March 11, 2018

Mark 15:1-47

 

I almost didn't want to write a blog on today's reading. How can I possibly comment on the crucifixion scene? It's too complex, too holy, too perfect. What else could be said?  I think, it all comes down to, God is love.

Every year, on Good Friday, in Romania, they used to play the movie "Life of Jesus" on the main TV channel. I watched it so many times, growing up. I remember being so moved and so saddened by the crucifixion scene. Part of the sadness was because I saw the whole thing as a harsh end. I knew Christ was resurrected and raised from the death, but I pictured Him being done with the Earth, being distant, happy that it was over. He was there, watching over the earth but distant. I even wondered if He had PTSD from what he experienced on earth. I found it hard to picture him as a loving God.  I'm grateful, I am not in that place anymore. That alone is a miracle.  Our God is a God of miracles. God is love.

Reading the passage, I also see a God who knows what pain is, both physical and emotional. He did experience the cross, the flogging without any kind of anesthesia. He does know and understand physical pain. No matter what I go through physically, he gets it.

He knows emotional pain. He knows what it means to be betrayed, to be humiliated. Therefore, he understands when I feel frustrated, hurt, disappointed. He's been there. He is the perfect example of mental strength. In spite of being provoked by everyone: the chief priests, Pilate, the soldiers, the people around, he didn't react. He chose his responses. Sometimes he chose to remain silent, sometimes he didn't, but he never reacted. I am invited to do the same. When faced with tough situations, I can choose to respond and not react. Jesus did it.

He is also the perfect example of forgiveness and not seeking revenge. He could have changed the entire story of crucifixion. He had absolute power over everything and everyone, yet he trusted the Father's plan. How can I apply that to my own life? I guess, by trusting God in all circumstances. Fix my eyes on Jesus and choose love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

I also get to see the high price of people pleasing, of conforming to the world and not God. Pilate chose to be a people pleaser, who wanted to satisfy the crowd and choose to send an innocent person to torture and death. In contrast we see a bold Joseph of Arimathea, who chose to follow God in spite of the risks. Who do I choose to be like?