Leader of the Opposition: Let the crucifixion of Christ inspire us to selflessly love each other
On this most sacred and reverend day in the Christian Calendar, I would like to wish our Christian Brothers and Sisters throughout our nation a solemn as well as prayerful Good Friday.
Today we join the Christian community in commemorating the most defining moment of their faith, the day Jesus Christ died on the cross to redeem mankind.
The teachings of Good Friday have always offered me great solace and peaceful introspection as it depicts the selfless sacrifice Jesus endured so that mankind itself would be saved.
The sacrifice of Jesus that we observe on Good Friday shows us as a people, as a nation and more as a world, what real selfless love is.
I often find that the Gospel of Peter describes the blessed acts of Jesus on Good Friday in a manner that presents heart-warming inspiration for us all as it states “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wound, you have been healed” 1 Peter 2:24
Today so many have lost loved ones, have lost jobs and are losing hope daily due to the burdens of the prevailing pandemic. In the past months, the well-being of our families and friends has been challenged.
However, the crucifixion and sacrifice of Jesus present us with the perfect example to defeat and ease the burdens of the pandemic. If we selflessly love and act for the benefit of others as Jesus did on Good Friday, we will be able to eradicate the many instances of economic, social and psychological turmoil facing those around us.
As a people the only way we can defeat the hardship before us is by doing what Jesus did for us on the cross, giving of our selves.
As a matter of fact, the message of the ultimate sacrifice which from Good Friday is not only limited to citizens but also applies to those in authority who must sacrifice their own ambitions to enable the well-being, prosperity and development of a burdened population.
Let us never lose hope and more so, let us act with selfless love towards each other as Jesus did on the cross at Calvary.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar, SC, MP
Opposition Leader of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
1st April 2021