'But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross. And for this God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all other names; so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.'
PHILIPPIANS 2:7-11
It is the fortieth day of our countdown--but guess what? Lent ain't over yet! The best is yet to come!
Today is Palm Sunday, also known as the mass with the longest Gospel reading ever. But in all seriousness, today we had the pleasure of living through Jesus' triumphant entrance to Jerusalem, being hailed as a king, only to be murdered a few days later in the most horrifying way, alone and forsaken by His followers. It is absolutely heart-wrenching, especially if you consider that the Christ is, throughout His passion, paying off for those sins we've committed. I sit there and think... 'Lord, when you were being spitted on, it was to pay off for my arrogance, and when you were being scourged it was because of all the times I've heard others with my words...' If we take a moment and analyse the passion we can see the punishment for our own personal sins being taken on by Jesus.
Since we will have another opportunity to meditate on the passion on Good Friday, I would like to concentrate instead on today's second reading (see above). Let's see if you can grasp the reality that God the Son, Jesus, chose to leave his comfortable spot to the right of the Father to become a human and therefore a slave to his own humanity (minus sin). This means that everything Jesus experienced in His passion hurt Him as much as it would have hurt us regular human beings. He LOWERED Himself not only to be human but to die on a cross (which, as we've said before, was the most humiliating and excruciating method of torture of the time). He didn't have to do it. Did He do it because we deserve it? Heck no. Now way. He did it because---drum-roll---He. Loves. Us. That. Much.
'God raised Him on high'---yes He did... high up in that cross. It is in that cross that Jesus wins the victory for us, so that's why at the name of JESUS every knee shall bow in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld (because even demons must bow down to Jesus) and declare that HE IS LORD!!!!!!
Is Jesus lord of your life?
If He is not... then you're missing out on the greatest love story there is. May He always sit on the throne of our hearts.
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