Submitting to the will of the Father was the crucial point that spelled our salvation. The prospect of a painful death was so harrowing that Jesus Christ sweated blood in his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. That prayerful evening where he had a clear vision of his death moved Jesus Christ into an agonizing cry to be saved from drinking his cup but altogether surrendering his fate to the will of the Father. That obedience of the son to the father was the key to our salvation for had the son refused to obey that will, the grand plan to save mankind from the wages of sin would not have been fulfilled.
As we repeatedly reenact the passion that Jesus Christ went through, we must remember his message on the cross. The painful death that he willingly accepted is out of his great love for mankind. He became man in obedience of the will of the Father who sent him. His mission was to proclaim the good news so that everyone who believes will not perish but have eternal life. He showed man by example on how to live a life in accordance with the will of God. His life was itself the message that man must receive, believe and live in order to attain eternal life.
It pains to see the suffering of Jesus Christ for all our sins. Our sinful ways make us unworthy of that great love which was manifested on the cross. As we remember the passion of Jesus Christ, it is worthy to share in that supreme sacrifice by doing our own sacrifices for the atonement of our sins. We had been assured of our salvation if we turn away from sins and believe in the Gospel. Let us heed therefore the call of the Lenten season for us to repent our sins and live a life according to the will of God. Our sinfulness is the cause that pushed Jesus Christ to his painful death. Every time we continue to wallow in sin, we are lost from the way that God showed us so that we may reach eternal life and salvation.
But the commemoration of the passion of Jesus Christ had at times been a literal depiction whereby penitents subject themselves to physical castigation and crucifixion. The bloody reenactments refresh the events on that first Good Friday as the faithful watch with awe and reverence the unfolding drama of the passion of Jesus Christ. Those who submit themselves to such punishment in order to feel the physical pain that Jesus Christ suffered in order to save us from sin. But more than physical castigation is our sincere acceptance of our sinfulness and our submission to the will of God in like manner that Jesus Christ showed us.
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