Suffering for Others
This is Holy Week for Christians. It is the time the Bible
tells us Jesus entered Jerusalem ,
met with his disciples for the last time at supper, was judged and crucified.
His resurrection from the dead is the Easter message of hope by which God
allowed his earthly flesh to be slain to demonstrate God’s forgiveness for
mankind’s evil ways or sin.
In a nutshell that is the Christian message. It cannot be
internalized without serious thought and meditation. Whether a person believes
in every aspect of this message or not, the message is one of hope and
contemplation.
We live life. We make mistakes. We make up for those
mistakes because it makes us feel better. Meantime our mistakes caused others a
problem or two, maybe even misery. They suffered. Because of me.
Atonement is the act of realizing our mistake, feeling sorry
for what we have done and the difficulties it may have caused others. We reach
out for forgiveness. We hope to feel such forgiveness. If we do we feel whole.
Again.
This tradition is not only Christian. It is also Judaic.
Both Christians and Jews share a common heredity, a common parentage. We share
the Bible; at least the Old Testament.
Islam has a similar message. So too other religions through
the ages. It is a tale of mankind’s learning to live life on planet Earth.
Whether through faith or mythology we have a common yearning – peace within,
peace without, peace throughout the world.
Suffering defines much of our life. Avoidance of suffering.
Encountering suffering. Healing from suffering. Each of us knows these things.
May this weekend give you cause to contemplate and learn
peace.
March 30, 2013
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