As we make the final Way of the Cross and read the Passion of Christ this Good Friday, let us reflect on its relevance in our own lives, of Jesus´ actions during his agonizing times. Even if we know it is wrong, we carry it out anyway for fear of the authorities or some material reward. Like the Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus, there are many among us, who carry out the "execution" of others without empathy or compassion. Due to our greed, we succumb to the wrongful demands of the public and wash our hands of the problems of those in need or those who stand for truth. There may be others among us, especially those in positions of power, who behave like Pilate, refusing to stand up to public pressure for fear of losing our power.
We fail to realize that our efforts cause pain and suffering to the person involved and sometimes to his or her family. We resort to all forms of tactics to succeed. We too make false accusations against those who are against us in order to get them out of our way. Many of us behave like those who made false accusations against Jesus and wanted to get rid of him. We organize protests, demonstrations, hurl verbal abuses. When we are denied our rights we fight back fiercely, sometimes with vengeance. We call ourselves Christians, the followers of Christ, but how Christ-like are we in accepting humiliation and pain for speaking the truth? How Christ-like are we when we are accused of offences we did not commit? Are we humble enough not to strike back? Do we forgive those who accuse us? What lesson does the Passion of Christ provide us in our own lives? We too in own small ways are often falsely accused, humiliated and punished for standing up for truth, by the authorities in the government, our places of work, families and even in the church. He demonstrated that he really meant what he said by accepting his Passion so willingly. Jesus taught us to love our enemies and to offer the other cheek when struck on one. This was in keeping with what was written "He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn't open his mouth as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is mute, so he didn't open his mouth".( Isaiah 53:7). It was the highest level of humility that no ordinary man can have. Instead he had the great magnanimity to forgive all of them who took turns to insult torture and kill him.
He did not get angry with those who accused him, Pilate who sentenced him and the Roman soldiers who executed him. He did not show even the slightest anger or retaliation for being victimized, falsely accused and sentenced by the kangaroo court that tried him. However he accepted all that willingly without fighting back or defending himself. Throughout the journey of his passion, what was astonishing was the way Jesus humbly accepted his punishment which he knew was unfair and unjust. He was a threat to their social security and had to be eliminated at costs.
Yes, Jesus was tortured, humiliated and killed not for lying, corruption, rape or murder but for telling the truth, the truth which caused so much fear among those in positions of power and comfort. What crime did Jesus commit that deserved to be punished in that most inhumane way? It was for proclaiming the TRUTH. As if that was not enough, before he was crucified he was humiliated, severely persecuted, whipped, scourged, crowned with thorns, dragged up a hill carrying a heavy cross, stripped of his clothes and then nailed to the cross, watched by many, like a hardcore criminal. From these accounts we know Jesus was falsely accused, convicted and sentenced, not by fine or imprisonment, but to death by crucifixion, the severest form of sentence a man can possibly get. The Passion we commemorate is based primarily on biblical accounts of the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
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It should become a lesson in life, teaching us how to stand up for truth and justice. We find it hard to believe how the people can be so cruel as to inflict the most severe form of pain on a man who we know was innocent.įor Christians the Passion should be more than a lesson in history. Span style="font-size: 13px " lang="EN-US">BUTTERWORTH, MALAYSIA (Catholic Online) - To many the Passion of Jesus Christ is a lesson in history where we sympathize with Christ for the sufferings he went through before he died.
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