Hello and welcome to the Lenten series ‘The Cross Speaks’. Today is Friday, 18th of March, 2022 the third Friday of Lent.

Gospel – John 19:23-27 [Please refer to your Bible]

Reflection – Be a blessing
Are you someone who is constantly approached by others in times of need? And does this annoy you? Do you sometimes feel ‘why can’t they ask or approach someone else, why is it always me?’

In a recent message, I heard of a church member who was irritated at constantly being dragged into some or the other activity in church. When he approached the priest about this, the priest ensured that nobody thereafter disturbed the man. While he was glad about this, after a while, he began to feel a kind of vacuum in his life. Despite being busy in many of his personal activities, he felt something important missing. That’s when he went back to the priest who smiled (guess he knew he would be back!). After the conversation, the man realized that being of service in church was his mission. What he felt was a burden or an inconvenience was actually a blessing that added meaning and purpose to his life.

If we look at the life of Mary, we find her going out of her way and reaching out to help others even amidst storms in her own life. She rushed to help her elderly expectant cousin Elizabeth despite being in turmoil herself. Elizabeth did not ask her to come; Mary instinctively sensed her need and proactively set out travelling a distance. Again at the wedding in Cana, the moment she realized there was a crisis, Mary approached her son Jesus requesting him to help out and thereby interceded for someone’s need.

Now we come to the Gospel passage we just read. We know the anguish, torture, humiliation and agony Jesus endured on the cross and amidst all of that He could have ignored everything and everyone else. But He chose to rise above all of that and complete His mission. He sought forgiveness for the ones who hurt Him, He accepted the thief who turned to Him and He spotted His mother and felt her pain. He sensed her need and ensured she was taken care of in his absence. Reaching out to others when we ourselves are in pain is pure love and Jesus’ sense of love and service is impeccable. His life mission was to selflessly serve others; this culminated on the cross with the ultimate sacrifice of His life for humanity.

How do we react when we sense someone in need? Do we stop to think and calculate our own convenience, time constraints, distance, cost factors, etc.? All of this is essential and must be considered, but they should not become barriers in our acts of service. In fact in today’s world of technology, things can happen at a click of a button. It’s a matter of priority and inclination; if we want to do something, there is always a way. And just as Jesus was strengthened by the Holy Spirit on the cross to complete His mission, we can always count on His presence to guide and support us.

So if being selfless and reaching out is often not easy and requires us to go out of our way, why then should we do it? Helping someone else takes our mind off our own struggles, easing someone else’s burden lightens our heart and making someone else smile makes us smile. We find joy, purpose and peace in life. We are blessed with the prayers of the ones we help. When we meet the needs of others, our needs are met by Him. We become the face of Christ in the world bringing glory and honor to our Father in Heaven; and He rewards us for having loved each other just as He loved us.

So let’s not feel annoyed if people remember us only when they need something, instead let’s feel privileged to be like a candle that comes to their mind when they are in the dark. A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle – it only spreads light and destroys darkness.

We all live for ourselves, but living for others – well, that’s a blessing waiting to be experienced!
Have a blessed Lenten journey!

(See Deuteronomy 15:11, 22:4, Proverbs 3:27, 11:25, 19:17, 22:9, Matthew 5:16, 5:42, 10:8, 25:44-45, Luke 3:10-11, 6:38, 12:33, John 15:12, Acts 20:35, Romans 12:13, Galatians 6:2, Ephesians 4:32, 6:8, Philippians 2:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, 1 John 3:17, Hebrews 6:10, 13:16, James 2:14-17)

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Audio Credit: Ms. Kimberly Corneille & Ms. Melissa Dixon