Courage

Nelson Mandela once stated famously that, "courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it." No better place can we see that triumph than on the Cross when Christ died.

In the Gospel of Saint Mark, chapter 14, verses 35-39 we are told:

He advanced a little and fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass by him; he said, "Abba, Father, 12 all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will."

When he returned he found them asleep. He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."

Withdrawing again, he prayed, saying the same thing.

Jesus Christ, the Savior of the entire world, of all who had been born and were to be born, was afraid of dying. He was afraid of fulfilling what He had to do, even though He knew that He had to, for His sinless nature would have nothing less of Him. He would not give into temptation, He would act with courage, triumphing over it as He willingly placed Himself in the custody of those who came for Him.

Then comes Mark 15:34:

“At three o’clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”

It seems at this point on the Gospel, that Christ the Lord has surrendered unto despair, but in fact He has not. He is quoting the first verse of Psalm 22, a prediction of His own coming! He was reaching out to the men and women there at the Cross, to show them one final time He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life; He had embraced His fear, He had chosen courage, and He was triumphing over fear.

He did not know until He did it, that He had the strength. He cried out time and time again for deliverance, to be able to go back to the way things were. Yet He knew it could not be, and He knew what His sacrifice would be. One could even say that He knew this as far back as the wedding feat at Cana, where He tells Mary she does not know what she is doing in a sense; the Gospel of Saint John says that Christ would utter the words, "Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come."

It was a momentous moment in time; it was the beginning of His public ministry. He granted His mother's request, although He seemed reticent at the idea...perhaps because He was afraid as He was at the Garden in Gethsemane. He knew that once His public ministry began, His time was coming to a swift end. Yet even at Cana, His courage won out over His fear, prefacing the courage that would triumph throughout His ministry and into His death.

Christ did more than Triumph over our sins on the Cross; although that is most certainly more than anyone else would be able to do. He triumphed over His own fears; of death, of failure, and of not being able to complete His mission.