Chris Campbell

You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

Beloved in the body of Christ,

Today's Gospel is one which is painful to read, not only because it involves the crucifixion of our Lord, but because of how graphically Mark describes the scornful mocking of our Lord as he suffered a painful death.

"‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.’"

How heartless must people be to allow themselves to say such cold remarks to a man who spent his life dedicated to helping others?

As heartless as the rest of us.

We cannot judge any other human without first remembering our own guilt. As James states:

"Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you.… Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you…"

We live in a very rich time, and opulence seems now, less a thing some people are awarded occasionally, as it is the expected standard. And we proudly wave this standard high!

"...you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin."

It is an odd thought, that by our station in birth, granted by time, we might live in more sin than ever before. I often find myself struggling with this fact.

I look at some people around me and I hardly consider myself rich. I work and struggle, paycheck to paycheck, to pay my bills, and my debts are worth far more than my assets, by all modern accounts I'm far from rich.

But here I am, in a reclined chair, after a full meal, typing on a new computer…

The modern world has brought about such great prosperity. So much that even those who have a life which the ancients could only dream of are considered to be 'struggling'.

This seems like a beautiful thing, but should we not fear what it is doing to our souls?

"What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

This thought causes some to want to live life to the fullest, to consume as much as they can, and to build a legacy for themselves. But how often do we ask how this will affect our souls?

"You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts on a day of slaughter."

We should honestly account for our riches, not through our modern lens, but through what we now truly have today.

"Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.’... Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.’"

We know what the Lord wishes us to do, it is written in the life of Christ. He who spent his life dedicated to helping others only to suffer and die all while being mocked.

We should not concern ourselves with riches, or pride, or legacy, or suffering, or even death. We need only concern ourselves with living as Christ did, helping others, even if we cannot help ourselves.

"He saved others; he cannot save himself."

May you live in Truth, Peace, and Love,
—Chris Campbell