Surrender is a difficult word for us (December 11th)

   Surrender is a difficult word for us. We surrender when we feel life is simply too burdensome. I wonder sometimes how close Jesus was to surrendering. Yet he never gives in as we so often do. "This is my body, given up for you. This is my blood, poured out for you." teach us what is happening in the heart of Jesus who gave himself totally and confidently to his heavenly Father. The Christian Scriptures describe "Jesus emptying himself, taking the form of a slave (Philippians 2,7)." We hear he surrenders himself on the cross for our sins. And for us who believe in him, he surrenders himself each time we hear the words, "bread and wine" offered in his place. I think all of us face challenges in which we surrender something of ourselves, sometimes good, sometimes bad! How are we to react to "surrender?" We do so by hope. Hope, according to St. Augustine has two daughters, anger and courage: anger at the way things are ... courage to see that they do not remain the way they are. Does surrender require that we give up?
   I believe that the good version of anger, so to speak, should motivate us to stand up for what is right in the world. So many injustices exist: the maltreatment of women, children, immigrants, the poor and the elderly! Can we muster the courage of our convictions to change things? In the life of Jesus and Moses, we read about those who were jealous of their authority. Both were compassionate leaders, ready to forgive and to intercede for those who opposed them. Both were criticized by their contemporaries: Moses by his very own people and Jesus with his disciples who were condemned for not observing every minute point of the Law. Jesus' advice: surrender all to God. His surrender was not to withdraw but to challenge. He did so by the very Eucharist Christians believe in. Solzhenitsyn once said that "the line separating good and evil runs not through states, nor between classes, nor even between political parties, but right through the center of each human heart and every human heart."
   I trust when Christians attend their weekly services - that at the very Eucharist they worship; they may remember the conviction and courage of their savior. The word "surrender" has greater impact on them and all of us.    (Dec.11th, +Happy Anniversary, "9" Deacons & wives, mes amis.)rym+