Yesterday, I treated myself to “Ben-Hur” the 2016
remake of the classic film. It’s a deep
film that got me pondering on subjects like love, forgiveness, turning the
other cheek and letting go. The one that
rattled my brain most was on letting go as associated with the paschal
mystery. Jesus ministry teaches us that
we can’t hold on to things that keep us from Him we must leave them behind, “follow
me and let the dead bury their dead.”
This phrase figuratively states that in the Christian life we must let
go of those things that keep us from God and from becoming the best version of
ourselves… One of the things that fascinate me
about Christian spirituality is that suffering not only redeems, transforms,
but has a remedy. God can heal it. I
came to Christ when my brother committed suicide. What followed was a time of healing, in which I learned that in order to have peace I needed to let go of all the pain, resentment, anger I
had carried all of my life not just the one associated with my brother’s
passing. It wasn’t easy nor was it a
quick fix, but as I opened my heart and trusted in God more I began to heal –
to make peace with years of darkness. As
I traded pain for peace I fell hard for God and my Catholic faith. My life found purpose my suffering
meaning… Yet, I never associated this
process of “letting go” to the paschal mystery. While watching the film there’s a
scene where Jesus is making his way to the cross and he falls to the ground and
tells a perplexed Ben-Hur, “I give my life of my own free will.”
Death in the Christian life comes in many
ways, we die every time we “let
go and let God” (as the cliché goes), when we part with a human weakness that
keeps us from living the truth of Christ - we die and are reborn. As I made peace with the notion of seeking
revenge on those who had hurt me and learned forgiveness the bitterness and
heavy burden I carried disappeared. As I
forgave God for all those erroneous accusations our relationship was
restored. As I made peace with
myself for my own weaknesses and failures I learned self-love and
self-acceptance. As I forgave others,
God and myself I made room for goodness, joy and peace. In order to make room for God, His philosophy,
His love we all need to empty ourselves and make room. He can’t come into areas that are already
occupied, “the paschal mystery is a mystery of how we, after undergoing some
kind of death, receive new life and new spirit.” We must
allow old dreams, hurts, people to die so that we can indeed live in hope, love
and peace. We can't carry things nor
let them occupy space that God’s spirit wants to indwell. In watching “Ben-Hur” I realized how much our
pride can disguise itself as righteousness – but as Pontius Pilate states in
the movie, “What this man, Jesus, teaches… compassion and love that is truly dangerous.” Dangerous in the sense that now we are ruled by God and no one else.
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