Lenten Reflection (2015)
March 31, 2015 | Tuesday of Holy Week
Isaiah 49: 1-6; John 13:21-33, 36-38
Reflection published by Catholic Charities USA
My mom has always loved taking photographs. She isn’t a professional, but has an eye for composition and loves to document Little League games, school plays, and the everyday activities of family life in creative ways.
One year, my dad bought her an expensive camera as a Christmas present, and that thing was her baby. She got so much enjoyment out of the different settings and capabilities of the high-end equipment. The next spring, I spotted a seagull during a day at the park, and asked to use the camera to take a picture--“Yes, but be careful!”
I wasn’t.
As soon as I heard the crack of the lens on the pavement, I wanted to disappear. I had been entrusted with my mom’s favorite gift--and a symbol of my dad’s love to her--and through my negligence, I had dropped it. It was beyond repair. I wanted to make it up to her, to fix it, to pay for a new one, but there was no way I’d be able to.
Every Holy Week, I remember that story and the feeling of being sincerely sorry, but being unable to come close to repairing the damage done. Created by God, blessed in so many ways, humans have a knack of repaying our tremendous debt to our Creator by ignoring his plan for us. By ourselves, we are unable to set our relationship with God aright--we owe him everything. We cannot return to him anything he has not already given us.
Even Peter, who witnessed Christ transfigured, numerous miracles, and, as we read in today’s Gospel, pledged his undying loyalty to the point of death, denied knowing Jesus three times. All too cognizant of our offenses, it’s tempting to ignore the pain and blood of Christ’s passion. The giddy joy of Easter is glorious; the walk to Calvary is tortuous, gruesome. But this week isn’t made for despair at what we have done to Christ. It’s a time to thank him for his sacrifice and glory in our redemption. In the Crucifixion, Christ offers himself as expiation for our sins; he intercedes for us and reconciles us with the Father. But through the power of the Cross, Jesus bears our faults, makes amends, and heals our wounds.
We all have stories of things we’ve broken--relationships, responsibilities, cherished gifts--that we’ve been unable to repair or reconcile. The families who come to our agencies for aid; our coworkers, families, and friends--every one of us knows how the weight of previous mistakes can, at times, blot out all promise of a better tomorrow. But the promise of the Crucifixion is that when we turn ourselves over to Christ, he will reconcile us with the God who made us. “He was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed (Isaiah 53:3).” By ourselves, we can do nothing to atone for our offenses; with him, there is nothing God won’t forgive.
Isaiah 49: 1-6; John 13:21-33, 36-38
Reflection published by Catholic Charities USA
My mom has always loved taking photographs. She isn’t a professional, but has an eye for composition and loves to document Little League games, school plays, and the everyday activities of family life in creative ways.
One year, my dad bought her an expensive camera as a Christmas present, and that thing was her baby. She got so much enjoyment out of the different settings and capabilities of the high-end equipment. The next spring, I spotted a seagull during a day at the park, and asked to use the camera to take a picture--“Yes, but be careful!”
I wasn’t.
As soon as I heard the crack of the lens on the pavement, I wanted to disappear. I had been entrusted with my mom’s favorite gift--and a symbol of my dad’s love to her--and through my negligence, I had dropped it. It was beyond repair. I wanted to make it up to her, to fix it, to pay for a new one, but there was no way I’d be able to.
Every Holy Week, I remember that story and the feeling of being sincerely sorry, but being unable to come close to repairing the damage done. Created by God, blessed in so many ways, humans have a knack of repaying our tremendous debt to our Creator by ignoring his plan for us. By ourselves, we are unable to set our relationship with God aright--we owe him everything. We cannot return to him anything he has not already given us.
Even Peter, who witnessed Christ transfigured, numerous miracles, and, as we read in today’s Gospel, pledged his undying loyalty to the point of death, denied knowing Jesus three times. All too cognizant of our offenses, it’s tempting to ignore the pain and blood of Christ’s passion. The giddy joy of Easter is glorious; the walk to Calvary is tortuous, gruesome. But this week isn’t made for despair at what we have done to Christ. It’s a time to thank him for his sacrifice and glory in our redemption. In the Crucifixion, Christ offers himself as expiation for our sins; he intercedes for us and reconciles us with the Father. But through the power of the Cross, Jesus bears our faults, makes amends, and heals our wounds.
We all have stories of things we’ve broken--relationships, responsibilities, cherished gifts--that we’ve been unable to repair or reconcile. The families who come to our agencies for aid; our coworkers, families, and friends--every one of us knows how the weight of previous mistakes can, at times, blot out all promise of a better tomorrow. But the promise of the Crucifixion is that when we turn ourselves over to Christ, he will reconcile us with the God who made us. “He was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed (Isaiah 53:3).” By ourselves, we can do nothing to atone for our offenses; with him, there is nothing God won’t forgive.
