Of all the apostles only Judas is not a Saint. "Of course not" might be your reply, but ultimately, his sin in my opinion was less his betrayal of Christ, than his opportunity to return to Christ and seek forgiveness. His sin, like ours, was not yielding to Christ, to being with him, but intentionally removing himself from Christ's circle
On the day in which Christians celebrate Christ's resurrection, I wonder how many of us reach back for Him who reaches out to us? How many of us who lead lives find ourselves slipping away from Christ into our own needs?
Ultimately our needs might be the very ones that lead us to sin making us betray Christ as Judas did. But do we seek the forgiveness of Christ through the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Do we reach out for Christ as he reached out across the cross to us?
St. Peter who Christ founded his Holy Church, denied Christ three times before sunrise as Jesus said he would. James, referred to as his brother, did not share in Christ's pain on the cross that day. Even Thomas, after the resurrection, did not believe. He doubted Christ's prediction of rising from the grave, but in all these cases, they found comfort by drawing close to other believers. They did not wander on their own into some "self help" book that would get them over their feelings. Instead, they stayed with the company of faithful, mourned their Earthly loss of Christ, and found a way back to their faith through Christ.
This is the lesson we should all hold onto for Easter and for everyday.
No comments:
Post a Comment