Pray for those who hurt you
Let it be said that this is not the kind of stuff that trends in the common man’s mind. It may be difficult to get it into one’s way of life. But it is an action which we are encouraged to carry out. Apart from the fact that the Lord teaches us to do so, by word and by example, it is the kind of action which can truly make us get lifted on the wings of self-denial. As the Lord taught his disciples to pray for their enemies and do good to those who hurt them, so does he demand it from us. He did pray for them from the cross as well, asking the Father to forgive them for they knew not what they did. By that example he taught us that it is possible to do so. In one of his books considered a Christian Classic, with the title, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “Jesus does not promise that when we bless our enemies and do good to them, they will not use and persecute us. They certainly will. But not even that can hurt or overcome us, as long as we pray for them. For if we pray for them, we are taking their distress and poverty, their guilt and perdition, upon ourselves, and pleading to God for them. We are doing vicariously what they cannot do for themselves. Every insult that they mutter only binds us more to God and them. Their persecution of us only serves to bring them nearer to reconciliation with God and further the triumphs of love.”
Share with the needy
Here is a point for action one would expect to be very easy, as it ought not be limited to the season of Lent. However, it must not be taken for granted. Sharing with those in need demands that we sacrifice what we give them, because it could have served our own purposes too. Yet if we wait until we have enough, out of which to share, then we shall never have enough to share. Giving to others is one of the seemingly easy actions of faith. However, no matter how difficult it might be, there is no one who has so little that he cannot share, while there is no one who has enough he needs nothing from the other. Nevertheless, for the purposes of the period in which we are, we must try to share with the needy. In case the question arises, that where would you find them? The response of Jesus at the Last Supper suffices. He said, “the poor will always be with you.” Those words are true. charity extends the power of prayer to others. Meanwhile, not everything is money or food. You may share some joyful smiles with the needy. Do not be surprised at the kind of people, you may find as needy. Just offer them what you have got and pray with them. You would have put a smile on their faces. That is what it means to live the faith in action. If you have fallen, rise again One of the most beautiful experiences of the period of Lent, is the journey we make with Jesus as he took on his passion and travelled to Calvary, under the pain of the cross.
Thankfully, no reasonable Christian denomination contests the fact that Jesus moved from the court of Pilate to where he was crucified. It is however more sublime for us that this experience of Jesus has been put into the prayer of the Stations of the Cross, in which we reflect on a set of steps, which led to the crucifixion. We not only read about it. We not only believe it. We relive it practically. This brings us very close to how it happened to the Lord himself. Three of the fourteen stations of the cross, recall how Jesus fell under the weight of the heavy cross. But each time this happened, he rose up again and continued till he got to Calvary, was crucified, and died. The example he laid in this is very clear. We may be under the heavy influence of the flesh and its troubles. But we must rise up again and again, ask for strength and carry on. The season of Lent teaches us how to do that very well. It gives a sure hope that we are never abandoned by the Father. He only calls us to rise again and walk on with him. We do that effectively by regretting the fall, going to confession, with a firm resolve never to offend the Lord again. Remember, every step we take with him forward, gets us closer to the prize.
Rev. Fr. Martin Oladiipo Badejo is a priest of Oyo Diocese. He is presently the Parish Priest of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Iseyin, and the Dean of Iseyin Deanery
