G. Tiépolo, La Crucifixión, óleo sobre tela,
Museo Nacional del Prado (Madrid).
...
For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many. Ransom is a figure of speech, of
course, not a literal statement. Jesus didn’t pay anything to anyone. But he
did “pay the price”, as it were, on his sacrifice on the Cross, his decision to
love the many - that undefined, unlimited multitude, that we are. He paid the
price of his commitment to love us unconditionally by being killed for it. I
was thinking the other day about those of who have been married for years. In their own way they also have “paid
the price” of loving – of loving each other and loving their family. From the
moment that the glow of the honeymoon started to fade for sure they realized
that they were committed to each other and that both were far from perfection.
Over the years they have been dying to self for your love to survive, to grow
and to thrive. They have willingly “paid the price” of loving for the sake of
the beloved one. What a great example! Those of us who never got married, or
who became widowed (or separated or divorced) have also known the inevitable
pain of the choice to love and to live authentically the loneliness, the
unfulfilled desires, the tiredness –especially when we have chosen to dedicate
our energies to the service of the community, or to work for justice and
compassion. Our second reading today talks about Jesus being tempted in every
way that we are, though without sin. As catholics we must tend to live a life
of faithful commitment but being aware that our life will be a one of constant
temptation – the temptation to step back, to think of ourselves, to refuse to
be stretched any further. We can all know the pain of dreams unfulfilled, of
hopes not answered, of friendships betrayed, of service unappreciated. We have
known the temptations to futility, despair and bitterness. Jesus knew them, too.
In one shape or other, a “price to be paid” seems to lurk in the background of
all those who allow themselves to feel and to follow the enthusiasm associated
with love. Yet the choice to remain committed -and to be stretched- is the way
to peace, fulfilment, joy, serenity, and wisdom. It’s all something of a
mystery -a wonderful mystery before which we can only stand quietly grateful,
and somewhat overjoyed. It’s the sort of experience we would love to hand on to
others. It is the energy, indeed, behind the Church’s commitment to mission,
the place from which all the martyrs of Christ took the strength to shed their
blood for Him and for the sake of gospel. The Church desires so much to share
her insights into love, and her access to the love of God made visible in our
Lord, Savior and Messiah Jesus Christ. Can we drink the cup that the Lord
drank, and be baptized with the baptism with which Jesus was baptized? • AE
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