Only through actions, do we learn.
It is a universal truth to our world—nay our very beings—that actions are the only way we truly learn. We may be told by long standing myths, uptight and fair laws, and even wise sages-every well and stream of knowledge poured over our minds like a cascade. However, most—unfortunately—will brush it off as smart saying, a muse, or even a fortune cookie telling. Either through ignorance, or worse, contempt, man does not learn his lesson easily by words. Not to say there aren’t men that don’t keep these truths close to heart (otherwise the world would cease to function), but most of us only learn through action.
As the saying goes, “actions do speak louder than words” and we best remember too that “one action speaks a thousand words”. Non-verbal communication is the primary way to communicate with others. From the subtle acts to the more garish ones, we learn of the individuals we surround ourselves with. Not to mention our very own actions we employ every day.
This may be obvious, but how many times do we read something and still not get the point; or even less, learn our lesson? How many times is a child told a stove top is hot, only for the child to burn his hand and learn directly that a hot stove is dangerous?
Only through pain is the lesson achieved. But why is it necessary to achieve it this way?
It could be inferred then, violence is the primary teacher then. Civilizations have been built on it, and have also been maintained when dealing with ne’er-do-wells. The idea does have merit, we are products of it after all—yet it does not answer the full question for it ignores love.
Love is not at all violent, even though we can become beasts to defend it. It is the one that is written in poems, in music and stories that leads us to achieve greater things. It is simple to see the actions, a mother’s kiss, a brotherhood laughing, a compliment and so on. All of these manage to express in seconds what would take books to describe. Bountiful emotions, shown in a few actions that can calm the sword.
And again, why is this still the only way we learn?
St. Francis of Assisi wrote, “The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today.” This beautiful quote is not only one that inspires us to be better Christians evangelizing with our actions, but it is one of the most important lessons Christ imparted to us.
Even with all His sermons and works, the followers of the Lord—including the Apostles—still had difficulty understanding who He was. Endless parables and displays of miracles could not fix that trouble of doubt within them and the Lord knew this very well. Only in His last days could He show who He truly is, first by sanctifying bread and wine, His flesh and blood, and secondly, in His crucifixion.
A member of the Old Covenant, Jesus knew that priests with their rites would sacrifice animals to appease God. Even at their worst, they felt so completely unworthy of the presence of the Lord that their zeal could only be satiated with the blood of creatures. This was in vain, as commented later by the Church Fathers, for it would not heal the rift between Man and God. Which is precisely why Jesus had to be the ultimate sacrifice.
Sin taints man in so many ways that it’s not even clear at times. Adam heard God in the Garden, and while we are not sure if he still did after the Fall—we know not all of us can hear the Lord as clearly.
Therefore, actions had to speak louder.
It is in the Blood of Christ at the cross that demands silence from the world for the ultimate lesson is being taught. The lamb shown to us at the sacrifice of Abraham herald this precise event. That love which is higher than all others, coming down from Heaven to pour over us in mortal flesh and save us. Here only in this blood is violence showing us love; the action to surpass all actions.
We live in a broken world, full of broken people the moment we were cast out of Eden. Violence, bloodshed, and more has been done thousands of times and will be done a thousand times more by the end of this sentence.
Only once in the history of the world was an innocent killed for no crime and it is His blood that was necessary for us to learn this. Only once did the world stop completely to show us how horrible our sins are, how far down we had been dragged. Only then could we finally see the love shown to us. There we see now why Christ came to Earth, and only in this blood can there be salvation. Show us the future kingdom to come, paved by transcending the bestial nature of sin, and purifying us away from the pain of this world and finally learning what it is to be united again.
