Palm/Passion Sunday, the Sixth Sunday of Lent, April 13, 2014

"When Judas, who betrayed Jesus, saw that Jesus was condemned to die, he felt deep regret."

            Matthew 27:3 (Common English Bible)

"Live your life with no regrets!"

This is bad advice.

There are always going to be some things that we should have done differently.  We all make mistakes and the mark of maturation is when we learn from them.

Judas by Nikolai Ge

If we repeat the same bad behavior again and again, we become stuck. Others around us usually end up paying for it as well.

I think the intention of the original advice is that we do not become paralyzed by our poor choices.  There are times when we must move forward.  We take responsibility for the past but we don't let that define us for the future.

As we enter into Holy Week, we hear the story of the Passion of Jesus Christ (not to be confused with the movie).  We move from the excitement of the palms to the anguish of the arrest and crucifixion.

Some people skip this part and move straight to the resurrection.

I would invite you to linger at the cross.  Just as we learn from our mistakes, we also have much to gain from identifying with those who are suffering.

As we begin to really "see" the other, we may find that resurrection is all that more wonderful on Easter.

And then you won't regret missing out on the whole story!



Picture by Nikolai Ge [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons