Reflecting on the life of Jesus and the significance of Holy Week

Today, it is easy to admire Jesus. We even hero-worship Him. We like every single move He took and every action He did, including the toppling the tables in the temple. We adore Him for His radical teachings. We praise Him for His healing, preaching, and evangelizing ministries. We cannot find fault in Him. Not even a negative reaction to His snobbish attitude toward a Syrophoenician woman.

Remember this astounding conversation?

“But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’ Yet He answered and said, ‘It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.’ And she said, ‘Yes, Lord; but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus said to her, ‘O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed at once.”

Toward the end of the conversation, Jesus recognized that the faith of the woman had healed her child. Jesus was not “bida-bida” or fell to the temptation of demanding treatment worthy of a superstar.

If Jesus were alive today and in our midst, would we adore Him? Remember, while He was a humble man and upright, He was not always gentle. He exemplified radical teachings and actions. He subverted the laws—both the legal laws and the cultural laws. He was in the company of women disciples (Luke 8:1–3), He talked to a woman with a questionable reputation, and He was friends with sinners. He was a popular educator—His parables were the stories of common people, and no one could challenge Him whether those stories had intellectual property rights.

If He were with us today, would we offer Him a coffee or open up our house to Him? Provide Him with a sanctuary or a meeting place with his disciples? Remember He was considered a marked man, a dangerous man, an enemy of the Roman Empire, a rebel. He was great. But He was poor and had no place to lay His head (Luke 9:58). Would we be proud friends of Him? Would we have selfies with Him?

Jesus’ lot in life was not easy. He made a choice, and his choice became the defining character of his actions. He loved His friends. He loved them so dearly that He offered His life for them. His friends were those who could not lift their heads to heaven—because they were bent over by the system that oppressed and exploited them. He offered his life for those willing to repent of their exploitative ways, opportunism, and acts not in harmony with God’s commandment to love our neighbor.

His options and His actions caused Him so many troubles. He was harassed and tagged as an enemy of the state (the equivalent of modern-day Red-tagging), the laws were weaponized against Him, and authorities even exploited a woman caught in adultery to test Him. His detractors went as far as shaming a woman to trap Jesus.

He was punished with the death penalty. The Roman Empire was very insecure and felt threatened by what Jesus stood for—that it used state terror to warn people that whoever followed Him would suffer the same fate.

Jesus did not intend to be a hero. All the heroes whom we adore today never expected that one day they would be exalted and adored. They did what they needed to do, committed to the things that matter most. They have their fears and anxieties but carried on what they believed needed to be done. They pressed on toward the goal amid threats, persecution, hunger, and betrayal. Their faith, hope, and love are much more powerful than their fears and doubts.

Jesus was falsely accused, charged, and tried for a crime He never committed. His followers say it’s impossible for Him to have committed such a crime. He died on the cross in excruciating pain for the world to see. But on the third day, He resurrected just as it was prophesied. The rest is history.

Dss. Norma P. Dollaga,

kasimbayan@yahoo.com.ph