“Since blood is fittest, Lord, to write
Thy sorrows in, and bloody fight; My heart hah store write there where in One box doth lie both ink and sin: That when sin spies so many foes Thy whips thy nails, thy wounds, thy woes, All come to lodge there sin may say No room for me, and fly away. Sin being gone, oh fill the place, And keep possession with thy grace; Lest sin take courage and return And all the writings blot or burn.” (The Passion by George Herbert) When Jesus, riding on the donkey, entered Jerusalem, the crowd shouted, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” And this same crowd shouted, “Crucify him!” When Jesus told the disciples, “You will all become deserters for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter impulsively answered Jesus before any other disciples, “Even though all become deserters, I will not.” And when one of the servant girls of the high priest accused him of being with Jesus, it was this same Peter, “I do not know or understand what you are talking about” When Jesus specifically pointed out Peter and said to him, “Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times,” Peter assured Jesus, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And it was the same Peter who later cursed, swore an oath, and said, “I do not know this man you are talking about.” We hear two radically contrasting voices in the crowd. We hear the shout of praise and political desire projected on Jesus on the one hand: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” On the other hand, we hear the voice of judgment, rage, and hatred: “Crucify him!” In Peter, we also hear two different voices. We hear the voice of faithfulness, courage, and loyalty on the one hand: “Even though all become deserters, even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” On the other hand, we hear the voice of denial, betrayal, and fear: “I do not know this man.” We might want to call this the inevitable human nature of hypocrisy or inconsistency. And this inconsistency of the crowd and Peter’s words and behaviors is something all of us may experience quite well. St Paul in his letters to the Romans talks about his inner conflict. He says, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:15) In this inconsistency, we look at our distorted desire projected on Jesus and our violent nature to scapegoat this false messiah who is unable to fulfill our self-serving wishes. Quite surprisingly, this inconsistency we all have is actually what we are called to experience during this Holy Week. Starting from the Liturgy of the Palms, we identify ourselves with the crowd. We ourselves become the voice of the crowd who shouted, “Hosanna in the highest!” In our gospel lesson today, we hear how this voice of the crowd so quickly changed and shouted, “Crucify him!” And on Good Friday, we will hear again this crucifying voice of the crowd as we identify ourselves with the crowd. The whole liturgy of the Holy Week somehow invites us not only to see the Passion of Jesus but also to face our own inconsistency and fragility which St Paul would call our sinfulness. St Paul confesses, “...if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me...Wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:20, 24) So, it’s really the reign of death that we see in the crowd, St Peter, St Paul, and ourselves. Our body becomes the body of death. We can’t see any light in the voices of the crowd, St Peter, and ourselves. Only death reigns. Only darkness is seen. We come to realize that we cannot save ourselves. And this seeing of the darkness in us and our body of death is necessary in order to see the light coming through Jesus. In today’s gospel lesson, two voices of Jesus shed God’s light on the body of death. Jesus goes to Gethsemane. He throws himself on the ground and prays, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” In this prayer, we encounter Jesus’ fear and distress. He is distressed, agitated, and deeply grieved, even to death. He probably feels tremendously isolated, which is why he is not alone but with Peter, James, and John. Yet, he becomes alone since all his disciples fall asleep. He prays the same a prayer again, “...not what I want, but what you want.” Now, we hear the voice of Jesus on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” At first, we might see this agonizing voice of Jesus as that of our inconsistent nature. This cry might be perceived as if Jesus regrets what he decided to do in his prayer in Gethsemane. Yet, this cry of Jesus on the cross, as he faces the complete rejection and abandonment of God, is exactly what God Himself wills to accomplish. It is God’s willingness to enter into the very core of human suffering. God in the cry of Jesus on the cross, joins all those who are suffering. God on the cross suffers with those who become the body of death. What this suffering of God on the cross in the person of Jesus of Nazareth reveals to us is, if I would like to point out one thing, is that God is not behind all the horrible things in the world. The God revealed in Jesus is not magical like a genie in a bottle. This God might disappoint lots of people who simply want a deity who can get them out of misery. Instead, this God in Jesus suffers with us. He never abandons us, and is always ever lovingly, patiently, and faithfully present in that very midst of darkness we all encounter in our lives. Showing his crucified and resurrected body of life, he embraces us as his own, particularly as we become one through Baptism and the Eucharist. The challenge we’re left with is then not so much of our own inconsistency or sinfulness, but then really is whether this God in the crucified and risen Jesus Christ is enough for us. Is Jesus enough for you? As we’re entering the Holy Week, I would like us to reflect on the cry of Jesus on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Let’s remember that this cry is not Jesus’ complaint about God. It is through this cry of Jesus that God is the suffering and loving One for all. This cry of Jesus may very well be yours when you suffer. When was the last time you actually felt rejected, isolated, and abandoned by our close ones or even God and utter the cry of Jesus as yours? Remember even if you shout out that cry and even if you feel completely abandoned by God, you’re not. God never forsakes you. Because the crucified and resurrected Jesus is always with us even in our bottomless pit of despair, even in our death. Thus, St Paul asks us, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” He answers, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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