A WEEK TO EASE YOUR BURDENS

I have a few questions to ask you:

Have you ever been left completely alone by relatives or friends that have "sworn" not to abandon you and to protect you no matter what?
Have you ever been falsely accused? Even more, have you ever been taken to court even though you knew it was a false accusation?
Have your friends refused to help you because they are afraid of what people "might say"?
Have you ever been betrayed by your best friend?
Have you ever been praised by people one moment and then destroyed by their comments and actions the next?
Have you ever been abused, beaten or punished unfairly?
Have people made fun of you because of a physical defect?
Did you ever need respite from your pain and there was nobody around to give it to you?

The passion and death of Jesus Christ is described throughout the four gospels. For many people Holy Week is just another week, for others it is the arrival of the long-awaited spring break.

I have this to say to them: What a waste of time!! Did you identify yourself with any of the questions above? Guess what? Jesus went through those moments during the two days prior to his death.

Jesus was betrayed for a lousy ransom, abandoned by his disciples, falsely accused out of envy and killed in the most shameful way of the time while people made fun of him.

The strangest thing is that he went through all this for you and for me! Why? What does He have to do with us? Simply this: He LOVES us. The word love is capitalized because nobody loves you like He does. And what do we modern day "christians" do to repay this love? We abandon him the same way his disciples did!!!

If somebody saves your life in an accident or donates an organ to save you, would you say to him, "Thank you, see you around"? If somebody pays all your debts, would you tell him to get lost?

During this week we have the opportunity to take a very close look at a LOVE sacrifice that only He could do. Sacrifice that not even the greatest human being could do because it needs the strength and glory of God to perform it.

At some point in life, and in some degree, we have felt the following:

Loneliness
Abandonment
Sadness
A true love we can call our own.

If you read the passages from the entrance to Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) up to the resurrection (Easter Sunday) you will realize how Jesus lived through these situations. I recommend reading chapters 11 thru 16 of the Gospel according to Mark (Hey, it's not that difficult. You can read a chapter every day!).

The wonderful thing is that Jesus carried, along with the cross, all the weight of the

Loneliness

Fear

Hopelessness

Abandonment

The lack of the will to live

The Sin

We were spared of being "crucified" for it.

I invite you to attend all the services throughout the Holy Week. Allow Jesus to wash away your sins on Thursday, crucify your life with everything in it on Friday and celebrate on Saturday night and on Sunday the joy of being "resurrected" into a new life. I will not say that bad things will disappear, but if you let Jesus do His work on you through His word, you will have a new way to see and face life.

Jesus has the power to heal you.

It is your choice to drop the bag you carry at the foot of the cross and let His precious blood wash your body, mind, heart and spirit.

As you can see, you have two alternatives:

Either go and "enjoy" your vacation and come back the same as you left. Or...
come to Jesus and look Him straight in the eyes and ask Him to free you so you can have something to really celebrate on Easter Sunday.

Remember, this is only the beginning and you must come regularly to the Life Fountain so He can keep transforming your life.

God Bless You!