Jesus himself might not have thought that he might have to fall to the ground a second time, not to mention that there would be another fall awaiting him. But he does not curse the whole world, when he is pressed down by the cross, and falls flat on the ground! He would not have liked to fall, but he is as powerless and helpless as any person drained of his energy would feel. But that is the fall that he did not expect, and even as he struggles to rise from the ground, there is very little help given him; there is no helping hand, no sign of sympathy for him, but only jeers and a shower of abuses! The second fall makes his body a little weaker, but his spirit grows strong.
When the Savior had fallen on to the ground, he did not show any sign of stubbornness or arrogance, which said that he was not going to fall with the weight of the world’s sins again! In fact, the reverse may be true; he did not mind falling any number of time to let the world know that he was ready to accept them, with all their abuses and charges. He did not even once say, this is your first and last warning, and I cannot tolerate your abuses any longer. I often wonder what really made this man to accept all these curses and abuses non-challantly? Could he not challenge the people who were accusing him on false charges? The second fall was Jesus’ way of giving the world a second chance to turn to him.
If the road to Calvary had been inaccessible and hard to traverse, how many times the Savior would have been prepared to fall. He had told his disciples to forgive anyone who asked pardon, not seven times, but seventy times seven! My guess is that Jesus might have been prepared to fall seventy times seven, in order prove to the world that he cared for it! But that could be possible only if he had still some energy left in his body! There is too little blood left in his body, and the energy is fast evaporating, and he is struggling to pull himself through! He does not know how to give ultimatum! He does not know how to give the one last chance! He would go another agonizing stretch in order to prove his love for the world.
How many times have I failed to give any chance for people to correct themselves? Many are the victims of my arbitrary judgments, not giving people a second chance to prove they are worthy of my attention. I am aware that many people may benefit from life if they are given a second chance to turn over a new leaf! Human beings are not such hardened criminals that they may not make use of a second chance! It does not demand much from me to give people a second chance; all that I need to be aware of is that they do not take me for a royal ride; that they do not take it for granted that whatever they do, they would be given an unconditional chance again. There is nothing like helping people to turn back and start a new beginning, and Jesus is doing it by demonstrating through his second fall.
Our legal system is unfortunately based on a harsh treatment of men and women for their one time misdeed! It is true that a thief who had been involved in stealing is caught one day, but for quite many, it may be their first misdeed, and they are caught! There is no way of letting them correct themselves and start life anew, but that they have to bear the consequences of what they had done, by way of going through several years of imprisonment as under-trial, and then after the verdict some more years of imprisonment! But then, by the time they come back home to start life with fresh perspective more than half their lives is gone… Ultimately such persons may again end up behind bars out of frustration and apathy by the society.
The second fall of Jesus on the way to Calvary is a reminder to me that I too should be prepared to “fall” so that others can rise; many are the times when I long for a second chance to prove my fidelity, commitment to the Lord and to the world, and strangely enough I do get such precious opportunity, and a second chance! When others are prepared to fall for my sake, is it not proper that I too prepare myself to let others get a second chance to correct themselves. I do not lose much by giving people another chance, all that I may have to do is subdue my ego, and let them make use of the chance with all sincerity and genuineness.
I do feel sad for you, as you fall flat onto the ground; looking at your face it is almost clear to me that you were prepared for the fall, though there is very little energy in you to withstand the weight of the wooden cross. I can scarcely remember how many chances you have given me up to this very day, so that I could be still alive, I could still receive your favor! I understand within days of my gaining consciousness, I had exhausted all the seventy times seven chances… You had given me hundreds of chances, and you do not exhaust your grace period for me to return to you! And yet, with my neighbors I am often too very stingy, and calculative! Today I am resolving to give not only the second but also the next chances to people who wish to turn a new leaf in life! I am prepared to kiss the ground with you, to let them have that precious chance in life!
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