Homily of Good Friday
What is good about Good Friday
when it was such a gloomy day as the innocent Son of God, Jesus Christ, was
tortured and brutally executed by his crucifixion on the Cross? It is called
‘good’ because Jesus’ passion, crucifixion, and death are for our salvation,
and therefore, for our good. As we pray, “By dying, he destroyed our death, and
by rising he restored our life.”
Church theologians and spiritual
fathers and mothers have discussed extensively some questions concerning Jesus’
passion, crucifixion, and death. “Why did Jesus have to suffer as brutally
as he did to accomplish our salvation?” “Could not our salvation be achieved
some other way?” My understanding from the discourse of the theologians and
spiritual fathers and mothers is that Jesus’ passion, crucifixion, and
death is God’s plan for humanity’s salvation. This God’s plan is a mystery
beyond human being’s full comprehension and clear explanation. The psalmist
says, “Our God is in heaven and does whatever he wills” (Psalm 113:3). Jesus,
in his human nature did not, even, fully grasp his crucifixion which prompted
him to cry out to God while hanging on the Cross, “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Later in his divine nature he cautioned the two
men on their way to Emmaus, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah
should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26).
Many times, we condemn those God
used to bring about Jesus’ passion, crucifixion, and death. For example, Judas
who betrayed him; the soldiers who arrested him, tortured him and crucified
him; the disciples who deserted him; the Jews who accused him falsely and
insisted that he should die; Pilate who sentenced him to death and so on. How
could our salvation have been possible without all these players? Every one of
them played a part in God’s salvation plan. One of the lessons Jesus’ passion,
crucifixion, death and resurrection teach us is that our difficulties and
sufferings may be God’s plan for something good and great to come our way. We
are invited to follow the example of Jesus in 1 Peter 2:21-23, “He committed no
sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was insulted, he returned no
insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over
to the one who judges justly.” The result of Jesus’ submission to God is his
resurrection. Therefore, let us submit to God during our trials, temptations
and sufferings. God will not abandon us. He did not abandon Jesus because, “he
handed himself over to the one who judges justly.”
The entire 40 days of the Lenten
Season reached its crescendo today, the day of crucifixion of Jesus. Today has
been a day of fasting, prayer, and meditation on the agony and
suffering of Christ. We prayed the Stations of the Cross earlier. The Passion
narrative according to St. John’s Gospel, we have just read, connects us back
to the fourteen Stations of the Cross.
We can identify more with the
Passion of Christ this year as we all are carrying the cross of Covid 19
Pandemic, in addition to some other crosses some people were carrying before
Covid 19 Pandemic. Many people are dying and many people are going through
torture caused by the pandemic. Many people are feeling as if they are hanging
on a cross and they are crying “My God, my God; why have you abandoned me.”
Many people are feeling like being offered vinegar to drink for their thirst.
We pray with the words of the
Psalm of today and the prayer of Jesus, “Father, into your hands I commend my
spirit.” Father, into your hands we commend ourselves. Save us now. When the
Israelites sinned and were attacked by ferocious snakes; you did not abandon
them when they called upon you. You directed Moses to mold a bronze serpent and
place it on a pole, so that when the eyes of the dead were opened to the bronze
serpent, they came back to life. Do not abandon us in our present painful
situation. By venerating the crucifix today, and by commending our faith in
you, have mercy on us and deliver us.
We declare with Prophet Isaiah,
“For it is not Sheol that gives you thanks, nor the dead that praises you;
neither do those who go down into the pit await your kindness. The living, the
living give you thanks,” … (Isaiah 38:18-29). Save us O God; and our generation
and generations to come will proclaim your mighty works and wonderful deeds
(Psalm 145:4-5). Amen.
Fr. Martin Eke, MSP
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