Responsibility

JMJ. I was looking at a crucifix yesterday. It was hand-made by an artisan in Mexico and stands about three feet high and Christ's body is probably a foot and a half tall. It is extremely life-like with flaxen hair and a miniature crown of thorns. There are far more lash marks on His body with all the attendant gore flowing from them than one normally sees. When I first saw this crucifix I thought it was one of the more gruesome artifacts I'd ever come across.

But the older I grow the (somewhat) wiser I become. The longer I gazed on His lowered, dead face the more I came to appreciate the beauty of the image in general and this crucifix in particular. There were peace and serenity in the marks of His suffering. One could see His weight supported by the cruel nails piercing His hands and His feet. It's almost like a lifting of the veil separating our time from that of 2,000 years ago next month.

I'm glad that Catholics use the crucifix instead of the empty cross. (What is there to contemplate in two pieces of wood without the context of His sacrificed body?) Anyway, there I was looking up at Him thinking to myself, "My sins helped put You there, Lord. Forgive me." He (or more likely my holy guardian angel, Cornelius) said, "Whoa. Wait a minute, Jimmy. You helped put Me there?"

Isn't that just like Americans? We are a committee-type society. We use the adage of safety in numbers to spread the responsibility around. I put Him there. That was the message I'd been given. My sins were sufficient to crucify Him. Mine alone! He was scourged, he was crowned with thorns, and His flesh was pierced just for me! To save Jimmy, He had to die. What a sacrifice it is that would serve not just for one lowly creature but for all the billions who have and are and will live. You just can't get that from an empty cross. Forgive me, precious Lord, for putting You there. That's the REAL message of Lent and I finally got it.