Quinquagesima 2.3.14 The Crucifixion
It is ten years since the release of the film ‘The Passion’ which graphically portrayed the sufferings of Christ on the Cross (and on the way to the Cross).
The film was graphic and many questioned why it needed to be.
Whatever about that particular film it is certainly the case that we need to be reminded of how much Jesus suffered for us.
His suffering tells us two things:
One, how awful sin must be if it needs so much atoning for.
And, two, how much God must love us if He would put Himself through that much agony for our sake.
By reminding ourselves of how much Jesus suffered we are forcing ourselves to come to terms with these two things.
It is easy to gloss over the crucifixion. We are so familiar with the image of Christ on the Cross that we can see a crucifix without taking much notice.
(Imagine, however, if that was someone you love on the cross, another member of your family, for instance! It would not be so easy to ignore.)
We have to allow ourselves to be shocked by the story even though we have heard it so many times before.
A film, such as The Passion, can help. Otherwise we have to use our imagination a little, when we are praying the Sorrowful Mysteries, or praying the Stations of the Cross. We can imagine some of the sufferings of Our Lord.
Also at every Mass. The main point of every Mass is to re-live the sacrifice of Christ. His death is made present on the altar at each Mass. This means that we are witnessing His death, albeit in a much easier way for us.
If the altar became a river of blood every time we offered Mass it would be much more challenging for us emotionally. Since we are spared that we must work harder to have the same awareness as if we could actually see the sufferings of Christ.
It would be harder to endure, but it would be easier for us to remember what it was all for – the forgiveness of sin.
Sin is another thing we can take sin for granted, thinking of it as just a normal part of life, always with us.
So we have Christ on the cross as He always is, and people sinning away as fast as ever, as they always do!
Something is not right with this scene!
He went through this to set us free from sin, both forgiving it and enabling us not to sin again.
His death atoned for our sin and made forgiveness possible. We are forgiven if we ask for it, provided we have true contrition.
As to not sinning again, that is the hard part. But if anything will bring us to that state it will be the realization of God’s love for us, acting upon us, helping us to see things differently.
Love responds to love. The very demanding formula for love expressed in today’s epistle becomes achievable if we are motivated by God’s love for us.
The more we do contemplate Him crucified the more likely we are to respond in like manner.
The unrepentant sinners of the world are those who do not look at Him at all, or in the right way. Thus they do not receive His love and are not transformed.
We do look upon Him and we are changed forever.
As Lent approaches, we will think more than usual on the theme of Christ crucified. May the impact of this event change us forever, away from sin, towards all that is good.
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