ATONEMENT 2021

Gospel Reading – Mark 14:1-15:47  (3.28.21)

Sisters and brothers, we find ourselves in what is undoubtedly the most unique and troubling Holy Week of our lives.  As Christian believers, our intent is to pray, repent and accompany Jesus through his passion and death, as He atones for the sins of mankind.  To follow our Lord requires a contemplative heart that centers itself in identifying oneself with the suffering of the One who willingly came to us for our salvation.

As a child, I fondly remember the Easter Sunday candies, the egg hunts and family gatherings.  For me, that was a time of innocence and purity.  Can anyone argue that life of Christ  was not that of innocence, and purity?  As I became a young man, my experiences of innocence and purity faded into a preoccupation with power, prestige, and pride.  The world seemed to rob me of my childhood memories, but I was complicit in what I perceived to be an injustice and protested. 

A few years later I found myself at a spiritual crossroad and in a gardenlike experience very much like Gethsemane. Feelings of abandonment, distress and fear overwhelmed me.  Perhaps you can relate to a similar encounter?  The tears of confusion that came to me during this time erupted from a place deep within my heart. With a Christ I was unfamiliar with then, these tears cried out, “Help me avoid this, I seek my childhood experience back.”  My life had become a mess of my own doing. The uncertainty that engulfed me pulled me deeper into the garden, but I remained asleep with the others for quite some time.  How long have we slept while God continued to work for our salvation? And once awakened, did we also run away from Him while he prepared to offer Himself for the sins we committed?

Christ’s passion and death made reparations to God; for not some, but for all our sins.  This was an atonement that altered the course of mankind’s future.  Praise God for this.  Throughout the crises that surrounded our Lord in that divine garden, it was amazing to see how Jesus never once protested the terrible injustices that awaited Him.  Throughout, history countless martyrs have followed His path for the sake of God’s love for all.  These saints give us strength and courage in our own gardens of pain, suffering and loss.

It is said that “Life is all about choices” and there is much truth to this statement. Can anyone reading this argue that our world has turned itself against God and chosen the idols of power, prestige, and pride?  Make no doubt about it, just as the evil one was present at Gethsemane, he remains invested in our ruin, more so today that at any other time in history. I beg that you do not be distracted.  Atone for sins that pierce His heart.  Pray hard and be an example of innocence and purity today.  I pray that this your Easter experience this year be like your first Easter, your last Easter, and your only Easter. 

The Pilgrim.