Delivered into the hands of the people.

When we hear Christ’s prediction that he will be delivered into the hands of men, we think: into the hands of those wicked Jews, the elders, chief priests, and scribes, of course. But when will we finally realize that Jesus was delivered into the hands of all men, into our hands, into the hands of those here, and into each one of us? The chief priests and scribes, Caiaphas, Pilate, and the others – were, of course, the culprits in the Lord’s immediate suffering and death. But that suffering and death were the fault of each of us and necessary to each of us as the only way of atoning to God’s justice for our guilt. Christ’s suffering – that immense act of our injustice, was planned, intended, foreseen – with us in mind from all eternity.

Through every human sin, Christ the Lord is delivered into our hands – to atone for that sin of ours on the cross; it is we who sacrifice Him in satisfaction for our unfaithfulness; it is we who first of all caused His suffering, and then only the scribes. As St. Peter said in his first sermon, we nailed Jesus of Nazareth to the cross and murdered him by the hands of those wicked men (Acts 2:22-23). When we pass by the cross, do we realize that our business, Christ, is delivered into our hands?

Christ is delivered into our hands not only as an atoning sacrifice. He is returned to us through his saving word, with which we can do as we please: accept it or reject it. Christ is given into human hands in the sacrament of the Eucharist, where he becomes the foundation of our building up the kingdom of God, the foretaste of our life in the kingdom of heaven.

And yet, on this occasion, let us remember that each one of us, whether we want to or not, is also delivered into the hands of the people whom we serve by our work and willingness and also – like Christ – by the suffering we offer for the needs of the world.