Dear Friends, I am two days early with what I had promised during my last post. It makes more sense to state this today, Tuesday of Holy Week, rather than wait till Thursday. It is an excerpt of notes from the retreat diary of a popular writer named Fr. Henri Nouwen. I have found it to be most meaningful when reflecting on the deeper meaning of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Nouwen writes this: "Jesus, sitting at table with His disciples, said, "One of you will betray me." (John 13:21) As I look more closely at Jesus' words as they are written in Greek, a better translation would be, "One of you will hand me over." The Greek word "paradidomi" means "to give over, to hand over, to give into the hands of." It is an important term not only to express what Judas did but also what God did. Paul writes, " . . . He did not spare His own Son, but 'handed Him over' for the sake of all of us" (Romans 8: 32). This moment when Jesus is handed over to those who do with Him as they please is a turning point in Jesus' ministry. It is turning from action to passion. After year of teaching, preaching, healing, and moving to wherever He wanted to go, Jesus is handed over to the caprices of His enemies. Things are now no longer done by Him but to Him. He is flagellated, crowned with thorns, spat at, laughed at, stripped, and nailed to a cross. He is a passive victim, subject to other people's actions. From the moment Jesus is handed over, His passion begins, and through this passion He fulfills His vocation. It is important for me to realize that Jesus fulfills His mission not by what He does, but by what is done to Him. Just as with everyone else, most of my life is determined by what is done to me and thus is passion. And because most of my life is passion, things being done to me, only small parts of my life are determined by what I think, say, or do. I am inclined to protest against this and to want all to be action, originated by me. But the truth is that my passion is a much greater part of my life than my action. Not to recognize this is self-deception and not to embrace my passion with love is self-rejection. It is good news to know that Jesus is handed over to passion, and through His passion accomplishes His divine task on earth. It is good news for a world passionately searching for wholeness. Jesus' words to Peter remind me that Jesus' transition from action to passion must also be ours if we want to follow His way. He says, "When you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands and somebody else will put a belt around you and take you where you would rather not go." (John 21:18) I, too, have to let myself be "handed over" and thus fulfill my vocation." I have always been very impressed with this reflection of Nouwen, especially the conclusion of it. It carries with it the challenge of surrendering each moment of my life to God, especially the circumstances of aging, failing health, unpleasant things that happen to me, losses, etc. As upsetting or frightening as these events can be, so often the biggest blessings of life come not in spite of but precisely in and through these events. As Jesus' final hours were so personally disastrous for Him in many ways but issued forth in His greatest gifts to us, I hope I have the longer view, God's viewpoint, and can trust and allow God to "hand me over" to these great blessings of life. Bernie Owens