Title: Path of Passion
Contents
Seasonally, it is the last week of March and spring. According to the church year, Lent is a season of meditation in the Passion waiting for the resurrection of the Lord. As such, we who follow the Lord's sufferings in faith need a deep understanding of the meaning of the Passion and the attitude to participate.
The words of the Bible today are accounts of Greeks visiting the Lord while visiting Jerusalem during the Passover, a Jewish holiday. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, 2.7 million pilgrims gathered for the Passover at that time. They were the diaspora Jews scattered all over Palestine and abroad, and foreigners who had converted to Judaism. Biblical scholars estimate that these Greeks were more likely converted Gentiles than Diaspora Jews. These were the Greeks who boasted of cultural and academic superiority within the realm of the Roman Empire.
Greek philosophical ideas at that time were truly diverse. Plato, Cynicism, Skepticism, Stoics, Pythagorean, Epicurus, and other philosophical ideas abounded. In addition to the gods of Olympus, there were also religions of Dionysus or Bacchus, and Orpheus, and the inhabitants worshiped the gods Hermes and Pan. Various mixed wheat religions prevailed.
This is a time of rapid change, and the Greeks must have felt desperately that the traditional religion of the past did not have the power to lead a new history and world. So maybe they were hungry for new inspiration and the word of the oracle. So they must have been looking for the newly emerging charismatic leader Jesus in search of Palestine, the most eastern frontier at the time. So, instead of approaching Jesus directly, he met Jesus through the Greek names Philip and Andrew.
They must have expected from Jesus something great and new, completely different from the philosophical and religious teachings and truths they had ever heard, understood, and encountered. In this context, the teachings that Jesus proclaimed to these Greeks are very important. It is not an additional religious declaration to all the philosophical teachings or religious truths of the time, but a proclamation of the truth for eternal life that transcends all philosophies and religions.
The core of the word of truth delivered to these Greeks was 'the path of suffering'. All human beings seek eternal life. I long for a true life. But paradoxically, the Lord instructs us that the way of life must be through the way of suffering. All religions have lessons on the source of life and truth, and have a meaning system for suffering. But the Lord's teachings speak of a great paradox. is to die to live. The faith of true life, that is, to obtain eternal life and the life of God, we must believe in the mystery and power of the cross, believing in death and life.
As such, the Lord has declared the active meaning of suffering in which a grain of wheat dies as the core spirituality of the Christian faith. The content structure of this spirituality is, of course, love. And the Lord told these Greeks to follow me. He asked us to participate in the Passion, not just to follow, but to take up our cross and follow. The cross is a service imposed on all who seek the realization of a higher ideal and a more desirable social and personal life.
The path of following the Lord is a pilgrimage path that can only be joined by recognizing and realizing the value of suffering. In general, humans learn, gain, and experience a lot through suffering. First, self-discipline, growth of insight, and learning and understanding of the diversity of life and the world. Therefore, reason and imagination free from one's own prejudice and selfishness are enriched, and there is breadth and depth in thinking and attitude. Through the process of suffering, human beings acquire wisdom and economy. In this way, even in our daily life, suffering is a great teacher. For believers who go on a pilgrimage of truth, faith without the cross is unthinkable.
What should be noted here is that the Lord is telling me to follow me. The way we follow the Lord is a way with a clear pattern with model answers. Jesus didn't just teach the way of truth, he himself set the example. There is no truth, but the Lord is the truth. Because he lived according to his teachings. Following this person is not about following the method, it means trusting in the person of the Lord and following as much as you believe in His person. Therefore, the Christian faith cannot be followed without personal faith in the Lord. The path of following the Lord, following the path of the Lord is a path of suffering and absolute adventure at the same time. It is an impossible path without personal trust in this person.
We wonder how far we can follow Him. I get anxious. will hesitate. But he sets the example, the hopeful ground and guarantee of our pilgrimage. So this path is a path of suffering and an example of hope.
The way proclaimed by the Lord is the way of the cross. This path is the path of suffering, the path of life, the path of fruitfulness 30, 60, and 100 fold, and the path of hope. But the path to the source of this life is definitely the path of suffering. On the way to Golgotha is Via Dorolosa.
In this Lenten season, let's look at the cross of the Lord while meditating deeply on His Passion. Let's examine what existential and spiritual relationship the cross has with me. When I meditate and meditate on the cross of the Lord, do I have a spiritual impression and meaning?
The Lord is speaking to us. He tells me to take up my cross and follow me. When we participate in this Passion, we can experience the great mystery and truth of God. He spoke this truth to the Greeks who were seeking new knowledge. This is the truth of Christianity.