Lenten Retreat - Day 1

Theme: The Lord's Love and Faithfulness

April 11, 2022

Contributed by Coach Carol Bajar

aCROSS Time and Again

What is the difference between a cross and a crucifix?

A cross was an instrument of punishment and torture meant to kill a criminal. A crucifix was a cross with a person crucified on it. Death by the cross was a punishment reserved for particular kinds of criminals used from the 6^th century BCE until Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, abolished it in the early 4th century CE out of veneration for Jesus Christ.

What was once a gruesome instrument of torture and death, now became an instrument of salvation because of who was crucified on it. The cross took on a different meaning only after Jesus was crucified and resurrected from the dead.

Throughout history, from the time original sin entered our world, time and time again we have fallen so many times from grace but God always provided us with a means to go back to Him not because we deserve it but because of His Great Love for us.

In the desert, when plagued by the bites of deadly snakes, God commanded Moses to make a bronze snake and mount it on a pole. When the grumbling Israelites looked up to it, they were healed and saved from the punishment they deserved. (see Numbers 21:8-9)

“As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man be lifted up so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” John 3:14-15

God never gave up on the Israelites nor on us. In fact, He even came down from heaven in flesh and blood to be one with His creation, to experience what we experience and to personally show us the way through His life, death and resurrection.

Through Jesus Christ we have been given that gift of eternal life. Like the cross which used to be a symbol of punishment and now a symbol of salvation, death no longer meant a state of oblivion or nothingness. Our life doesn’t end in death. Jesus Christ made it possible to share in His sonship and in life after death. That is our hope.

Now, when we look at the cross, we are reminded that we have a risen Savior. The crucifix helps us to remember that Jesus Christ was crucified because there can be no resurrection without the crucifixion. There can be no Easter Sunday without Good Friday.

“For this is how God so loved the world: He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life. For God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but so that through Him the world might be saved.” John 3:16-17

All of us go through Good Fridays in our lives. Times when our hopes and dreams are shattered. Times when we go through so much pain and confusion.

During the 1^st year of the pandemic when 3 of my 4 sons contracted symptoms of CoVid, my husband and I were devastated. It was the height of CoVid. We were so worried especially with all the news of the number of people who were hospitalized and the rising number of deaths. After a series of tests, we found out they had dengue and negative for CoVid. To some extent, we were relieved. It was an answered prayer. But nevertheless still a serious matter. We had to monitor them closely in the confines of our home, fearing they might contract CoVid if we bring them to the hospital. We did what we could and what kept me afloat during those times was my faith in God’s love for me and my sons. He will see us through it. We prayed so hard. We asked for prayers from our community and we held on to His promise. In God’s love and faithfulness, God sent us people, our angels, along the way. We had a community who prayed for us, family & friends who sent us food to sustain us, people who reached out to comfort us and offered help. Looking back I vaguely recall the confusion and pain that we went through but more so how God sustained us through unexpected blessings and graces.

We have a God who knows what we are going through. In fact, He had the most wounded of all hearts. He was rejected by His own people, betrayed by those closest to Him, experienced the loss of a loved one, was misunderstood and mocked many times, went through temptation, felt loneliness and anger. And despite being beaten and bruised many times in his life on earth not just physically but also emotionally, He still chose to go through Good Friday, knowing full well He will suffer. But His love for us and God’s greater purpose was topmost. He chose to die for our sins because the reward thereafter was so much more than the pain. That was His love for us. He died for our sins so that we could go to heaven to be with Him, and we can share in His sonship.

In 1 John 1:3, John writes ”You must see what great love the Father has lavished on us by letting us be called God’s children – which is what we are!”

Whatever struggle you might be going through right now, remember these 3 things:

1) Pray. Share everything to Him, your thoughts, your feelings. Seek His counsel, He knows and feels your pain. We don’t need to hide our doubt, our loneliness, our hurt or even our anger. Don’t deny nor hide your feelings. Bring it to light. Bring it to Him.

2) Remember His promises. There is no better way to know His heart and His promises than to read His word, mediate on it. He speaks to us through it and when the time comes His word will come to you and guide you.

When I am right smack in the middle of a crisis and when I don’t seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I remember Romans 8:28 “God makes all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”

Or when I feel troubled and I try to take control, with some obsession I might add, the verse Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.” comes to mind. And by God’s grace I am able to surrender and take comfort that He is in control. Not I but Him.

3) Look up to the cross and focus on Jesus Christ. We are not alone in our pain. When we look up from the isolation and chains of the pain we are in, we notice others around us, life around us. When we focus on Jesus Christ, we begin to see how He is working in our lives, that He has not left us but is right there with us in our pain. When we look up we notice that we are not alone; there are others who are also in pain. I find that when I minister to others even when I am hurting, my focus shifts from me and somehow it doesn’t seem to be as big as I thought it was. I become more objective and I see things with more clarity.

Let us therefore hold on to the truth that our stories never end in the cross nor in the tomb. Because as Christians, we believe that Easter Sunday ALWAYS comes. We believe that on the other side of the cross is an Easter story waiting to unfold.

To quote Psalms 62:5-8

Rest in God alone, my soul! He is the source of my hope. He alone is my rock, my safety, my stronghold, so that I stand unwavering. In God is my safety and my glory, the rock of my strength.

In God is my refuge, trust in him, you people, at all times, pour out your hearts to him, God is a refuge for us.

So remain steadfast, look towards the cross and remember we are God’s children. His love and faithfulness endure forever, aCROSS time and again. My prayer for you…"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13.