It is at this time of the year I believe Christians are reminded most poignantly of the crucifixion of Our Lord while also moved in awesome wonder by the power and victory of Christ’s Resurrection on the third day after. I don’t know about you but ever since the movie “The Passion” hit the big screen, at this time of the year, I find myself remembering scenes from the movie : the excruciating suffering that Christ endured on the Cross, the blood and sweat that trickled from his head, the stripes inflicted all over his body…. and on the third day, the empty tomb – I can see the graveclothes that wrapped his corpse were left behind like a chrysalis after the butterfly has flown! Perhaps it’s true that a picture speaks more than a thousand words ! And so I confess that just as Cecil de Mills’ “Ten Commandments” on the big screen helped bring alive Moses and the Book of Exodus in my mind, the movie “The Passion” does help bring home the last days of his life on earth and especially his last words breathed on the cross “Father, forgive them – for they know not what they do.”

As I pondered over these last words of Jesus, I believe I suddenly grasped an important truth which may seem obvious but yet can elude us. It dawned on me that unless I can truthfully put myself among the “them” and “they” Jesus spoke of, I will not be fully indebted or even grasp the significance of His Crucifixion. The “them” and “they” that Jesus spoke of, on the surface, referred to the Jews there and then who demanded and shouted to Pontius Pilate : “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Yet, think about it: these were the same people who on Palm Sunday welcomed Jesus as their King when He entered Jerusalem in triumph just a week before! However when they realised Jesus was not going to deliver them from the Romans, they turned their backs on him. The thought came to me that indeed I should likewise challenge myself with some soul-searching questions as we approach Good Friday and answer these questions honestly:

Why am I welcoming Jesus into my life?
Why am I drawn to Jesus?
What do I want from Jesus?
What if I don’t get what I want from Him or what if Jesus wants something from me that I’m unwilling or reluctant to give?
Will I also, like the crowd in Jerusalem, turn my back to Him?

My dear friends, I hope you will be likewise challenged by these questions and I welcome your remarks. You may post your comments on this blog. Your input will certainly help me as I meditate seriously on these questions and attempt to put down my thoughts in writing my next wordknights message. Meanwhile, May God Bless You ! Have a good week ahead. I’m writing from Toronto and looks like we’re heading for an unusually cold week ahead- this is supposedly the season of spring but it suddenly turned to look more like winter this morning !