God's greatest passion - the love of man
The Christian experience of Lent is dominated this year by the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The fight goes on. How much things have changed in our everyday lives! I am writing these lines during the preparation of the faithful of the Catholic Church for the celebration of Holy Week, which will culminate in Easter. Palm Sunday is near. For public health reasons, the doors of the churches have been closed and, unfortunately, will remain so for Holy Week. The greatest mysteries of the Christian faith will be celebrated by priests outside our presence. In addition, the experience of a living community will be replaced by a common prayer in the family home, between neighbors or friends. We humbly accept this requirement of temporary isolation away from others. It is as if night and silence had fallen upon us. This is how our current historical experience is: Secret of evil or Sign of the Times?
On Palm Sunday, the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ has been read in every church in the world. The Gospel of St. Matthew brought us back to life to the events describing the last moments of the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will return in our thoughts and hearts to the institution of the Eucharist, the kiss of Judas, the unjust judgment, the choice of Barabbas, the denial of Peter, and above all the passion and death of the Master of Nazareth. If the present historical experience is to become a sign of the times for us believers, then we must enshrine it in the passion of Christ. A good interpretation of god's Word leads us to a new understanding of ourselves and the situation we are living in.
The title of a book by Claude Geffé, a French theologian, comes to my mind. He gave a collection of homilies and reflections the following title:"Passion of man, passion of God". These words contain the fundamental truth of Christianity. We can meditate on its saving nature especially during Holy Week: the suffering of man also becomes the suffering of God, who in Jesus Christ " made himself nothing, by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross "(Phil 2:7-8). I must admit that at a time when the coronavirus is raging, not everyone will easily find a spark of hope in the above. Suffering, illness, death in a certain sense always overwhelm man. But the word "passion" also has another, more important meaning. Passion expresses both the love for man and the love of man for different interests. We do many tasks with passion! In religious life, passion determines our loving relationship with God. Let us look passionately at the bruised face of Christ crucified to discover God's love for each of us, first and foremost for those affected by misfortune. The Cross - as a sign of salvation - will always remain a revelation (epiphany) of God's absolute love for man. For a loving God died of pain in Golgotha so that "every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord - to the glory of God the Father"(Phil 2:11).
This truth about "double passion": God for man, and vice versa - let us accept it with humility and joy. We are loved and we can love others. Let us convert this capacity into works of mercy. When we discover the "sign of the times "in the deadly virus, let us remember our loved ones, brothers and sisters and those who need it most. Perhaps many of them face abandonment, loneliness and even fear and despair. Let us give them spiritual and material support if possible. Let us entrust those infected to Divine Mercy, support by prayer the medical staff and volunteers, as well as the leaders, so that by the power of the Spirit of God, they may make decisions for the common good. Finally, let us pray for the tragic deaths of the past few weeks.
After the silence of Good Friday and Holy Saturday, there will be a joyful morning, the third day. The light of the rising sun will overcome the darkness. Early in the morning, on Easter Sunday, the risen Lord will remind us once again that God's greatest passion is His love for man!
Father Roman Chromy
Spiritual Advisor to LAI's Coordination Europe