Christian perspectives

Christ agonized

How God relates to suffering in human life and what that suffering means for those afflicted by it is a long debated question among religious thinkers. In the 6th century before Christ the book of job explored the question deeply in what is still one of the greatest poems in world literature. Even before job many sumerian, Babylonian and Egyptian sages questioned the meaning of evil and tragedy. Concern for suffering and evil have continued as important topics for thinkers in every age. The beauty of being a Catholic is the comfort of knowing that death is not the end but the beginning of real life that God has intended for each of us.

What probably most commonly agree upon is that suffering is a central part of the great mystery of life itself - that humans can never fully comprehend all the ramifications of why life is the way it is, how it came to be that way or why we encounter discord, disorder, chaos, tragedy and intentional evil in a good world under a good god. Agonizing Jesus was willing to be crucified because he knew it to be the will of his father. Agonized doing the will of his father was his only interest. One way Jesus lived his agony and suffering was to express his need when he felt it. Jesus did not try to hide his pain from others.

He cries out to God (MK. 15:34) and he says he is thirsty (Jn. 19:28) on the cross. While hanging on the cross Jesus reaches out openly to people around him, those on the other crosses nearby as well as to his tormentors. He listens to the argument of the two thieves and he hears the plea of the honest thief (LK 23:39-43) whatever degree of pain he himself endures he listens and response lovingly to the people near him.

Agonizing Jesus forgives his tormentors for the pain they are causing right in the middle of his suffering. Jesus does not wait until things get better, he does not make plans to get back at them.

Jesus expresses no objections to his own pain. Jesus simply forgives those who are in the very act of crucifying him (LK. 23:34).

The Bible of ten meditates on the question of evil and suffering but we need to be sure of what it is talking about. First is it primarily physical evil? Or is it spiritual anguish doubt and fear? Or is it both? Second in asking why we suffer, are we asking whether God deliberately sends suffering to us or simply permits or allows suffering to be part of our lives? Third do we claim that God sends suffering or evil as a punishment? Or do we claim that it is we who bring on suffering as a consequence of our own bad actions?

Last supper

Scripture regularly affirms the latter point. After the last supper Jesus went with his disciples to the garden of Gethsemane where he prayed the whole night. The shadow of coming events was so heavy on him. St. Luke tells us of the agonizing Jesus - His sweat became like drops of blood falling down upon the ground (LK 22:44).

This is revealing detail. This is a condition known to modern medicine as Hematidrosis, and can happen to a person under extreme conditions of stress, anxiety and agony. Certain chemicals released in the blood in such a condition ruptures the capillaries of the sweat glands making the sweat to flow mixed with blood creating agony. Only a close eye witness and someone on the scene would have known and remembered this kind of detail.

Execution

The gospels tell us another authentic eye witness detail - that on the way to his execution agonizing Jesus staggered and collapsed. This was due to the severity of the flogging he received and is again a medical condition that happens as a result of Hypovoemic shock.

A Roman flogging its agony of the kind Jesus was subjected to consisted of thirty nine lashes with a rough leather whip that had thongs with stones and metal attached to them. In the agonized whipping these tore in to the flesh of the victim often baring muscles and even bones. After such torture the victims heart has still to keep pumping blood but there would be no blood to pump in the body. The kidneys too would collapse.

When we are suffering where are our lives centred? To whom do our lives belong? Where is our focus? Are we focused on ourselves and our pain? Are we focused on God's and Gods loving purposes? In every suffering if we are attentive and obedient to the father our cross will be true. Then it will belong to a life that is being increasingly lost in God. A true cross is like the cross of Jesus. If we are engrossed in our own pain or self pity our sufferings are not crosses. They are merely sufferings. They take us not closer to God.

The suffering and agony that Jesus underwent cannot be described. His apostles fled. Friends withdrew into the background.

There was agonized Jesus hanging on his cross. The noon day sun burned down on him. His body was lacerated. He could not lean against the rough wood of the cross. To hang limp ment that his whole body weight was drawn upwards asphyxiating him. His tongue parched. His hands nailed agonized beyond words could tell.

The cross

The cross upright a wooden post with a transverse bar was used to hang rebels and criminals during the ancient Roman empire. It was similar to a guillotine, electrocution, lethal injection or firing squad and the gallows of subsequent periods.

The ignomious cross was dreaded by miscreants and despised and scorned by people.

The death of Jesus in agony was a demonstration of supreme love. St. Peter put it this way, 'He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (Pet. 2:21-24). St. Paul states; Jesus became a curse unto the law that we might be redeemed from the curse of the law. Each year during lent the thoughts of Christians the world over naturally focus on the suffering death and resurrection of Jesus. No one even dreamt of having the cross as an emblem anywhere. Under the impression that it was ominous of agony and disaster.

Mortal fear

Roman soldiers as a rule mercilessly battered and crushed the limbs of the criminals and hanged them on crosses on hills to be seen by people by tying their hands and legs on crosses. When Jesus was crucified in agony the cross was an object of degradation, ignominy and stigma and people warded it off as poison. During the four early centuries after the birth of Jesus Christ the Christians lived in catacombs practising their new faith secretly due to mortal fear of being persecuted by the pagan Roman rulers. 'Say only the three words, I deny Christ, we will set you free' yelled the Roman leaders but the Christians were adamant and preferred death.

The Bible claims that much suffering is to provide the occasion to know God more deeply. Most people question suffering when it seems to occur through no fault of their own when they cannot interpret it as punishment for a sin or as an injury due to their own clumsiness. Suffering gives so much anguish to most of us because it is so personal, and so unexpected and we feel so undeserved. Because the Bible is primarily a great collection of stories of poetry about gods search for human hearts, it is very concerned about this personal dimension of the sufferer.

The Bible never tries to define God as such ideal goodness that he could not permit physical evil or suffering.

It instead constantly returns to how God is there with us when we suffer.

All those who were around him the agonized Christ when he was hanging on the cross for three hours would have thought that they had done away with him for ever when he hung there and said 'It is finished'. Many who heard the agonized Christ thought that it was a cry of defeat.

But it was the cry of a great victory. Finally on the cross the Christ said; 'It is finished'. All Christians know that what Christ meant by 'It, referred to gods plan of salvation for mankind.

Miran Perera

Significance of Maundy Thursday

W.T.A. Leslie Fernando

The season of Lent for the Christians culminate in the Holy Week where they commemorate the passion and death of Christ. The Holy Week commences on Palm Sunday that highlights the triumphant entry of Christ to Jerusalem, where people carried olive branches and threw their overcoats before him shouting "Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hossanna in the highest."

The most important day in the Holy Week is the Good Friday, where Christ died on the Cross to redeem the mankind from the bondage of sin is commemorated. Maundy Thursday is the day before the Good Friday, where so many events on the life of Christ in preparation of his death is commemorated. This year Maundy Thursday falls on April 09.

On the day before Christ was taken a prisoner, he assembled with his disciples in a house to eat the Passover. Passover was the Jewish feast, where they celebrated the liberation of Jews from the bondage of Egyptians led by Moses. For over 400 years Jews were slaves in Egypt. Passover is also called the feast of the Unleavened Bread.

At this assembly Christ got a basin of water, washed and wiped the feet of his disciples to signify the virtue of humility in Christianity. At one time there was a dispute even among his disciples as to who should be the greatest. Christ preached "whoever exalts himself shall be humbled and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." (Mattew 23/12). By washing the feet of his disciples, Christ showed that he practised what he preached.

When Christ was eating with his disciples on that day he said, "Truly one of you will betray me." The disciples asked him one after the other "Is it I, Lord?".

He answered "He who had dipped his band in the dish with me will betray me". When it came to the turn of Judas, Christ said to him "You have said so". (Matthew 26 22-25). So Christ knew that his end was close.

The most significant event commemorated on the Maundy Thursday is the establishment of the Holy Eucharist. While they were still eating the last supper, Christ took some bread, blessed it, distributed among the disciples and said: "Take and eat. This is my body". Then he took a cup of wine and gave it to the disciples saying: "Drink of it all of you, this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26/28).

After the death of Christ, the disciples continued to share loaves of bread and wine to commemorate the event.

Later when it was developed into Holy Mass, this mystery became part and parcel of it. In the Catholic church in place of bread, Holy Eucharist is distributed at Mass in the form of sacred host.

In some other Christian sects host is distributed dipped in wine.

Jesus after the last supper went to a place called Gethsamane and said to his disciples "Sit here, while I go yonder and pray". He took Peter, James and John closer to him and said "My soul is sorrowful even unto death, remain here and watch with me". Christ went a little further, fell on his face and contemplated on the death on the cross, he had to undergo the following day. He prayed "My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt" (Matthew 26/29).

When he came back to the disciples, he found them sleeping. He said to Peter: "So you could not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak." Again he went and prayed "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done" (Matthew 26 /40-42). Christ came back to his disciples twice and found them sleeping. This episode at Gethsamane is known as 'The Agony of Christ in the Garden'.

At Holy Mass on Maundy Thursday, the priest washes feet of 12 men and distribute 12 loaves of bread among them. to symbolise the washing of the feet of disciples by Christ at the last supper. After the Mass the Blessed Sacrament is placed on a special tabernacle and groups perform Holy Hour before it, until the services on the Good Friday begin.

(The writer is a former High Court Judge and Vice-President of the Newman Society Alumni Association).

Passion plays of Lanka ...

Continued from last week:

E. Weerapperuma

Though Jaela today, stands out as a well recognized and thickly populated area close to the Katunayake Free Trade Zone in the Gampaha district of the Western Province, it was an unheard and unknown place to the historians of ancient Sri Lanka. Perusing the pages of written history one hardly finds any reference is made about this locality called "Jaela" in the chronicles.

The tradition, the popular belief and acceptance is that the area was inhabited by Malays from Java island and because of this community and with the cutting of a river for their use across this village during the Dutch period, this village got the name Jaela. It is said that river was cut in 1767, initiated by one J. L de Costa.

Henry William Cave (1854-1913), a member of the Royal Asiatic Society in his book on "The Ceylon Government Railway " , published in 1910 for the first time and re-printed under the title "Ceylon, Along the Rail Track", a Visidunu Publication in 2002 and 2003 speaks about the Jaela Railway Station opened on November 9, 1908 on a decision made by the Colonial Government.

Cave in his brief note about Jaela wrote that the locality was said to be famous for good cinnamon whether wild or cultivated and claimed to possess with a quality of distinctly superior aroma. The living faith of the ancestors as Catholics gave importance to these unknown villages with Churches and Schools coming up to educate the masses both in religion and in their social life. The Kapala Kanda stand as living witness to this fact.

This year the Jaela Kapala Kande site will complete 150 years in the enacting of the "Passion of Christ".

A word of appreciation must be said here about Lawrence Marcus, the humble carpenter responsible in carving out the statue of Christ Crucified in 1938 using the trunk of the Margosa - Kohomba tree belonging to E.Philip Fernando. That statue he made and used even today chalks 71 years this year.

The carpenter Lawrence was the great grandfather of Jaela Lankadeepa Journalist Patrick Marcus who is very modest in making reference to his grandfather and his work.

Rev. Fr. Santha Sagara Hettiarchchi, the present Parish Priest of the Church and the members of the Dayaka Sabhava deserve our appreciation for all efforts they made to renovate the surroundings to make the event memorable.

Amazing discovery of the century:

Right-hand palm print of Jesus Christ

Gwen Herat

Miracles do still happen, especially when it is an obsession of a determined archaeologist in the guise of Dr. Evan Thoranton who along with his dedicated team travelled from Europe to Israel to discover this only relic so very precious to all Christians around the world.

On Good Friday, it is something to cherish and revere about our Christ the Son of God to whom it belongs. The discovery was made in March, 1977. It apparently lay in a cave very close to the ancient city of Jerusalem. Later, Dr. Thornton declared that his whole life and mission dramatically changed, especially after the translations of the scroll and wall-writting found in the same cave.

It was believed that Jesus Christ left behind his palm print to remind his followers that there is eternal life and also to heal the sick and the dying. The miracle heals all the sick and the weary who seek his comfort even after two thousand years of Him leaving the print.

Said our Lord Jesus Christ: I will go on and see

How the men, my brethren, believe in me. And the Lord Jesus went his way fulfilling his Father's desire, until he sacrificed his life to save all sinners this day.

The original print remains intact on the cave wall after Dr. Thornton removed some black and white prints and no one is allowed to tamper with it. If they do, it will be considered as dangerous because one archaeologist who tried to place his palm over the print resulted him being knocked down by a powerful electric shock and left the archaeologist tingling from head to toe.

Those who flock to see the miracle in faith are healed of cancer, heart disease and a host of other incurable diseases that baffle doctors. A life size handprint of what is found inside the cave is left out on the wall where the sick and needy only have to place their hands on it for them to be healed. Such is the healing power of this holy relic. What is more is that many religious leaders from around the world and not necessarily Christians, have verified and confirmed the miraculous healing.

Over two centuries the holy relic was preciously guraded by generations of followers of Jesus Christ in an effort to keep away treasure hunters.

Whether Dr. Thornton was the chosen one to discover this, no one knows but the fact remains that British, Russian, French scientists and archaeologists together have compiled stunning testimonies of the miracles caused in healing when the life-size print of the image was on display. They are still in the process of doing more research on the subject while Dr. Thornton, for the moment, has along with his team of archaeologists abandoned their research until peace returns to the region.

Is Dr. Thornton expecting to tumple on more miracles of our Lord? Only time can tell. Or is the war on the region an indication to more mysteries being surfaced?

Jesus knew that by now everything had been completed; and in order to make the scriptures come true, he said 'I am thirsty'.

A bowl was there, full of cheap wine; so a sponge was soaked in the wine, put on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted up to his lips. Jesus drank the wine and said: 'It is finished'. Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Then the Jewish authorities asked Pilate to allow them to break the legs of the man who had been crucified and to take the bodies down from the crosses. They requested this because it was Friday. And they did not want the bodies to stay on the crosses on the Sabbath since the coming on the Sabbath was especially holy. So, the soldiers went and broke the legs of the first man and then of the other man who had been crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead. So they did not break his legs.

The Gospel according to John, Chapter - 19, Verses 28 - 33