Palm Sunday. The day that kicks off Holy Week and the beginning of our understanding of our salvation. Yes, it all began when God submitted himself and took human form, being born. Yet this week is about his acceptance of His fate, the ultimate sacrifice; his crucifixion. Jesus said it best: “There is no greater love than this, than when one lays down his life for his friends.” (Jn 15:13) Throughout this Lenten season, I have become more aware that this may be the sole responsibility of a Christian. To sacrifice.
When we sacrifice, we are giving up something to go up. In essence, we are foregoing a present luxury for a pay off in the future. We can sacrifice in all aspects of our life. We do things we’d rather not be doing, like work or chores or difficult decisions because we know it will benefit our family. We choose the difficult thing because we have faith it will be worth it. Often, this means putting ourselves before others, which can assist in describing love. As St. Thomas Aquinas puts it, we love when we will the good of the other. We are following in Jesus footsteps when we do this, giving up our life for someone else, in whatever form that may be. Rarely will it be as dramatic, where we physically die. In actuality, we are dying spiritually, which can be much more painful, as it is often daily. We relive our sacrifice repeatedly, each time trying to get a step closer to perfection. To perfect love.
This is never easy and unfortunately for us, I don’t think God intended for it to be easy. If God gave up his life like He did, then in comparison, our sacrifice is small. God took on all the sins of everyone for all time, past, present and future. The weight of all negative things, He accepted alone. For some perspective, think of a time when you felt a strong negative emotion; fear, anger, doubt, sadness, etc. Then think of that multiplied by billions and sustained for thousands of years. That is just the beginning of the cup that Jesus drank from.
So we too must accept our fate. Whatever God intended for us, which is ultimately for our good, is our own personal cup to drink. We must accept our cross, take it up and follow Jesus. (Mt 16:24-25) We must die daily, to be reborn for eternity. Everyday, there are opportunities to give up what we want or need for someone else. There is a balance, but the more we give of ourselves, the more free we are. Remember, the hardest thing to do and the right thing to do are usually the same thing. May God be with us this week, as we prepare for His death that freed us all.
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