Reading 1
Ex 19:2-6a
In those days, the Israelites came to the desert of Sinai and pitched camp.
While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain,
Moses went up the mountain to God.
Then the LORD called to him and said,
"Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob;
tell the Israelites:
You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians
and how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself.
Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant,
you shall be my special possession,
dearer to me than all other people,
though all the earth is mine.
You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation."
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5
R. (3c) We are his people: the sheep of his flock.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.
The LORD is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.
Reading II
Rom 5:6-11
Brothers and sisters:
Christ, while we were still helpless,
yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person
one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.
Indeed, if, while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life.
Not only that,
but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Punishment Versus Love
How does Jesus' death save us? Many of us are guilty of serious sin. We are guilty of abortion, theft, blasphemy, fornication, adultery, and a host of other sins. Sin causes death and deserves just punishment. God sees our pitiful state of sin. He sees us "abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd."(gospel) God knows that the nature of sin is that it deserves punishment.
Jesus says that there is no other love greater than that a man lay down his life for his friends.1 So he looks at our deserved "punishment" in the eye and says to us, "I will take that punishment for you. You deserve to be killed for your sins but, I will stand in your place." "How much more then, since we are justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath."
Jesus is aware of how loving this act is because he says that "there is no greater love". But, this was not a painless act for Jesus. "Only with difficulty does one die for a just person." We are not JUST people. We are sinners. Yet Jesus died for us. This makes his passion an even greater act of love since he did it for people who've done nothing to deserve it. It was painful to die for us. As Jesus' death approached, he was sorrowful even to death.(sorrowful enough to die)2
The Highest Example of Pain
I know someone who had a friend ("Angie") with cancer. This guy prayed to God asking God to allow him to suffer in exchange for Angie's cure. The same night of his prayer, he awoke with a tremendous pain in his foot. The pain was so great that he clenched his fists and teeth for hours as he soaked his pillow with sweat. He says that it felt like a nail had been driven through his foot and he described the pain as having a supernaturally tremendous power- it hurt a lot. This lasted almost the entire night. It took all of this suffering (and maybe more) just to cure someone's cancer. Let's try now to imagine how much it hurt to be punished for all the sin of mankind. Like this man who cared about Angie, Jesus volunteered to suffer for our offenses. I am sure that it hurt much more than it did for this man who felt an excruciating pain in his foot. Jesus' passion hurt so much, that just thinking about it nearly killed Jesus in the garden. He sweated blood. Jesus' pain during his passion was so great that we will never comprehend it completely.
Jesus knew the Passion would be tortuous and he prayed: "My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me… Thus he expresses the horror that death represented for his human nature."3 Jesus' human nature did NOT want to die. He knew it was going to hurt and he knew the pain would be supernaturally horrific. Jesus has free will just like you and I do. He used it in a perfectly loving way. He didn't have to do it, but he chose to suffer terribly for us. It was not easy for Jesus to die for us.
We can see that God "proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." God did not make a theological commitment when he decided to suffer the passion. He made a commitment to be tortured in the most horrifying fashion. He was mocked by the soldiers. He was giving his life for those soldiers, yet instead of thanking him, they mocked Jesus and put a flesh-tearing crown on his head. And all the while, Jesus was alone because his best friends had abandoned him.
Jesus's death was painful, but it was his choice to do it for us.
God's Plan
We must keep in mind that anytime we meditate on the passion, we should remember that the soldiers and Pilate did not OVERPOWER Jesus. He gave up his life because he wanted to.4 After all, he raised Lazarus from the dead and walked on water. He can do whatever he wants. So, his passion and death is not some tragedy that he did not expect to happen. Jesus talks about his death in Luke 12:50 saying, "there is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until is it accomplished! Jesus is the "lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world". Both he and John the Baptist knew from the beginning that the purpose of Jesus' birth was so that he would die for us. So Jesus's suffering and death were the reasons why he was born.
Sometimes, we offer sacrifices to God like abstaining from meat on Fridays. But Jesus' death is the ultimate sacrifice because it comes not from us, but from God. It is HIS sacrifice. Is it not holy? Also, in the passion of our Lord, GOD IS the sacrifice. And so this is the ultimate sacrifice.
Jesus Died for Hitler
Yes, you read it right. Our Catholic faith teaches us that "Christ died for ALL men without exception: There is not, never has been, and never will be a single human being for whom Christ did not suffer."5 So Jesus died for everyone, including those who hate God. We are all recipients of God's supreme sacrifice.
Think of someone right now that you DO NOT like. I am thinking of a guy named "Ricky". Ricky is the founder of one of the largest pornography companies ever. His company is destroying the lives of our daughters, sisters, and even boys and men whose minds are polluted with this garbage. I am sure that Ricky's pornography is leading many souls to hell. Now even though I am very mad at Ricky, Jesus is at Ricky's side. He is tugging on Ricky's shirt, saying "hey!, I died for you and I love you. I forgive you. Your sins are gigantic, but they are nothing compared to the size of my mercy. I want to save you. Are you listening to me?"
So Jesus, is at Ricky's side pleading to Ricky that he be saved. So how can I at the same time, wish evil upon Ricky? If I wish evil upon Ricky, I am acting against the will of God, and that's not what I want to do. So, the point is, no matter how much I hate someone, I have to pray for him/her and I have to hope that he is saved. Because Jesus said, "If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the 99 in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the 99 that did no stray."6So Jesus desires that the worst sinners come back to him. It's because Jesus is full of love.
So we asked the question, "how does Jesus' death save us?" Our offenses against God are tremendous and they require punishment. Our God says to us, I will stand in your place. I will take the punishment that you deserve. "
The Point
- Because of the nature of sin and of justice, we deserve severe punishment for our sins. Because God loves us, he volunteers to suffer terribly and to die rather than inflict the punishment on us directly.
- Jesus passion and death were so painful that just the thought of it nearly killed Jesus and made him sweat blood.
- Even though Jesus' human nature did not want to die horribly, he was perfectly obedient to the will of the Father and was crucified for us because he loves us.
- Jesus was born to die for us. It was all part of God's plan. He saw us suffering, and he sent his son to teach us, to save us, and be our role model. All of this he accomplished by dying on the cross.
- God is VERY happy when a sinner comes back to him, so we must remember that Jesus died for everyone, including our enemies. We should cooperate with God by praying for our enemies.
Real Life
If you have 3 minutes of quiet time for meditation, turn on your speakers and listen to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Gospel
Mt 9:36—10:8
At the sight of the crowds, Jesus' heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest."
Then he summoned his twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits
to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the twelve apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon from Cana, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus,
"Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."
Mass Excitement #16
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1- Jn 15:13
2- Matt 26:38
3- CCC 612
4- Jn 10:18
5- CCC 605
6- Matt 18:12-13
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