We open today's liturgy with the following antiphon: At the name of Jesus, every knee should bend of those in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, for the Lord became obedient today, death on a cross: therefore Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father"(cf. Phil 2: 10, 8, 11).
As Adam and Eve said "no" to God's design, Jesus and Mary said "yes" to God's plan. Jesus left heaven and took on human nature and was like us entirely, except for sin. That did not mean that sin would not impact his life and that He would not experience the effects of sin, of evil, rampart in the world, as Satan spares no one his taunts and jealousy, luring us into sin just as he lured Adam and Evil into sin. He did not have that power over Jesus and Mary, who unequivocally said "yes" to God!
Jesus became sin for us and nailed it to the cross. In his death and resurrection sin was destroyed--it does not have the power to take away our freedom to say "yes" to God's love and plan for our eternal life with Him for all eternity. In Christ Jesus, we will triumph over evil just as Jesus did, if we follow the Spirit's lead in our life, obedient to "small" and"big" invitations and not to the allurements of evil spirits at work in the world as well! Small acts of evil lead to bigger and bigger acts of evil, as in he case with Judas.
Judas was caught in a web of sin throughout his following of Jesus. As treasurer, one who guarded the purse, Judas repeatedly stole money from throughout those three years. In the end, his greed and obsession with money lured him into betraying Jesus so as to add some money to the treasury. He was led into a trap from which he did not escape. In despair, after realizing that Jesus, this time, would willingly go to His death and not escape those who arrested Him, Judas despaired. Often, he had seen Jesus escape those out to trip Him up and probably expected the same to happen this time.
When you and I are careless with playing with the "fire" of sin, --"oh, it's just a little lie," or "I only shoplifted a small item," or "oh, I was mean a little--it's no big deal," do we realize that Satan is preparing us for one of his bigger traps out of which we might be unable to escape, as, it seems, was the case with Judas? Let's not play with the "fire" of sin! May we not take lightly the Holy Spirit's nudges to not do certain things! Instead, may we follow the Spirit's lead to make right choices, choices we are capable of because of being baptized into Jesus' death and in His resurrection to new life in the Spirit through this sacrament!
As we pray in today's Collect, "O God, who willed your Son to submit for our sake to the yoke of the Cross, so that you might drive from us the power of the enemy, grant us, your servants, to attain the grace of the resurrection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen."
A Blessed Holy Week, as you contemplative the Pascal Mystery.
No comments:
Post a Comment