Gospel: Luke 23:35-43
The rulers sneered
at Jesus and said, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen
one, the Christ of God.” Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to
offer him wine they called out, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” Above
him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.”
Now one of the
criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save
yourself and us.”The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no
fear of God, for you are subject
to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the
sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing
criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen,
I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Are you not the
Christ? Save yourself and us. This was one of the pointed words of one of the
two criminals hanging on the cross beside Jesus who was Himself dying on the
cross. Christ means messiah or savior, how could it be that Jesus the
supposedly savior of the Jewish people was dying on the cross?
Isn’t Jesus
powerful? He made the lame walk, He opened the eyes of the blind, He cured the
sick, He spoke with mesmerizing authority, He feed thousands with two fish and
five loaves and there are many more miracles attributed to the power of Jesus. Yet,
He is now on the cross powerless and dying.
Come to think of it,
why did this powerful man became powerless and helpless on the cross? He could
have easily bolted out of the cross and reduced to nothing everyone who made
life difficult for Him. Why did He restrain Himself?
It was His infinite
love for us that Jesus restrained Himself from taking revenge from His
persecutors. Jesus went through the agony of death because He wanted to save us
and He wanted to tell us how much He loved us. It was all because of His
infinite love for us that Jesus stripped Himself of His kingship.
What have we done so
far to reciprocate this infinite love of Jesus? Have we feed the hungry? Have
we sheltered the homeless? Have we clothed the naked? Have we visited the sick
and imprisoned? Have we helped bury the dead? Have we given alms to the poor? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
No comments:
Post a Comment