Reading: 1 Peter 3:18-22
Scripture: “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous,” (1 Peter 3:18)
Reflection: Surely you must be familiar with the saying “the good suffering for the bad.” And we know how angry we become when we have done all that we should, obeyed and followed the rules, only to find that because of the bad behaviour of others we are deprived or denied of the benefits of our diligence and good behaviour. ‘It is not fair’, we think, knowing that our lives are made difficult by others who ignored the rules and were not as careful as we were. We are not at fault and we resent that.
Is it not a similar story with Christ? He who did no wrong, suffered and died for our sins, our wrongs, our misbehaviours. A classic case of the Good suffering for the bad. He who was all good suffered and died for the sake of sinful mankind. As an ultimate gift of love to mankind God caused His Son to die in order to save mankind from sin. Christ became the sacrificial lamb. What should this mean to us? How do we manifest our gratitude for the fact that He died for us? And, do our lives reflect that gratitude and thanks? In our current circumstances of sin, corruption and treachery it is all too easy to drift along with the crowd and find ourselves engaged in acts that would not make Him proud, that would not honour His sacrifice. Neither poverty nor privilege is an excuse for sin.
Lent 2021 is another appropriate time for us as individuals to re-examine our lives and determine if we are comfortable with how we recognise and thank Him for this great sacrifice of love for our sake? He took the rap for us. Shall we not reflect our gratitude by denouncing and walking away from sin and sinfulness in all its forms?
Meditation: How often do we find ourselves justifying and rationalizing our sinfulness?
Prayer: God of love and sacrifices, hear we ask, the fervent prayers of Your sinful children. Grant us we pray, the will to turn to You always and to turn away from wrong. Amen.
The St. Jude’s Writers
St. Jude’s Church
Stony Hill
Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and The Cayman Islands
24 February 2021