DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Responses to Christ’s Passion-II ~ Moments of Choice:
St. Mark 14:10-42, especially vs. 38: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into
temptation.” As we begin the Great Fast, St. Mark’s Passion
account (Chapters 11, 14, 15) invites reflection on the Lord Jesus’
Passion, that we might meditate on the sufferings and death whereby Christ our
God has given unto us life and immortality. Later, in Great and Holy Week, the
Church will again place our Savior’s Passion before us in the narratives
from the other Gospels, thus framing our Lenten journey.
Today’s Gospel reading places six
real-life choices before us, decisions one might face on any given day: to
betray, obey, follow, protect one’s self, desert, or suffer with.
1) Judas, as one of the Twelve most trusted,
betrayed the Lord (vs. 10). He
chose to approach the chief priests that he might betray the Lord. His choice - to seek out the
authorities, to cooperate with the Lord’s enemies - was his own. The religious leaders did not come to
him (vs. 10). Yes, but we face the
same choice every day. We may
betray Christ by compromising His truth (I do not have any sins to confess),
by deserting Him (I do not need to attend Liturgy every Sunday), by acts
of petty self-interest (I have to tell a little lie to get ahead), or by
mindless, plain carelessness (I like to see how fast my new car really will
go).
2) Then, there is the choice to carry out
tasks thoroughly and diligently. At
Jesus’ bidding, two of His disciples “went out and came into the
city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the
Passover” (vs. 16).
Opportunities of this sort fill every day of life. We may do our chores as God-given tasks,
as would please Him, following directions, doing the task correctly, carrying
out every detail with care and attention.
On the other hand, we may do just enough to get by, give a project a
quick fix, but not follow through with every detail. In what moment is the choice to obey
Christ not present? Do we always
work and speak to please Him?
3) To follow the Lord, is to remain close to
Him. When the Supper ended, and
“...they had sung a hymn, they went out to the
4) At the Supper, the Lord told the disciples,
“All of you will be made to stumble because of Me...”
(vs. 27).
Sooner or later every disciple of the Lord fails Him through “self
interest.” Were it not for
the Cross and His forgiveness, for His Resurrection, and for the Gift of the
Spirit, we would all fail our gracious Lord and live permanently in
despair. Save us, O Savior!
5) Like St. Peter, we prefer to think of
ourselves as those who would never flee from Christ for any reason (vss. 29,31), yet we make little
evasions and forsake Him (Mk. 14:50).
We protect a false “self” when we fib to avoid the crosses
that inevitably come our way. Who
is our true “self”?
Have we not chosen to put on Christ, to stand with Him, not to gloss the
truth? When others make coarse
jokes about sacred matters, do we laugh?
Do we go to movies or watch TV programs that insult the Faith? Beloved brethren, we choose! Pray for the grace to be loyal!
6) Finally, there is the possibility of
suffering with Christ and for Him.
Yes, that night in the garden, He said, “ Rise,
let us be going. See,
My betrayer is at hand” (vs. 42). But notice: those who did flee thereafter
met Him risen and alive, chose His salvation, and embraced death. Christ was very forthright with us:
“as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I Am going, you cannot
come’” (Jn. 13:33) - there is only one
Savior; but He does tell us, “Love one another” (Jn. 13:34)!
O Christ our Salvation, Who didst suffer in
pity for mankind, save us who cry to Thee.
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