Image courtesy almostheresy.com
I, Barabbas…
My name is not Barabbas, yet every time I look at the mirror, I only see the face of that man. The amazing thing is that I can also hear the cheers of the crowds who appear to adore and admire me. They see me as one of them. They seem to like me when I cheat them, when I lie to them and when I secretly hurt them. On the other hand, when I try to clean my face, and wipe out the features of Barabbas to replace them with some semblance to the features of the one who was crucified instead of him, the same crowds seem to turn against me. If I try to expose the cheats, hold my ground in the face of injustice or defend the truth, they throw darts at me and pierce me with all kinds of painful, hateful nails. It is much easier and even profitable in this world to be a Barabbas. Many people prefer to live that way…only they do not call themselves Barabbas anymore…they give themselves other more appealing names, like progressive, liberated, free thinkers or even new age.
As for me, like many others I am tormented…should I enjoy the extravagance of a Barabbas life or the agony of a glorified cross? Is there a middle ground between these two choices?
- They tied His Hands…
This statement by the Evangelist is very peculiar. If you examine the exact meaning literally, you find that it says, “Human beings have tied the hands of God who created them.” This is very problematic at many levels…
The first question to come to mind, is it possible for the human beings to, really tie the hands of God?
The answer is Yes…and No.
It is rather bewildering, because indeed we can tie the hands of God since He always wants – and can – afford us a very good and holy life. However, our selfish desires stand in the way. God’s hands are tied by our own free will. Remember what He said to Jerusalem, “…how many times I wanted…but you did not want…” God will never force himself on you. On the other hand, No, we cannot tie the hands of the Lord, because there is nothing impossible to him. So, eventually His will, must find the proper channel to be accomplished no matter what obstacles we put in his way. Therefore, even if human beings take Him all the way to Golgotha, He will triumphantly rise in glory beyond human comprehension.
The next question follows, could not they see the fallacy of what they were doing? This epitomizes the power of hate, which blurs and even blinds people’s vision and insight. Hate stifles the ability of the brain to understand and chokes all sensibility and civility people may have. Hate is a pernicious disease that can only be treated by radical excision and more often than not lead to certain perdition. That is why the only antidote for this serious malady is to bring a child up in the safety of an environment satiated in Love. Trying to teach an adult growing with hate, the principles of Love, is arduous at best and usually futile. Yes, hate is a kind of terminal insanity, which is undetectable by conventional diagnostic methods. It is the only negative energy that can challenge the nobility of Love. Nevertheless, true sacred love will triumph over it every time. That is why the Almighty God of the Universe allowed himself to be tied and led out all the way to Golgotha. Thus, the standard was set and the battle lines were drawn. When the war tide of hate carried love all the way to the grave, He trampled on death, hate and evil as he had risen in victory.
- It is Time to Rise…
It is the sixth hour of Good Friday…
Atheists’ numbers are increasing and getting more powerful every day…
They are using the law – afforded by Christian clemency – to sue the churches and the believers to remove any and all symbols of faith which had been established for many years in different communities…
Evolutionists are fighting mad to indoctrinate the population through the media and the school system, to undermine any remaining shreds of faith in God. They simply replace it with their new religion called “science” where the new god they worship is Nature, and their commandments are the laws of physics… all of which, by the way, to the Christian believer bears witness to the true creator of the Universe…
Islamists have always been ferocious and barbaric in their brutality against everything Christian for the past thirteen centuries of their existence. However, they lately acquired a satanic resurgence. They are circling the globe with a monumental eruption of hate and venomous evil violence…
Then comes the ninth hour of Good Friday
In the face of all these challenges, what do the Christians do…?
They fight each other over petty and selfish disputes…
They open the doors to the adversaries to devour their own flocks … deceived by slogans of “diversity”, “non aggression”, “open mindedness” and best of all “Freedom”… Oh and don’t forget the devastating slogan of the new age…Tolerance…
Yes, unfortunately, even when they are not fighting each other, many Christians are busy trying to make a living on this earth, forgetting that their true home is not in this world.
Other Christians, good as they are, see the turmoil around the world as it spirals down fast into a path of self-destruction, and they throw their arms in the air in utter despair, lose their hope, and become scattered like sheep without a shepherd…
Now it is dawn Sunday Morning…
It is time to rise…
It is time to witness the power of the resurrection…
Yet, you cannot witness the resurrection, unless you wake up early and go to visit the empty tomb…
If you do, you shall see the powers of this world shaken, fallen and frightened at the appearance of the powers of heaven…
You shall hear the compelling command…go and tell…
You shall obtain a new vigor and strength to conquer any challenge and smile confidently in the face of death itself.
Yes…it is time to rise and escape the devastating avalanche of evil by flying high on the wings of faith…
It is time to stand up and speak out… fear is a cruel form of death… yet for us death had been vanquished already.
It is time to look at this home, and this car and this food and…and this world, as the toys of a child. When he outgrows them, he shall get a bigger, better house. He shall be able to fly through the universe in his new glorified body never to be bound to this earth again. His food will be an eternal happy chant as time will be no more.
It is time to rise…
When you close your eyes and visualize the scene at the empty tomb… what thoughts come to your mind? Do you focus your attention on the guards? Does the immensity of the stone overwhelm you? Does the appearance of the Archangel frighten you?
May be you shall ignore all these things and look at the shroud and the scarf… it should make you feel like an ethereal being floating in an ocean of ultimate unspeakable joy confident to hear a beloved voice say, “why are you weeping? It is time to rise.”
It is time for an Ethereal Transcendence…