The Mystery of God's Redemptive Suffering (Good
Friday)
Homily Good Friday of the Holy Week (Good
Friday Year ABC)
·
Isa 52: 13–53:12;
· Ps 31:2,6,12-13,15-16,17,25;
· Heb 4:14-16;5:7-9;
· John18:1–19:42
· Ps 31:2,6,12-13,15-16,17,25;
· Heb 4:14-16;5:7-9;
· John18:1–19:42
Today is the second day of the Sacred Triduum, begun
yesterday! Today’s liturgy rooted in scriptures, invites us to enter more
deeply into the mystery of Christ's redemptive passion, death and resurrection.
Mysteries
and ironies, of course, surround every section of today’s liturgy- that only
faith can fully explain. On a day like this one may legitimately ask: What
makes today Good Friday when the Stations of the Cross has just been
re-enacted? What is good about the symbolic red vestments priests and deacons,
wear today, at the beginning of the liturgy? What is good about the altars left
completely bare, without crosses, candles and without fanciful altar cloths?
What is good that the Holy Mass, sacraments are not celebrated today, except
for penance and anointing of the sick– and many more other questions that you
may want to raise?
Answers
to these questions are not single dimensional. The meaning of “Good Friday” may
be found when we deeply and faithfully meditate on the crosses we shall soon
venerate. Its meaning may be revealed through our meditation on the Stations of
the Cross re-enacted across the global church.
That
Good Friday is redemptive and salvific is more revealing in the passages of
today’s Scripture Readings, beginning with Isaiah’s 4th Song of the
suffering servant of God (Isa 52:13–53:12)-- Ebed YHWH. Written several
hundreds of years before the birth Christ to console, comfort and give hope to
those exiled in Babylon. Isaiah says,
“He
was spurned and avoided by people, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
one of those from whom people hide their faces, spurned and we held him in no
esteem. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings
that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and
afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him
was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed… he
shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses”( Isa
53:4-12).
Christians
relate this image of the Ebed YHWH to Christ crucified on Good Friday!
The writer of the 2nd reading, the Letter to the Hebrews must have been a
Christian, familiar not only with the passages from Isaiah, but also was
familiar with the Christ’s suffering, but whose aim was to reveals the salvific
nature Good Friday when it says, “In the days when Christ was in the flesh, he offered
prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to
save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he
was he learned obedience from what he suffered, and when he was made perfect,
he became source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”
Today’s
Friday is ironically good because without it there would have been no
resurrection, and no salvation. This irony, this mystery is also evident
throughout that long passion narrative read from the gospel of John (John
18:1–19:42). Throughout the Johannine Passion, Jesus “yet” is control. He
gives Judas Iscariot instruction to do quickly what he is about to do (John
18:2). In the garden of the Kidron Valley, Jesus asks whom they were looking
for. As soon as he declared himself- the “I AM”, they all felt helplessly to
the ground. Here lies the Good Friday?
In
all, the Jesus of John is the Son of Man that came down from heaven to whom the
Father has turned over judgment. When he is interrogated by the high priests,
Jesus turns back the interrogation: “Why do you question me?” He makes it clear
to Pilate that he has no authority over him. In this ironic trials of Jesus,
Pilates is nervous and shuttles back and forth between the Jews outside the
Praetorium while ironically Jesus remains in the Praetorium. The
shuttling and indifferent Pilates finds no guilt in the innocent and steady
Jesus, yet he had him scourged innocently. Yet Pilate lacks the courage to
speak the truth. In John, only Christ is the truth, the life and the way!
In
that passion read, Jesus dies kingly and triumphantly in John “bowing his head
he handed over his spirit.” On top of the cross, his title- “Jesus the
Nazorean, the King of the Jews,” is universally written in three languages
(Hebrew, Greek and Latin). It is a universal Good Friday! A Friday that saves
the world? Even though his garments are divided as foretold, his priestly
tunic, the alb is intact, a priest forever! As long foretold, that on being
lifted up he would draw many to himself(John 12:32), on the foot of the cross,
came the fulfilment (tetelestai): Mary his mother, the sister, wife of
Clopas, Mary Magdalene, the disciple whom he love, Roman soldiers, Jews,
Gentiles, and secrete believers like Nichodemus, Joseph of
Arimathea were all there! Jesus is also given a kingly burial and laid in
a garden!
This
is the mysterious narrative that has really made Good Friday, good and
redemptive. Today the victim has become the conqueror! As Pope Francis,
and his many predecessors have, repeatedly emphasized, it is a gospel of
suffering endurance for all who have in the course of history been persecuted
and abused by those who are politically, socially, religiously and economically
powerful; those plagued by diseases, natural tragedies, man-made violent
structures, abuse of guns, ISIS, BOKO Haram, religious extremists, poverty,
ignorance, but who realize that God is with them, and that the power of the
oppressors are temporary.
May
we on this Good Friday (2016,……. 2019,…..), continue to contemplate
the mystery of the redemptive suffering of Christ, remembering to bear our
suffering patiently, as well as pray for our brothers and sisters, who are
victims of all kinds of attacks and tragedies (Notre Dame Cathedral inflame,
etc)! And may we together continue to build God’s kingdom through our lives of
faithful witness to the Cross and so help bring our neighbors to Christ
with whom we shall one day share eternal life in heaven!
Reflection
Questions:
1.
In the light of
Good Friday’s liturgy what are the areas of our sufferings, false attacks and
persecutions, worthy of offering it to the Lord?
2.
Do we believe in
the hiddenness of salvation in the Cross?
3.
How do we assist
others to bear their daily crosses with hope and trust in the Redeemer’s
Assistance?
