A reflection on Lent 2008 Lent is a time of reflection on the remarkable sacrifice Jesus made for us. It is a sacrifice made out of love. Like all sacrifices, it is made by a free choice.
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| Where believers go, these signs shall go with them; they will cast out devils in my name, they will speak in tongues that are strange to them; they will take up serpents in their hands, and drink poisonous draughts without harm; they will lay their hands upon the sick and make them recover. (Mark 16,17-18) |
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Jesus’ sacrifice is not about death. It is about life. Jesus calls us to live more fully by living our lives for one another. We are asked not to study Jesus’ sacrifice passively but to live it freely each and every day. Our belief is a living and active belief that is made real as we live our lives for others.
On Passion Sunday, Jesus rides into Jerusalem. The people cheer him and place palms on the ground before him. The struggle between the old ways and the new has become unbearable. The Pharisees, know that to let Jesus live, will mean an end to their power.
Using Judas, they have Jesus arrested. The trial is quick and the results are decided, even before it has begun. By the afternoon of Good Friday, Jesus is crucified and dead. As he had predicted, even Peter denied him at the end.
The Pharisees believe they have won. They have protected their power through his death or so it appears. On the third day, Jesus fulfils the prophecy of his resurrection. And, in so doing, the carpenter from Nazareth created a new way for us to live for each other.
What Jesus did for us is not impossible for us also to do for others. Rather, it is what God expects.
Lent, I hope, will renew our commitment to Jesus’ call through the rest of the year and throughout our life.
Let us live simply, as Jesus did before us.
Let us serve the people, as Jesus did before us.
Let us give hope to the people, as Jesus did before us.
Br. Thomas Fischer CMM
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