God's Promise

"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabacthani!"

Oh, how these words of our dying Lord on the cross pierce our hearts!

If you recall from my first post in this blog, I promised not to dwell on suffering and despair. I intend to keep that promise. Even though these words of suffering were uttered under the most desparate circumstances, they are truly words of prayer, hope and ultimately salvation. Recall that Jesus went to his death so that we might be saved. As he hung there naked on his cross, he was filled with pain, yes, but in many ways it was a pain which he endured joyfully and lovingly. God, in Jesus, gave up his own life out of love for you and me.

Dwell on this for a moment. Christ died for you. Christ died for me. It isn't enough to say that Christ died for the sake of humanity. While that is true, it is equally true that he died for each of us individually! He would do the same thing again today for you and you alone. What a magnificent love that is! And it is a love that God lavishes upon us all. This love that God has for each of us is only barely touched upon here:

  "The LORD remembered us in our misery, God's love endures forever;
   Freed us from our foes, God's love endures forever;
   And gives food to all flesh, God's love endures forever.
   Praise the God of heaven, God's love endures forever."
        Psalm 136:23-26

Yes, God's love endures forever, even through the death of His own Son, Christ, Our Lord! It is Christ himself that feeds us with His own body and blood.

I just finished reading the book Silence by the Japanese author, Shusaku Endo. The silence referred to in the title is the silence of God that I am sure each of feels like we are experiencing at times. It is this same silence of God that Christ experienced on His holy cross. This book is set in 17th Century Japan, during a period of intense persecution of Christianity. Two Portugese priests sneak into Japan as missionaries and are eventually captured by the government. While in the custody of the Japanese, the priests undergo unbelievable torment and suffering. Fr. Rodrigues, the central character of the story, finds himself experiencing this silence of God and it makes his soul, like Christ's in Gethsemane, "sorrowful even unto death."

This feeling of God's silence is one of the worst sensations we can ever have in this life. We know this feeling by a different name - despair. But remember, we know the end of the story!! The next time you find yourself despairing for anything, remember that God's love is INFINITE. It knows no end, and even if you feel that God is silent, know that He is truly there. I am sure that the disciples of Christ felt the silence of God following his death on the cross. Can you imagine that? To have been in the presence of God, and then to suddenly have Him taken from you? For three days the disciples were without the God they had always known. But does this mean that God was truly absent in their lives? By no means! While God may have been silent to them, He was surely with them. When we despair, let us remember that God is with us, and that, like the disciples, we will always have the message and the truth of the RISEN CHRIST!

Do not weep! Do not despair! Christ has wept for us. Christ has despaired for us. Christ has suffered for us. Christ has conquered sin and death, and He freely offers to all who believe in Him the salvation that only He was able to earn.

All Glory and Honor be to God, the Almighty Father, and to His Son, our Lord and Savior, and to the Holy Spirit.

Posted by Lance at 10:55 PM | Permalink

Happy Palm Sunday!

Today we celebrate two things: first, the triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem, and second, the Passion of our Lord. In the case of the former, I think it is often overshadowed by the Passion. It would seem in reading Mark 11:1-10 that Jesus is finally being recognized openly as the Messiah as he enters the city! Here is an excerpt:

"Many people spread their cloaks on the road,
and others spread leafy branches
that they had cut from the fields.
Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out:
'Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
Hosanna in the highest!'”
  (Mark 11:8-10)

Despite this initial praise, though, the people turn quickly against him. After his return to Jerusalem, Jesus is not satisfied with the practices of the Jews at the time. In fact, it is at this time that Jesus goes to the Temple and overturns "the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were seling doves" (Mark 11:15). It was an event like this, along with many others, that caught the attenion of the chief priests and scribes. They were not accustomed to having their authority challenged, and so they started to look for a way that they might be able to put a stop to this Jesus fellow.

In a twist of good fortune for the chief priests, then, Judas Iscariot decided that he had something to gain by betraying Jesus to them. It was the deceit and treachory of Judas and the chief priests that led to the Passion.

As we move into Holy Week, I feel that I will spend some more time elaborating on the Passion and how it is by far the most outward sign of God's love for us. Ultimately, it is the heart of God' Promise of salvation to us. But for right now, I want to focus on what we are called to do during Holy Week. Of course, we are called to remember the life that Christ gave up for us to free us from the burden of our sins. Of course, we are called to mourn the death of our Lord and rejoice in his promised and real Resurrection. But we are called to more than this. We are called to action.

As one of my friend's so insightfully pointed out to me this evening, the Passion reminds us of the humanity of Jesus. Through the Way of the Cross, we see how Christ suffered and was weak. Despite being God, he accepted the weakness of the human form, and was subjected to one of the most cruel punishments ever devised. This weakness of Christ, this humility, should be to us a reminder of the fact that overcoming sin is a struggle. We are imperfect people. We struggle daily with our sins, but that's OK. We aren't called to be perfect. We are called to love God, honor Christ, and do our best to avoid sin. But it is inevitable that we will fall into the trap of sin. When that happens, though, we can call upon the Risen Lord, and he will pick us up. He will help us to bear our cross! Our Lord, our King, will be Simon to us and help us when we are unable to carry on under our own power.

This is more than simply a promise of aid in our times of need, though. It is also a challenge. While we each have a cross of our own to bear, we must realize that there is a good chance that somebody we know has a heavier one. It is up to us, therefore, to make sure that we are not adding to the burden of others. In fact, far from adding to others' burdens, we are called to be Simon to others, to help them carry their crosses, even while we are carrying our own.

It is my prayer for you that your actions and example may be a light to others during this Holy Week. May you be blessed with abundant graces, and may all those who encounter you leave with a lighter burden than they had before. May you be a Simon to others.

As we celebrate this Holy Week, let us always be mindful of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us that we may never die, but that we may have eternal life with Him! Glory to God and to his Son, Jesus Christ!

Posted by Lance at 10:40 PM | Permalink

Welcome to the newest member of the LancesWorld.com family, God's Promise. For the past several months I have felt called to start writing more about my life of faith, the state of the world, and the graces that God offers us, but it wasn't until my roommate, Mike Huxley, started writing his new blog - Wake Up, Dead Man - that I finally decided to answer that call.

As I was trying to decide what the Faith Journal would be like, I toyed with several ideas. Should I make it a personal story about my the road of my faith? Perhaps I should make it an exploration of sin in the world? Should I have made it a faith-based exploration of current events? Perhaps a tool angling for the conversion of others? Ultimately, none of these really appealed to me. Far too many faith-based blogs focus on sin and the way evil has invaded our world. I didn't want to fall into that trap. Likewise, I realized that a guided tour of my walk of faith wouldn't be particularly interesting. I finally settled on the idea of "God's Promise," which I hope will be a beacon of light in the lives of all who read it. In the final analysis, I am sure that God's Promise will turn out to be a combination of all of the elements I mention above, but I will frame it all with the Good News that God has made a promise to us of salvation! Even in the darkest of days, the light that shines forth from God can never be overcome.

This is God's Promise: that He will catch us when we fall, console us when we weep, calm us when we are angry, forgive us when we sin, and love us beyond the end of the world! God's Promise is one of grace and life, and it is offered freely to all people on earth. We are called simply to accept his miraculous gift of grace, and to honor Him for the ultimate sacrifice He made - His own Son, Jesus Christ.

With that, I welcome you to this blog. May you find God's Promise - both this blog, and the real promises God fulfills in our lives every day - truly inspiring and a light in the darkness!

Posted by Lance at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)