The Invitation

Artwork by Mary Grace Thul, OP

Holy week is the week of the lamb. We see it in the Gospels over and over again, for they love to image Jesus as the Lamb, the one who would redeem.

Richard Rohr says somewhere, secretly we would rather have our God imaged as a dragon or a lion or as some royal and magnificent creature. There is nothing magnificent about a lamb. They are dumb animals whose lives seem to revolve around eating, getting sheared and getting slaughtered. So why the lamb?

The lamb is a creature that cannot be driven. It only follows. Jesus would have us follow him willingly, not be forced. He doesn't demand, he invites, and those who would use fear tactics to control us totally miss the boat. We follow Jesus because we believe and love, not because there is nowhere else we can go.

To follow Jesus is to know the voice of someone worthy of trust. He is not the lion who will stand over us and frighten us into subjection. He is the one who goes ahead, leading the way. As we enter into the holiest of holy days, let us keep that in mind. Let us see the leader who is not out for himself, but for us. Let us see the gentleness and kindness of the Pascal Lamb. Because he will not lead us anywhere that he isn't willing to go first.