This week marks the greatest week in the history of the Christian church. From the Judeo celebration of Pesach marking the Exodus event, the Seder meal commemorates the paschal full moon starting on March 27 sundown and ending Sunday April 4 to the start of Holy Week this week. We see the plan of God’s salvation history and saving grace to the nations through the fulfillment of both the old testament and new testament in that great filial love between the Father and Son that brings forth the gift of the Holy Spirit on our churches this week.
Recent weeks have brought forth much tragedy with mass shootings, renewed debates in regard to man’s innate desire to defend oneself and other liberties. Nation states and global powers are more divided than they ever were before and as a Christian or other spiritual follower, one must question how we survive in such a world? The Hindi sage Sri Ramikrishna once remarked that we are like many paths leading to the same summit. In many respects, the culmination of salvation history has unfolded within the Christian milieu and tradition with the readings in the Catholic rite from Mark’s Gospel with Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem and His last trial and tribulation of asking His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane that He might not undergo the test. With Jesus, we not only see his full humanity, but also His full divinity in the fulfillment of our true eschatological self and dueling sense of being made in the image and likeness of God, yet turning against His will and being dependent on ourselves. The Jewish rabbinical texts from Genesis as seen with the creation story, the testing of Abraham, Noah, and killing of Abel by Cain leads us to believe that all is lost. However, the idea of “yetzer herah”, or evil inclination per the Hebrew transliteration speaks volumes for our human condition when Peter slices off the ear of the centurion for his continued doubts in our Lord’s ability to save us and transform our human condition and fragility.
We must always remember that Jesus’s message to His apostles and disciples of this present age can be seen with the passage from Johns gospel chapter fifteen, verses twelve and thirteen in that
“the greatest commandment is to love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.”
We must always be able to be open to change within our spiritual journey and look at the power of the cross and vanquishing of sin and death before looking to the mystery of the Resurrection and being brought to new life. With the gift of God’s grace comes great responsibility to transform not only ourselves, but the world we live in. How will you conquer the power that binds you this week in the crosses that you bear in this life?
We must remember that before we approach the miracle of the Resurrection of our Lord during the Easter season, we must remember to put aside our dependence in our human ego and pride and truly follow Him by being dependent on His love and transforming power as His gift of the paschal lamb come down from heaven in the second person of the trinity. Come and follow the Lord no matter what difficulties, anxieties or problems you have faced and He will give you rest. Pax Christi. Lumen Christi. Jesus I trust in You.
Come Holy Spirit into my heart and soul each and every day so that I may be radically transformed by your grace which is enough for me. Amen.
StreetEvangelist 