Action
to Passion
In
my work as a priest I have to companion people who are going through
various kinds of difficulties. One of the most stressful journeys
is with those who are facing serious illness or death. I often meet
a man or a woman who has been very active - a school head or office
manager, an active parent and bread winner. Suddenly, they are faced
with disability, incapacity or terminal illness. They have nothing
to do or they can do nothing. From being active givers they now become
passive receivers. They feel very useless that they are burdens to
themselves and to others. A few can articulate this and come to grips
with it in some way. For most it makes no sense at all.
During
lent we reflect on the passion. We often say that Jesus saved us by
his passion, death and resurrection. We do not even mention his active
life. So passion, being the recipient of things that were done to
him, was how Jesus saved us. Passion, then must be of great value
in the eyes of God.
Being
handed over is an expression that is central to the account of the
last events in Jesus' life. In Gethsemane he was handed over by Judas.
Some translations would say Jesus was betrayed, but the Greek word
is to be handed over. But the extraordinary thing is that this word
is not only used for Judas but also for God. God handed Jesus over
for our sins. God did not save his own son but handed him over. This
word "handed over" is very central to the life of Jesus
- he was handed over to suffer for us.
The
handing over of Jesus divides his life into two parts. The first part
is one of activity, initiative, healing, feeling, thinking, talking.
After being handed over he becomes the one to whom things are being
done. He is being flagellated, being led to the High priest, led to
Pilate, being crowned with thorns, given a cross, being nailed to
it. All is done to him. He is the recipient of other people's initiative
over which he does not have any control at all. Once he is handed
over all the verbs are passive in Mark's Gospel. We do not know any
more how Jesus feels or what he does - all is done to him. He receives
the action of others. This is passion - being the recipient of other
peoples initiative. Jesus does not simply fulfill his vocation in
action but also in passion. He not only does the things his Father
asked him to do but he also lets things be done to him. "It is
fulfilled." It is fulfilled more by his passion than by his action.
During
lent we reflect on the power of the passion, the being passive, of
Jesus. It also leads us to see that there is a power in our own passivity,
that at a certain stage in life we come to glorify God more by accepting
what happens to us that by actually doing things ourselves.
I
believe that our capacity to see and believe this truth, as we become
less active, will depend to a great extent on how we prayed in our
active days. If our prayer was only about our activity we will be
in trouble; but if our prayer was about God's activity we will be
able to let go to it more gracefully as health or age limit us.
