Caught off Guard

   Christ, throughout his ministry, is always prepared and ready in many of the situations he is faced with. However, Christ knows and relates to everything we go through, so even Christ was taken by surprise during his life. This happened at the worst possible moment, when he was suffering on the cross. Christ's foreknowledge is seen when he says: "the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me." (John 16: 32) So, it would seem that Christ was unaware of what would happen while he was suffering on the cross. He thought he would always have God with him but its obvious that's not true in the following verse: "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying ... My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"(Mathew 27: 46) In Christ's most desperate time of need he found himself without the company of someone whom he though would always be with him. God knew that as part of the atonement he too needed to withdraw from Christ, however, God was undoubtedly more aware of his son in that moment than in any other. Despite Christ's perfection he went through many of life's perfectly terrible experiences. He truly can relate to each and every one of us no matter what were going through. 

Barabbas

The betrayal of Jesus is filled with heartbreak and for me especially frustration. Although I know that Christ's death was part of the plan it's still frustrating to see how unjust everything was. I want to focus especially on the moment when Christ is judged of Pilate and is brought before the people. Pilate had found no fault in Christ but he knew that many Jewish leaders wanted him dead. So, he sought any way possible to let Christ go. At the time of the Passover the Roman governor would let one prisoner go. Pilate saw this as his chance to let Christ go. In the book of Mathew the situation is made clear: "And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?" (Mathew 27:16 -17) Pilate, in his eyes, presented an obvious choice between a guilty man and an innocent man. One man was Barabbas, whose name means the son of the father, who was guilty of murder, robbery and other horrible crimes. The second man was Jesus Christ, the literal son of the Father, who was completely innocent of any crime. To Pilate's astonishment the crowd chose Barabbas to be released. Instead, of Barabbas suffering for his own crimes Christ suffers in his place. The injustice of the situation caused me frustration each time I read it. Nevertheless, I came to realize that Barabbas is a lot closer to me than I thought, because I am just like Barabbas. Instead of suffering for my own sins, I let Christ suffer for them. My frustration turns to gratitude as I realize that Christ suffered so that I wouldn't have to suffer. 

Dirty Feet

    The last supper with Jesus was an eventful meal. The meal itself was unique as it happened during the Passover, which is a special meal eaten every spring by the Jews. However, one of the most interesting details is that Christ washed his apostles feet. Now, to truly understand what that means it's important to know that in their time they didn't have socks, they didn't even have shoes! Instead they mostly walked around in thin sandals on dusty and dirty roads. Needless to say, their feet would have been the dirtiest part of their body. Moreover, their feet were likely the part of their body that they cleaned the least, because they're hard to reach and nobody pays attention to them. However, more is at play here than merely washing feet. 
   The most important aspect of this act is found with Peter's response which reads: "Peter saith unto him, Thou needest not to wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me."(John 13: 8) Peter likely saw the washing of the feet as demeaning, and as their leader Peter didn't want Christ to stoop down to that level Nonetheless, Christ points out that it must be done, otherwise Peter would not have been clean and would have had no part with himself, Christ. This event relates perfectly to what Christ is able to do with each of us, if we allow him. Christ can spiritually cleanse the dirtiest parts of our soul.. By denying him access to our hardest to reach sins we deny ourselves the ability to be apart of Christ. Although it can be hard and even awkward, repentance is essential and by repenting Christ can truly purify us so that we can be worthy of the Spirit and be worthy of heaven.

Stood Still

   The days leading up to Christs death were likely the busiest days of His life. Also, he knew that his mortal ministry was coming to an end. The pressure and stress of what he had to do before he died likely pressed heavily upon him. Yet, the tenth chapter of Mark tells of his character and charity. A blind man on the side of the road hears of Jesus's coming and yells out to him. Despite the great number of people that surrounded Christ he hears the mans call "Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me."(Mark 10:47,48) Despite, the crowd of people around, despite his busy schedule, and despite everything else Christ needed to do we read: "Jesus stood, still." (Mark 10:49) Then he proceeds to take time out of his day to converse with the man and heals him so that he is no longer blind. Upon realizing the time frame of the miracle and how hard it is for me to stand still when I'm busy, really stood out to me. Christ knew it was his last week during his mortal ministry, but he still took the time to pause and talk with someone who desperately needed his help. Likewise, no matter how busy I may feel, I should always take time to pause and converse and serve those around me and especially to converse with God, who I desperately need. In doing so I have been able to feel more at peace when I'm stressed and more at ease when I'm overwhelmed.

Lost

   Christ shares three consecutive parables with a the theme of being lost. The first parable is of the lost sheep, then the lost piece of silver and lastly the lost son. Christ shares these parables after the Pharisees and scribes criticize Christ for spending time with sinners. So, for the most part Christ is referring to the state of different sinners or just of people who have strayed from believing in God. In each parable he presents a description for a certain group and the best way to help them so that they can continue with a faith in God.
   The first parable of the lost sheep focuses on those that wander. Just like the sheep, many people today don't intend on leaving the fold of God, perhaps they get distracted by a new hobby or job and the next thing they know is that they've strayed from their faith in God. In this case its important to go out and find those that have wandered and to bring them back. Next, the piece of silver is lost because of neglect. On my mission I met a lot of people who stopped going to church simply because they didn't feel like they were included nor apart of the local church. So, just as in the parable we need to seek out those people who feel neglected or that have been misplaced or forgotten. Lastly, the prodigal son, he was lost not because he wandered nor because he was neglected but because he chose to be lost. In this case, the best way to approach someone who willingly rebels against God is to be patient and give them time to come to themsleves. Although every situation is different these parables can be applied to a variety of situations to better help a wide variety of people find or regain faith in God.
   Regardless of the case we can never loose hope. No matter the situation someone is in there is always a chance that they'll come unto Christ. As we look to help those who are lost or who have wandered or those who willingly leave we can have faith that they will eventually come to God. When that day comes my joy and your joy will  be shared with those in heaven, for "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over [a] sinner that repenteth" (Luke 15:10)

A Penny

   Christ often taught with parables throughout his time on the earth. Parable can be difficult to understand but there are three things to keep in mind to make them easier to understand. First, is that they compare the spiritual and the physical side by side so they cant be taken too literal. Second, is that each parable is prompted by a question of some sort. Third, each parable has only one unique interpretation but cab be applied in multiple different ways. One parable that stuck out to me this week is the parable of the laborers.
   The parable of the laborers is simple, an owner of a vineyard goes out and hires several groups of workers but each group is hired at different times throughout the day. The interesting part is when he pays all of the workers of his vineyard. Instead of paying them each different amounts dependent on the amount of time they worked in the vineyard, they all get paid a penny. A penny may seem like a pitiful amount but in Christ's time a penny was equivalent to one full days labor. The laborers respond to this by saying:  "These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day." (Mathew 20: 12) Obviously they were upset that those who had worked less then them got paid the same amount. Now, what prompted Christ to tell this parable is a question Peter asks him: "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" (Mathew 19: 27) So, with that in mind the parable becomes easier to understand. Whether, someone forsakes all for Christ earlier or later in their life they will all be rewarded the same, we will all be rewarded salvation.
   The application for me came when I thought it would have been better if I had waited to forsake all for Christ. The thought was driven by the desire to participate in the activities of the world and then start following Christ since I would still receive the same reward. Like the first laborers in the vineyard I was resentful that in the end I would get the same reward. However, like the laborers I was forgetting that the privilege of working in the vineyard, or following the Gospel, is far greater than being outside of it. The last laborers that were hired did not enjoy the fact that they had to wait the whole day; preoccupied because they didn't know how they were going to buy food for themselves and their families. For me, I have had the privilege of knowing God's plan for most of my life, which has been a great comfort at many times in my life. The comfort and guidance I have received from following the Gospel makes my grateful that I was so fortunate to be someone who began laboring in the vineyard earlier in the day. So, this parable can be applied several ways but the the interpretation is the same, at the end of the day God rewards those who are righteous equally.
   

The 5k

   Christ performed many miracles during his earthly ministry, and each one has a lesson in and of itself. I want to focus on one miracle in particular, the feeding of the five thousand. To begin with, Jesus had just been informed of John the baptist's death, who was Jesus's cousin. After hearing the news he sought to have some alone time to grieve. But as he sees the crowd of about five thousand men, not including women and children, he decides to serve and teach them. As the day nears its end the apostles tell Jesus that he should have them go home so that they can eat, but Jesus instead looks for a way to feed them all. The disciples realize the enormity of the task and respond to Jesus saying: "There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?" (Luke 6: 9) In response Jesus asks for the lads food. The lad, or young man, was the only one who had brought food, and he likely didn't have money to buy more. So, when he his asked to give up his food he could have easily given just a few loaves or a few fishes, but instead he gives all that he had. Not only that but he had no idea what was about to happen, he gave all he had with no expectations of getting anything in return. Then, Christ takes all that the boy had to offer and turns the five loafs and two fishes into enough food to feed more than five thousand people. Then afterwards "they gathered [the food] together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten." (Luke 6: 13) Although the lad did not expect anything in return he likely got to take home even more than what he had given.
   Often times God will ask the same of us, he will ask that we give up something, which could be a habit, a relationship, anything. But, He wants us to give it all up, not just a little, which is not an easy task, it takes great faith and sacrifice. I think the most important thing is that we need to be ready to give up anything at any moment. By doing this we don't become more attached to earthly cares and possession than to God. Just as with the lad we shouldn't expect anything in return. We need to have faith that things will work out but our main motivation shouldn't be the blessings or the reward we'll receive for being obedient. Being obedient is a reward itself and God will make sure everything works out. Even though it might not be evident at first, with time and patience comes understanding and clarity.