Readings:
Jeremiah 26: 1-9
Matthew 13: 54-58
Reflection
We hear the stories of rejection in today’s first and the gospel reading. Jeremiah was attacked when he prophesied the gloom future of the nation. In the gospel Jesus was dismissed of his wisdom and good deeds by their unbelief. However interestingly, it is through these persecutions, insults and rough paths God chose to redeem us.
We often wonder why Jesus, the innocent and sinless, should suffer and die on the cross to save us. What kind of salvific plan is this?
Maybe we could reflect on the nature of God to understand this. The three unique nature’s that define God is His unconditional love, His holiness and His just nature. Sadly, due to the fall of humanity our nature is not as God’s nature. We are not as loving, as holy and as just as God is.
Now, if God had to save us from our sinful nature and accept us in His kingdom, He had to compromise with His nature. For example, if God was to act solely on His nature of unconditional love He would have ignored the reality of sin and evil. Thus ceasing to be just God. If He were keen only on being just, He would cease to be an unconditional lover. If He were to be born merely as a philosopher, reformer and moral teacher, He would be entangled in the corrupt human nature.
And so God chose to save us without compromising on His basic natures. He did that by sending His Son Jesus Christ who was free from sin(Holiness), who loved us by his perfect obedience to the will of the Father(unconditional love) and died on the cross as an atonement for our sins(Justice).
Thus we see how the rejection and dismissal of the Lord; his suffering and death has been the greatest source of our salvation without discounting on His divine nature.
Justin Durai Raj CP is a member of the Passionist community at St.Paul, Glen Osmond, SA.