CHRIST WITHIN OUR COBWEBS
Isaac is about one
and a half years old. In creche the other day when he saw two boys fighting he
went over to them, separated them and gave each of them a hug. And that was the
end of it. There’s something about this boy! What is it that gave one so young
the instinct and the wisdom to do something so mature He reminds me of Jesus Himself,
He who in Scripture is called Peacemaker.
Christ the King of
the Universe is presented to us in today’s Gospel hanging on the Cross between
two criminals. He has no palace, no power, no servants, no pageantry. The Cross
is His throne and there is no need for an appointment to get near him. He is as
accessible to us as He is to each of the two who are crucified with Him.
Our response to Him
can be like the response of either of these two men. Both seem to know who
Jesus actually is, that He has the power to save all three of them. For the
first that saving simply means getting them down off their crosses while the second
has a deeper, eternal understanding of salvation. He understands that both
criminals deserve their punishment while Jesus does not. And then he make this
simple and beautiful prayer, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your
Kingdom.” The words of a repentant criminal become a prayer with the power of
God’s Word in them.
We don’t know what
happened to the soul of the first criminal but we do know what happened to the
second, the one who is often called the ‘good thief’. “Indeed I promise you”
replied Jesus “today you will be with me in paradise!” That’s all that is
needed – a humble prayer and a response that fills us all with hope, hope in
eternal life. A prayer and a response that take us directly into paradise.
Perhaps the other man was touched by the words of his two companions and may
his soul eventually made its way to paradise, even if by the scenic route. We
do not know and we cannot presume.
So our eyes are
turned to Christ the King on the throne of His Cross. Recently I’ve been
looking up quite a bit at our large crucifix that hangs over the altar,
especially since a conversation with two children whose father had died. A
desperately sad time. They came to the church with their Mum for solace and
consolation and again they came to prepare themselves for his funeral.
The sun was streaming
through the south facing windows as it often does around noon and the two
children commented on the cobwebs surrounding the crucifix, wondering how the
webs might be removed. Perhaps their Dad might do it from on high? And then
they concluded that the cobwebs looked kind of cool.
When they had gone
home I continued to contemplate the sight and it struck me that the cobwebs
were symbolic, reminder to us that Jesus crucified places Himself within the
cobwebs of our lives, those areas where we feel ourselves trapped or enmeshed –
whether it be grief or anything else. He is among our cobwebs and He enters as
Peacemaker like little Isaac into our fights, our conflicts – the conflicts in
our relationships, in our world, the inner conflicts that divide our own
personal lives, the addictions that we do and do not want to be free of. And He
wordlessly hugs what is conflicted to bring healing and redemption, unity and
peace.
Looking at Christ on
the Cross we might take at face value what is presented – the innocent,
vulnerable one rejected and defeated. But hidden within this defeat, this death
is the unconquerable flame of life that, a few days later, breaks forth in the
resurrection and even as He “breathed His last” there is the hint of the Holy
Spirit being breathed forth, the Holy Spirit being the “breath of God”, the
unquenchable fire of Divine Love.
This brings us to the
Divine nature of Christ who existed before all creation, by whom and in whom
all creation came into existence and is sustained. He is everything and He is in
everything (Colossians 3:11). So, He is in and fills the whole universe, the
whole of creation and the environment that we are so concerned about. And this
means that respect for the environment is not simply about creation in itself, nor
is it just about protecting future generations of humanity. It must include
reverence and respect for the One who created it and who is present in it.
Reverence for God must be the beginning and end of our environmental efforts;
reverence for the Creator must inspire our love for the creation.
As I was preaching
about the Cross and the cobwebs at the first two Masses, I presumed that the
cobwebs were still there, thinking them to be a good “prop” for the message but
two very kind ladies had come along over the weekend and managed to clear the webs
away, even from such a great height. And I thought then that while Christ makes
Himself present in our webs, He doesn’t leave us in them forever. The time
comes when they are cleared away and we are set free.
Returning to the
funeral of the young husband and father which we had on Friday, one of the most
inspiring moments was when his two children bravely stood together at the
microphone and prayed this prayer:
A Prayer for Peace of Mind and Heart
The Lord is
close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit”. Psalm
34:18
A prayer that can
bless and console any one of us in our grief.
In true Irish
fashion, this turned out to be “a great funeral” as my parents used to say.
There was a gathering down at the Albion in Georges Street with music, eating and drinking and endless conversation. I wasn’t able to make it
for the music but dropped in there later in the afternoon when I went out for
my walk. My “drop in” involved four or five Cokes and lasted about three hours
as I got caught up in the beautiful company of some of the young couples of the
parish and their children who played with their bereaved friends. Sorrow and
joy mingled with each other there in such a natural way.
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