Traditional Christianity is taking a Lenten Break. In the meantime, Ash Wednesday is over, and today we start thinking about the Cross. Well, Jesus himself was not ignorant. He knew what was coming, What he prayed for at this time was the church.
1After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
6“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
In the end, the Church is the instrument that Christ uses in this world. Now we at times act from ignorance, with good faith, but good intentions can lead to bad results. As part of this time of reflection, we need to think about looking pragmatically at what we do individually and corporately. Are we making things better — or instead supporting a business that says it is making things better. Like the UN aid agencies. Or Greenpeace.