Upon a hill stand two men, holding up the arms of a third as he sits upon a rock, grasping a staff in his right arm. Near their feet lies an arrow witnessing to the battle that rages below. The painting here described is Victory, O Lord! By John Everett Millais, it portrays the battle against the Amalekites found in Exodus 17. This battle was led by Joshua, while Moses stood on the hill above with his arms raised to heaven. As long as his arms were raised, Joshua and the Hebrews were winning the battle, but as he grew tired and his arms began to fall the battle shifted toward the Amalekites. Thus Aaron and Hur helped Moses by holding his arms. Through their efforts God brought about a great victory.

There are many lessons in this image for us as we begin Lent, and I’d like to focus briefly on three of them.

First, following God isn’t easy. Moses, Aaron, Hur, Joshua, indeed all of the Hebrews were exhausted and spent in the effort to follow God. I sometimes find myself wondering why this life seems so hard. I seem to expect that if I follow God he will make it so I have no burden to bear. But though Christ promises, “My yoke is easy and my burden light,” there is still a yoke and a burden.

Second, the yoke is easy and light, not in itself but because it is God who ultimately bears its weight. It was God who brought the victory over the Amalekites, it was God who bore the cross and conquered death, and it is God who brings victory in our own battles. We are true and active participants, welcomed to share in the work of Our Heavenly Father, but it is truly and rightly God who is living and working in us.

Third, these burdens are not born alone. Only in the modern era has Christianity come to be seen as a private affair between me and God. This individualism is a product of the Reformation and Enlightenment, and should be, though it is not always, foreign to a Catholic mindset. We Catholics recognize that we are not saved alone. As members of the Body of Christ, each of us is united to Christ, and through that unity, united to one another. As such, we must lovingly suffer the burdens of our brothers and sisters, who likewise suffer our burdens. Community is not easy. In the moment, it is often easier to be alone, because it is alone that I can have it “my way.” But “my way” does not lead to heaven, “my way” does not lead to true happiness. Rather, “my way” follows the path of the original rebel to have it his way, Lucifer, the devil.

Going into Lent then, may God help us to face courageously the burdens and battle of this season, relying upon God who brings about the victory and united through Him to one another as we bear one another’s burdens, suffering with those who suffer and rejoicing with those who rejoice.

In Christ, Fr. Curtis Seidel

P.S. One of the great blessings of the Walla Walla Catholic Schools is that as a community we share these beliefs and teach this worldview. Like all communities, we are not perfect, but it is a great blessing that together we look to Christ as our Source, Strength, and Model.