Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
In
the gospel today we find the Pharisees discussing the fate of Jesus. And they
come to a conclusion:
“So
from that day on they planned to kill Him.”
If
we aren’t careful, we might just read over that sentence to see what follows.
But read that again, slower: “So from that day on they planned to kill Him.” Yes
it is a sad sentence, but what this really is, is a death sentence. It is the
death sentence of your God.
Jesus
knew that He was going to die for us. He knew that He was on Earth to save us.
And He knew that it was not going to be easy. Yet, it is not hard to imagine
that He was still upset and scared when the decision was finally made. Imagine
how you would feel if you knew people were planning to kill you. Jesus was
fully divine, but He was also fully human.
And
who was it that made the decision to kill our Lord and Savior? Sure we can
blame it on the Pharisees, but (watch out, this might sting) in all reality it
was you and I. Christ came to die for our sins and give us eternal life, so
with each sin we help to create Jesus’s death sentence.
Now
imagine you know for a fact what your mission on Earth is. And you know exactly
what it is going to take to complete that mission -- the final step. This line
from the gospel may be a death sentence, but it is also the beginning of the
end -- the completion of Jesus’s of mission on Earth. He loves us more than we
can imagine and this is how He is going to save us.
Lent
is a time to reflect on our human nature, and grow closer to Jesus by working
with Him to conquer sin. It hurts us to think about the pain we caused Jesus on
the cross – that you and I decided Christ’s death sentence -- but in
remembering this, we can find incredible humility and humbleness. God loves us
so much. And as Catholics what better way to repay Him for our sins, than by
giving our selves to Him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus loves us
more than we can imagine and surrendering to His love in Confession is the perfect
way to prepare for the completion of His mission this Easter.
Prayer:
“Lord,
I
am sorry for my sins. I am sorry for the pain I caused You on the cross. Teach
me humility, and help me to humble myself before You and before others. Rid me
of myself, Lord. I belong to You.
Amen.”
H.
Parker Davis is a Sophomore
Theology
and Communication Double Major, Visual
Communication Minor.
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