Posted by
J. A. Colon on Sunday, April 12, 2009 10:16:18 PM
“No one shows greater love than when he lays down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 (ISV)
It is the end of the holiest of the weeks for the Judeo and Christian faith. Decades ago in Puerto Rico, we paid a lot more attention to Good Friday, than we did to Easter. I haven’t been on the Island for Holy Week, since I live in the States, namely for 22 years, but I still remember our old traditions. Do not eat meat during the week, especially on Friday. Do not work on Friday, specially, do not use a hammer. All week, we use to have Christian themed movies on TV. For the most part, our old generation was proud of our Christian heritage, and we preceded every statement of intent with the phrase: “Si Dios quiere…” or… “God willing…” I remember having a hard time in Army Basic Training, since my Drill Sergeants wanted me to emphatically state what I was going to do, and did not really understand when I said that I would do it, but only if God wills it.
But, I digress… I started this article with one of my favorite verses in the Bible, because it emphasizes the true meaning of love, of bravery, of selflessness; and how, by giving His life, Jesus secured eternal life for us, God’s creations, that have strayed so far and for so long from His will and our intended destiny.
The historical occurrences of this week, reminded me again of Jesus sacrifice.
When the darkness in man’s hearts show the ugliest of humanity and a rag tag of wanna be pirates, criminals, or terrorists (pick your term) wanted to make money on the misery of others, a brave man following his conscience or maybe the example of He who gave his live for us, offered to trade himself, so his men would be spared.
Captain Richard Phillips was rescued from his captors today, Easter Sunday. It was probably the best Easter gift that his family could have received.
Many will hail the heroic rescue by our Military, and that is fine; my brothers and sisters in arms do great work and they do deserve the respect of a grateful Nation.
But, Captain Phillips truly exemplifies the understanding of the responsibilities of command. When you are in charge, the welfare of your troops comes before yours, every time. And I can tell you, since I have spent over 22 years in the military, that many forget this basic fact. His men were the first ones to break the story of how he, willingly, traded his freedom and possibly his life for that of his men.
Jesus traded His freedom and his life for us, not so much to make us happy, or religious, or whatever the world wants to believe, but so we could have a second chance. So we could, if we so desire, really understand the meaning of love, of self sacrifice, and so we would have a shining example of what we could become, if only we put aside our wants, and pride, our fears, and refuse to be ashamed of being called Christians.
The President said that we are not a Christian Nation. That is his opinion, and many of us really believe that… well, let’s just say that our opinion of him as a human being has been diminishing as the days go by…
I see in my life, how at times the weakness of the flesh brings me down, and how fears and weakness remind me how human I really am. But it is these days of remembrance, Good Friday, Easter, Christmas that help me stop, and look up. Look up, not to the stars, or the planes in the sky, but farther, farther to a time and a place long gone, to the week where Jesus rode the little donkey to enter the city of Jerusalem. The week when a weak but proud Peter denied that he even knew Jesus. The week in which Jesus, having an alternative, yes, He could have said that He was not going to go through with his destiny; elected of His own Free Will to give His life for us.
It is these Christians celebrations that remind me of the great Sacrifice of our Lord. And is those scarce examples of human bravery that show us that we can aspire to follow Jesus example, that we can put our lives in His hands, and become an instrument of His love.
While the secular world celebrate a day of colored eggs, and bunnies in weird costumes, let us remember that our Lord traded His life for ours, and defeated death, so we could understand that by following Him, our hopeless life suddenly