I remember Trompie and the Boksombende from my childhood. They were a typical boys’ gang that got up to lots of mischief. When a stone fell on the roof or the doorbell rang and there was no one when you opened the door, the Boksombende would be blamed.

At school, we were a group of five pals who did everything together. All the mischief we did must have led to our being well-known (or should I say notorious) everywhere. At school, at church, in Somerset West’s neighbourhoods, everybody knew about us.

If something went wrong somewhere, we were the first go-to group to get to the root of the mishap. Mostly, we were the origin of the prank or mischief and took our punishment on the chin. What we did learn as time went by is that whether or not you participated in the event, you took your punishment with the rest.

Looking back, I would say we were like the Three Musketeers or rather the Five Musketeers. Because their motto was true for us too: One for all and all for one. If there was punishment, we took it together, and if we had fun, we laughed together and enjoyed the fun.

In a way that is what Jesus does for us. He is for all of us and all of us are with Him. If one suffers, all suffer, and one wins, all are winners. In Biblical language this means that if Jesus dies, we all die with Him, but, fortunately, if He rises from death, we are right behind.

¹¹This is a sure thing: If we die with him, we’ll live with him …

What great news this is for all of us! Like Trompie and his gang, like my friends and I had to take the punishment together, in a way we are crucified with Jesus. Remember, we are one with Jesus. One for all and all for one.

Fortunately, the punishment is not the end of it. Because Jesus overcame death, because death could not vanquish Jesus and He rose from it, we share in that victory. Even though we weren’t there, even though we didn’t participate physically in the crucifixion, we are treated in the same way.

We share the victory feast with Jesus. We vanquished the enemy with Jesus, because it is one for all and all for one.

We must hold onto this. When the next huge wave of life breaks over our heads and we struggle to breathe, we must remember that we share in the resurrection. Even though we weren’t there, we share in it in a supernatural way. We wear the winner’s crown with Jesus.

I know it doesn’t feel like that every day. Sometimes it feels as if our illness is suffocating us. Sometimes the burden of our finances is too heavy. Sometimes it is a relationship that is sapping our energy, making our knees tremble. That’s when we have to remember this: Jesus has overcome all of this. The evil one and his pals have been vanquished.

With Jesus, we can win the battle. With Jesus, we can charge the giant in our way and overcome him, because it’s one for all and all for one.

Scripture
2 Tim 2:8-13

Reflection
Do you believe you are victorious with Jesus?
Do you live like that?
And the giant in your way?

Prayer
Father, I’m tired. I’m tired of fighting and not getting anywhere. I’m grateful to hear that with Jesus we are already victors. I’m going to live like that. Amen.