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Life Ways The Lamb Jesus -- a solitary figure on the naked mound of dirt called Calvary, vulnerable, perhaps afraid… His very life ravaged and destroyed by the hatred and insecurity of others. Defenseless, open, gentle and poor. How could the Lion of Judah offer himself as a Lamb of sacrifice? How could light succumb confidently to darkness and defeat? Choosing to be powerless, to absorb the violence received, to surrender to pain, to death, to non-meaning seems impossible for many. Yet Jesus says, "Follow me." To let another usurp our place, steal our show, cast shadows on our name is paradoxically part of our glory as Christians. It is the only glory. It is his glory. Jesus could let himself be stripped of his humanity because he knew his Father loved him. He had listened, and was certain of his Father's word to him. He did not need to grasp status, possessions, or dignity. These could be relinquished because his Father would never stop loving him. He was sure of that. This relationship of trust had unfolded throughout Jesus' whole life. Night after night as he prayed beneath the stars, he carried on with his Father an uninterrupted exchange of love, each exploring the heart of the Father, discovering the truth of each other's being. In the maturity of this relationship, Jesus was completely free. Relationship means there is a capacity for revelation, a willingness to strain one's eyes to see and to let oneself be seen, the patience to wait as another's secret unfolds, and to let another share one's own. This acceptance frees. Freedom from the security that
establishes the deepest meaning of our lives in the most meaningless of
things. Freedom from the drive to prove ourselves to others, to ourselves,
and ultimately to God. As Jesus made the Father's love something we could see and touch, we also become Love for one another. We are not channels conducting the Father's love those around us. That would be clean and neat. No. The Father's love gets mixed up in our lives, and that can be messy. His love takes on our eyes, our ears, our voice. His love takes on our mannerisms, our tone of voice, our attitudes. Every word we say, everything we do, everything we are reveals Love. What? Me? I who am broken? Yes. It is our brokenness that reveals him. The Father does not need perfection. His power in us is so great that even in our weakness he gives himself to another. Our pain reveals his glory. As life tumbles upon life in our soul, our entire being radiates wholeness, enthusiasm and love. The desert has bloomed. Our life will yet pass through desert and night, but we will have the confidence and trust of Jesus who delivered himself into the Father's arms, and who lovingly and gently was raised to new life.
Copyright © 1999-2003, Daughters of St. Paul. All Rights Reserved.
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