Lent: Day 37

When they led him away, they grabbed a bystander, Simon of Cyrene, and laid on him the cross, to carry it for Jesus. A great crowd followed, including women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to tell the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and tell the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will be done when it is dried up?”

He went out, bearing his cross, to the place called “The Place of a Skull”, which is called in Hebrew, “Golgotha”, where they crucified him, and two others, with Jesus in the middle.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

Pilate wrote a sign, and put it on the cross, saying, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘he said, I am King of the Jews.’”

Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the cloak. Now the cloak was without seam, woven from the top throughout. Then they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to decide whose it will be.” This fulfilled the Scripture which says,

“They parted my garments among them.
    For my cloak they cast lots.”

The soldiers did these things, while his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalen were standing by the cross. When Jesus saw his mother, and John, the disciple whom he loved, standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then he said to John, “Behold your mother!” From that hour, the disciple took her to his own home.

Reflection

 

The enormity of the crucifixion is only matched by the significance of Jesus saying, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” The way in which Jesus puts into practice his command to love your enemies is breathtaking. Could you ever imagine doing something like this? What other examples of such love and forgiveness have you encountered? 

Prayer: In dealing with those who have abused me, Lord, give me the grace I need to forgive them and so avoid an abyss of hatred and vengeance.