The Passion

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. - (Isaiah 53:3-5 NIV)

The Holy Week in the Philippines is an occasion to be joyous. It is a weeklong vacation spent with family and friends and a welcome break from the daily grind of work and responsibility.

But like that one other great Christian holiday, the spirit of the Holy Week has become somewhat lost in the excitement for a holiday spent in the cool highlands or warm summer beaches of the country.

As I took my daily commute this morning, I was reminded of how full of sorrow this world of ours is.

Sure there is the daily experience of seeing the less fortunate of our countrymen, both young and old, darkened by the grime and soot of the metropolis as they go about their business of begging for alms.

Sure, there is the seemingly endless news about how disaster after disaster seems to come upon our people, what with the storms, floods, and landslides hitting various parts of our country on a regular basis.

Sure there is the rampant crime, the petty thefts, the daring robberies, the unsolved murders, the allegations of corruption, and all sorts of heinousness that man is capable of inflicting on his fellow man.

Sure there are the wars, and the threat of wars, of civil unrest, of rockets being fired, of territory being fought for, and the cleverly disguised and not-so-cleverly-disguised barbs thrown by the world’s most wealthy and influential against each other, even as the least and impoverished continue to outnumber them in an ever increasing ratio.

Humanity it seems, has for too long lived under the shadow of these things that we have become almost desensitized to them.

After all, a man who loses his sight will eventually get used to the darkness. Given enough time, he might even forget what it means to see.

And that is the most sorrowful thing of all.

That is what I saw on the faces of my countrymen this morning, on the eve of the Holy Week holiday.  I did not see faces full of joy and hope. I see faces of resignation.

And why should not they be resigned? Life could be so much better. Humanity could be so much better. But here we all are, forced to live off the unwanted dregs of a life and humanity that has somehow gone terribly wrong.

We have been living this way for so long that it is likely that most of us have already forgotten what a better life and a better humanity SHOULD look like.

Oh, but we do get glimmers of it once in a while.

Every time we react with angry indignation at how we’ve been mistreated and our rights trampled, that is actually a longing for the ideal. It is the deep seated instinct for light that even the most jaded blind person has within him.

But even that is not enough to show us that we were meant to live as creatures of sight and light.

Without something real and tangible representing the ideal, then we can only have muddled and confused ideas of what it looks like. Not unlike the blind who can only make out bits and pieces out of a hazy vision.

And that my friends, is what the message of the Cross of Christ is all about.

It is about giving sight to the blind. It is about light being brought to those in darkness. It is about slaves being given their freedom. It is about love given to the unlovable.

It is about a God who took all of our pain, all of our suffering, all of our indignities and shame. He took the worst that humanity has to offer in order to redeem what was once considered lost.

All of this is told by the Cross of Christ. And it would be foolish of me to try and even put into words the passion by which He fought for our freedom at great cost to Himself.

Few of us can bear shame. Fewer can bear pain and suffering. And even fewer still will bear death. A few might bear them for the sake of a loved one. None will bear them for the sake of the evil and unrighteous.

Christ bore them all for all the evil and unrighteous.  And that means all of us.

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

- (Romans 3:23 NIV)

This is why we celebrate the Holy Week. This is why we should be joyful, not just in the next few days, but all of the days of our lives.

For if we celebrate Christmas for the birth of the Savior, we celebrate the Holy Week for His very act of Salvation.

So whether we go to the highlands or beaches, or stay home, or wherever we may be this week, let us be joyful and happy and celebrate the life that He purchased for us. Let us remember with passion that the reason why we live is because of Him alone.

 “…the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

- (Psalms 118:23 NIV)

All Honor and Glory therefore be to His name.

Soli Deo Gloria!