up in life, the abyss of hatred is lost in the
bottomless depths of love.[1]
3) Therefore, all that you
experience in your life is taken in by Jesus. During your times of suffering,
of trial, of anguish, sadness or despair, look on the Cross. You will
find healing there.
4) As man, Christ died. He
tasted death just as each of us will someday taste death. Christ is united
with us in death. In Christ, God experiences human death.
5) God raised Christ from death.
And mankind, in union with Christ’s death will also be raised from death by the
same power that raised Him from the dead. Remember the passage from Ephesians
quoted the other day: “[I pray . . . that you may know . . .] what is the
immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe, according to the working
of his great might which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from
the dead and made him sit at his right hand.” Eph 1:19-20 emphasis mine.
That’s all for now. Think on
these things.
God bless you this week and
always.
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