40 Crosses for 40 Days: 31st Cross - The 'No Greater Love' Cross

Scripture tells us that Jesus resolutely turned his steps towards Jerusalem, knowing that this would be His final pilgrimage there. The Gospel of Luke records that Jesus, "Took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and everything written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon; and after they have scourged him they will kill him, but on the third day he will rise.” (Luke 18:31-33).

Jesus had no delusions about what lay in wait for Him at Jerusalem. Incredibly, and speaking in only human terms, He didn't shrink from this prophecy, nor delay a moment in seeking to fulfill it. What courage Jesus showed, to willingly walk, day after day, to the place of His suffering and execution!

For a long time, I believed that it was Jesus' divine nature that gave Him the strength and fortitude to carry out His mission. And it is probably true that His divine nature had something to do with it, maybe a lot to do with it. But over time, that understanding has changed. Put simply, if Jesus had not been primarily acting out of His human nature, with our very real fear of pain and aversion to suffering, especially suffering involving mockery, humiliation, and abandonment, then it couldn't really be said that Jesus triumphed over sin and death as a human. Jesus 'won' by using superhuman gifts and talents, a nature that humans just don't have. If we don't have this nature, then how can we possibly imitate Jesus' life?

"No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." (John 15:13)

The cross for today answers this question then, by reminding us that it is Jesus' love for His Father and for us that gives Him the strength He needs to keep going. In His own words, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." (John 15:13) Giving up one's life for love of another is the height of self-sacrificing love, of self-emptying kenosis. Jesus shows His great love for us by giving up His life, but that's only the first part of His loving plan. The second half is to actually share His divine life with us, so that we can, in fact and reality, take on His divine life as well, so that our human nature can be shored up and supported for the hard things that we need to do. We, like Jesus, still have to act primarily out of our human nature (how can we do otherwise?). But our faith tells us that we also have the divine life of God within us, shared through the sacraments in a mysterious way that we don't really understand. It's this unseen, divine life that we can draw upon to complete our own vocations, the special job in the world given only to us.

As we approach the end of our Lenten journey, it's a good idea to ponder our steps so far so that we can return to an intentional walking, reminding ourselves of why we are walking and where we are walking to. We have nearly arrived at Holy Week, with Palm Sunday just four days away. The great Passion of Our Lord is about to commence. Let us recommit ourselves to our Lenten promises and not grow weary now, but press on to the end.

Let us pray: Holy Trinity, we marvel at Your life of self-giving love, and Your willingness to share it with us. Help us to become open to Your life of grace, so that we can respond in word and deeds, just as St. Patrick and St. Joseph did. And in all things we give You praise. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen