the 4th article of the faith: he suffered under pontius pilate: 7th week of easter tuesday
Now
we come to the fourth article of faith – Jesus who was conceived by the power
of the Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried. It
is because of this constant repetition in the creed that the name of Pontius
Pilate came to be associated with persons we vilify together with Barabbas and
Judas – mga ngalan nga gina-associate naton sa mga traidor, criminal ukon mga
tawo nga nagapanginwala sang ila responsabilidad kag nagapanghugas sang ila kamot. But the name of Pontius Pilate is mentioned
in the creed not to vilify him but to put an exact date, an exact time, to put
in the chronology of world history the saving death of the Lord. The death of Jesus was not just some
accident. The death of Jesus did not
just happen in some distant past. It has
a date. It happened at an exact day and
hour. It happened at a particular reign
of a particular Roman Procurator in the Roman province of Judea. That is why even in the early church there
was already a particular preoccupation with the exact time of the passion death
and resurrection of the Lord, which we follow even today.
Nagahalin-halin ang petsa sang Holy Week
tungod kay gina-id-id naton sunod ang lunar calendar. Ginalagas naton ang first full moon sang
spring, kay sa Huwebes, Biernes, Sabado kag Domingo pagkatapos sina nga full
moon natabo ang pag-antus, pagkamatay kag pagkabanhaw ni Kristo. This event in the life of Jesus and in the
life of humanity is very important we just don’t simply remember it, we just
don’t simply commemorate it, but we celebrate it as an anniversary. Why? It
is because of this event that we were saved.
Without this there is no Christianity.
Without this, there is no salvation.
Without this, there is no point in believing. We are Christians, we are saved because of
the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. We were baptized as God’s children because of
the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. We are blessed, we are made holy because of
the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. Heaven was opened for us, we will not end in
death, we can live forever because of the passion, death and resurrection of
the Lord. We can love even if it entails
sacrifice, we can care for each other even if we have to suffer for it, because
of the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord, because Jesus did the same
for you and me.
Today
in first world countries crucifixes are being removed. They say it is ugly, it is gory, it is
violent, it is repulsive. It is offensive
to the sight. I agree. The crucifix is ugly, it is gory, it is
violent, repulsive and it is offensive to the sight. But no.
I would never agree that this should be taken down for those
reasons. In fact the more reason we
should put them up there on our walls for all to see. That is what I am doing in the seminary right
now. Probably because of the constant
repair our crucifixes were not returned to their rightful place which is in
every room and in every office. I say we
should return it in our homes and in our offices, in every room, for this will
remind us of what Jesus for you and me.
As the Father has loved me, so I also love you. This is to remind us that God so loved the
world that he sent us his only Son. This
is to remind us that many times our loving can bring us to a lot of
inconvenience, a lot of sacrifice and a lot of suffering. Many times we forget this. Many times we have to be reminded of this. And this is what the crucifix does. Married love is sacrificial love. My priesthood is a love that entails
sacrifice. Your service in the church
would require a degree of sacrifice.
Loving your family and being faithful to that love would entail hardships. Serving people, caring and serving others,
walking the extra mile for others is not always easy requiring some degree of
inconvenience. Following Jesus would
require sacrifices. And lastly at some
point in our lives things can be painful.
It helps to look at the Lord in a crucifix for it can give meaning to
what is happening and hope to what awaits us after the pain.
Lord,
help me like the saints to learn at the school of the cross. Let me look at your cross and help me see an
encouraging sermon. Let me look at your
cross and help me see hope. Let me look
at your cross and help me see inspiration, the will to carry on, the patience
to persist and the joy of what is to come.
Jesus you suffered and died for love of me, let me suffer and die for love
of you. Amen.
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