WAS IT WORTH IT? ( A Post Script to Holy Week)

"We are the reason that HE gave HIS life, we are the reason that HE suffered and died, to a world that was lost HE gave all HE could give, to show us the reason to live."

Those are my favorite lines from my favorite song "We Are The Reason". A fitting reminder, and my plea to everyone not to let JESUS' sacrifice go to waste.

Last Maundy Thursday, I once again viewed the film "The Passion of Christ". I guess no other movie could ever depict, as the title goes, the passion of JESUS and how he suffered for us, in a more detailed manner such as this. If you really love him that much, you can not help but be moved and shed tears. The flagellation by the soldiers on his lean body was so inhuman and unbearable. I had to close my eyes every time they would torture and whip him with those thick and heavy chains. I couldn't bear to see the blood streaming all over his face and body. With one eye totally closed as a result of the non stop beating, he endured the heavy cross on his shoulder, the weight of which, together with the excruciating pain in his entire body, caused him to fall countless times.

How unbearable the agony must have been for MAMA MARY to witness her son in such a helpless situation. The pain in her heart must have been twice the physical pain felt by JESUS. One of my favorite scenes in the movie, was when she couldn't bear to go near her son as they were watching him from amongst the crowd carrying his cross all the way to Calvary. St John was beckoning her to go to her son, but she wouldn't bulge from where she was standing. Then suddenly, she remembered the time when as a child, he stumbled and fell. She ran to the crying Jesus and said "Do not worry. I am here". This recollection, coupled with her motherly instinct, made her rush to her bloodied son, and on her knees, once again whispered, "I am here".

Although oblivious to the fact that the FATHER's heart was bleeding as well, but seeing JESUS in such a pitiful state, I couldn't help but ask why HE allowed his Son to go thru all the suffering, pain and humiliation. Of course, I know very well the answer to my own question. Don't we all?

The more important question I asked was, if it was worth it. Why? It's because people seem to have forgotten that JESUS sacrificed his life for us. It's discomforting that aside from not feeling any remorse at all,  some people have also taken for granted the true essence of the Lenten season. They even "celebrate" Holy Week by cavorting on beaches, or having out of the country vacations. This is a time for reflection. Can we not devote just one week for him? Would that be asking too much?

A couple of days after Palm Sunday, someone asked me that all too familiar question, where would I be spending Holy Week? I replied, in church, as I normally do. She said I was corny and that would take the fun out of Holy Week. Fun? Are we supposed to have fun while JESUS is agonizing and would ultimately die on Good Friday? In the Christian world, this is a time for mourning. When people who are close to us pass on, do we not mourn their death? Why then, pray tell me, should we not mourn the death of someone who died for us? He never imposed any condition in exchange for his death. His love was so great that he gave up his life to save us, obviously the most arduous way for anyone to prove his love.

So, if by loving JESUS, appreciating and being grateful for everything he did and continuous to do for me is corny, then so be it.