Thursday, April 17, 2014

To Love till the End



Good Friday
April 16, 2014
John 18:1 – 19:42

“It is fulfilled” – John 19:30

Everyone has a purpose and we live to achieve this purpose. Only through the fulfillment of this purpose, we may taste what happiness is all about. What is our purpose, then? Our Lord puts it simply, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And, you shall love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31).” Yet, this ultimate purpose can only be accomplished by taking up our daily purposes. If we are students, then study with perseverance is a clear purpose. If you are a husband, then total love and unflinching fidelity to your wife are your purpose.  If I am a lowly brother who commits myself to preaching the Gospel, then my obvious purpose is to write this reflection to show forth to you God’s love even more.
Now, let us pause a moment and try to reflect on Jesus’ purpose. Doubtless, He was sent to save us. Yet, a question is boggling us today: Why did He have to suffer and die on the cross to save us? In today’s Gospel, Jesus endured terrible torment and finally died as a criminal. These took place as a consequence of His obedience to His Father. Wait a second! Do you mean that God wanted the cruel death of His Son? But, why? Was God punishing Jesus? Yet, Jesus is sinless, so it must be our enormous sins. Does it mean God castigate Jesus in the place of us? This crudely puts God in the very negative perspective: if we perceive that He wished the suffering and the killing of His Son, then we reduce God into the level of a cold-blooded murderer!
Surely, it is unthinkable to see God as a killer of His own Son. But then, how we are going to fathom this mystery? St. John said that God is love and only in love, we may comprehend His way (cf. 1 John 4:16). God never intended the death of Jesus, but what He wanted is that Jesus loves us to the end and gives His own life up for the sake of love. Betrayal, condemnation and physical death might be unavoidable consequences, but despite the worst things the world can harbor, Jesus loves us till the end. As St. Peter would say, “Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet 4:8).” Indeed, the love of Christ is immeasurably intense that it covers all of our sins.
To love truly is extremely difficult, dangerous and even lethal, but without it, we never achieve our purpose. I remember of story by Bp. Pablo David, DD on a wife who was abandoned by her husband running with another woman. She was left alone to raise her three little children. Yet, instead looking for another man, she remained faithful to her marriage covenant. Then, when her husband was stricken by a grave illness and left by his mistress, she brought her spouse home and took care of him until his death. During the funeral, a friend asked her why she did all of this. Her answer was simple: “He is my husband and I am his wife.” See what love can make of us!
The passion of Christ does not only remind us about the suffering and death of Christ, but primarily about His great love. He forgave those who mocked Him, He defended the people who crucified Him, and He embraced His friends who betrayed and ran away from Him. In the cross, He taught us how to love however difficult it may be. To love our aging spouse is never easy, but love is patient. To love our stubborn children is rough, but love bear anything.  Despite the ugliest of this world, His love never fails and it never ends. This is the love of Christ for you and me. Then, when we have loved to the end, together with Jesus, we say, “It is fulfilled”.
  
Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

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