Lamentation of Christ
7:00 AM |
| Giotto, Lamentation of Christ, 1305 |
The betrayal of Judas. That is where the final saga begins. He gives Pontius Pilate the location of Jesus in exchange for a number of silver coins. Pilate tries Jesus in his court and finds him innocent,
but the public masses want him dead, shouting “His blood be on us and on our children!” (Mathias
27:25) bringing on the blood curse.
Jesus then begins his infamous march with his wooden death bed. His mother Mary weeps for him as he hefts the cross over his shoulder and up the hill. Jesus permits himself to get nailed to the cross, all the while his disciples cry for him. He then slowly dies, his life force fading away. The image Giotto transcribes to the canvas portrays after his death and Mary cradling his body in her arms.
A day of great sorrow is upon us. The beloved Jesus has lived for us, suffered for us, and died for us. I doubt anyone else could be more of a man than he was. No other person could willingly permit
himself to get nailed to a cross and crucified for another man. Every Christian could do a thousand acts of kindness and never repay what Jesus did for all of them. This speaks strongly to me as a Catholic but also as a non-orthodox Catholic. I choose not to preach all about Jesus, shoving him down other people’s throats. I rather live with Jesus internally, fulfilling his teachings in my everyday life.
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