We all shout, "Crucify him!" in the story of the passion because we all know, that's why Christ submitted himself to the crucifixion, because we needed Him (each of us) to save us from our own sinfulness, both past and on-going.
Pope Francis in his Easter address, talked about how God is always full of surprises for us, because we can never imagine how wonderful our God is. He even asked the question, "What about you?”
“What about me? Is my heart open to God’s surprises?” as a challenge to the faithful. What is our response to the Resurrection? If we believe it is reality, in our bones, everything changes, because death is not the final answer, and all we do is reflective of whether we believe this or not. If we do not believe Christ died and was resurrected, all that we do, good, bad or otherwise, is a waste of time, all of it. We only do because we wish or do not wish, and to make life as we would have it, as much as we can. If that sounds existential to you, it is. (We were discussing Camus and Becket yesterday as one of my teens is reading such things).
There's a common conceit, who we are is revealed by what we do when no one is watching. The reality is, who we are is revealed by what we do when there's no visible, tangible or emotional benefit to us. Our character is made manifest in what we do in the face of suffering.
We watched, we cheered, we jeered, we invented new cruelties, we yelled, "Crucify him." The saints wept, wiped his face, walked with Him, acknowledged Him, and offered him if nothing else, their presence. We all say, "Crucify him," to remind us, that's our sinful response to God's love.
However, this young man, Juan Pablo showed us, how we could have responded. My own reaction was to find my own response to Jesus, meager by comparison, to see him as far more Blessed because he saw Jesus and responded accordingly, like the saints did. He couldn't stop the crucifixion, but he could walk with Jesus and pat his back and be his friend.
Blessed are the meek, they shall inherit the Earth.
We watched, we cheered, we jeered, we invented new cruelties, we yelled, "Crucify him." The saints wept, wiped his face, walked with Him, acknowledged Him, and offered him if nothing else, their presence. We all say, "Crucify him," to remind us, that's our sinful response to God's love.
However, this young man, Juan Pablo showed us, how we could have responded. My own reaction was to find my own response to Jesus, meager by comparison, to see him as far more Blessed because he saw Jesus and responded accordingly, like the saints did. He couldn't stop the crucifixion, but he could walk with Jesus and pat his back and be his friend.
Blessed are the meek, they shall inherit the Earth.
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