Passion Sunday 6.4.14 Generosity
The death of Christ purifies creation and atones for the entirety of human sin. Not all of this atonement is valued or applied, however. Many reject or scorn the mercy of God, and so remain in their sins even though they could go free.
It is like those people we hear about who have won the lottery but do not know it. They have to present themselves to claim the prize. Just so, to be saved we have to present ourselves and claim the gift.
We are not saved passively, as though it is something done to us without our consent.
We are saved by our cooperating with the grace of God; being transformed by the death of Christ, conformed to His heart and mind. Taken to its fullest level we are so conformed to Him that we see His behaviour as the natural thing for us to do; not a great effort but something that flows naturally.
Natural to be that generous? It was for Him. Jesus wanted to give up His life for the sins of the world. He did not have to be talked into it. It is why He came to the world: "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Lk19,10). Most of us would find excuses not to take it quite that far!
It is not (yet) in our nature to think like Our Lord was thinking. We don't mind being generous but laying down our life for someone is another matter.
It was natural for Our Lord, in both His divine and human natures. As divine He is Love itself, therefore infinitely giving and generous. As human He lives human nature as God designed it, thus again being naturally generous.
He cared infinitely what happens to other people. We care a lot about some people, but not so much about everyone. Jesus cares about them all, and never forgets anyone for a second, not even the most repulsive or obscure.
We are saved when we become like that! Or let us say that the more we become like that the more grasp we have on our salvation.
Every time we present ourselves at the re-enactment of His sacrifice it should have an effect on us. We will go out of this church better than we came in. Better, as in more willing and able to share in His sacrifice; more fully possessing a concern for others, and a desire to see them saved.
It takes generosity to want others to be saved because it is not an easy business.
All kind of opposition will be met with.
We see in today’s Gospel how the prejudices of the Jewish leaders were working against Our Lord. It was not so much that they did not believe Him as that they did not like Him. They wanted Him to be wrong, but right or wrong they wanted Him gone.
If we identify with Him they will not like us either. The genuine Christian is a threat to the peace of mind of the confirmed sinner. People in every age have found it easier to kill the prophet than to reform their ways.
To be Jesus’ disciple is to receive some of the treatment He did. The more like Him we are the more we will suffer.
But being conformed to Him we will not mind the suffering because by that stage we are moved by the same charity and generosity which He possessed.
This will happen as we spend time with Him - at Mass, praying to Him, receiving other sacraments, generally immersing ourselves in His company.
Every person in the world should be like Jesus Christ! If that sounds too much it is not.
It is simply what would happen if the full effect of His saving death was allowed to take its course.
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