Throughout Lent we hear these words as we pray the Way of the Cross:
‘We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world’
Now today on Good Friday as we venerate the cross in the liturgy we may ask ourselves how in fact is the world redeemed, how are we saved? If Jesus was to heal the broken human world which we experience every day then he had to confront it and take it on at a profound level.
If he was to bring justice to our unjust world, to be concerned for the poor and afflicted and all those who are left outside of things, he had to challenge the set of vested interests which supported the political and religious powers of his day. If he was to challenge the last enemy of death he had to experience it himself. His kingdom had to confront the destructive agents of the kingdom of Satan.
Today we have just heard how Jesus was brought bound before the high priests and then marched before Pilate, the governor, who wants to know above all whether he is a king and so a threat to the Roman empire.
And inevitably Jesus who reached out and stood by the side of the poor suffers their fate just as many Christians do today who follow his example. And just as we have seen in recent years the occupying troops in Iraq hood, blindfold and abuse their prisoners so Jesus was mocked by the occupying Romans troops.
Then when the case had been stitched up he was flogged. Crucifixion was the terrible punishment meted out to rebels. It was used as a deterrent for the rest of the population and the flogging which caused a great loss of blood speeded up the process of death. And so this afternoon Jesus dies alone upon the cross.
‘He poured out himself to death, and was numbered among the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many’
But if the sight of a dying crucified man was all that had to be told about our Christian faith today it would indeed be a sad affair, certainly not good news. But as St Paul tells us without the resurrection we would be a pathetic group. The good news we celebrate is not just a tale of suffering but also one of victory.
How does Jesus save us? Through the cross and the resurrection. And we don’t have to wait for that till Easter night. In John’s gospel Christ is presented as already reigning from the cross. The cross is not seen just as seat of torture but also the throne on which Christ rules. ‘When I am lifted up’ he told his disciples then ‘I will draw all to me.’
For St John the cross is not so much the degradation of Christ but rather a stage in his victorious return to his father. He is returning triumphant. And his supreme power is recognised as universal king, crowned with thorns, and proclaimed to the whole world ‘Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,’ the inscription written in the universal languages of Hebrew Latin and Greek..
That is why we call today Good Friday. Today the God of all creation tells us that those who do care for the poor, those who take a stand against injustice, those who seek to bring peace and yet suffer ,those are ones whose lives are acceptable to God. Those are the ones who will live and will share the risen life of the victorious king.
And there are hundreds of thousands throughout the world who are going to be baptised this Easter night. They have been drawn to Jesus, seeking that life, wanting to be born again in the sacramental water and blood which streams for the pierced side of Jesus upon the cross.
In the Good Friday liturgy, after we have prayed to God for our broken world, the cross is be brought in and unveiled. We can see the cross with fresh eyes. It is a hard wood but it is also the fertile tree which brings new life. And, most of all, it is the revelation of an extraordinary divine love which draws us on to Jesus.
As the crowds come to come to kiss or reverence the cross their personal love of Jesus may be renewed and deepened. Jesus is seen reigning from the cross and can be acknowledged now as the saviour who by his cross has redeemed the world.
Suffering Is Everything
Bottom line: This Good Friday we learn that through the suffering of Jesus we receive the greatest blessings – forgiveness and true life. If we join our own sufferings to his, they become means of grace. Illumined by faith, we can say, “suffering is everything.”
This evening we observe a solemn commemoration: Good Friday of Our Lord’s Passion. I thank you for coming. I recognize you are core members of our Christian community. For that reason, I believe I can speak to you about deeper mysteries – things that might discourage or even scare away those with less involvement. The mystery I speak of this evening is…suffering, the cross.
I’d like to begin with a quote from a twentieth century saint: Elizabeth Leseur. In a letter to a woman on the verge of losing her eyesight, St. Elizabeth wrote: “The Stoics say, ‘suffering is nothing.’ They were wrong. Illuminated by a clearer light we Christians say, ‘suffering is everything.'”*
Suffering is everything. We see that in our Good Friday readings. Isaiah speaks about a “servant of the Lord,” treated brutally who endures terrible suffering: “crushed for our sins, pierced for our offenses.” The Letter to the Hebrews describes the “loud cries and tears” of Jesus. By his suffering, the author says, “Jesus became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” John’s Gospel is more serene. He doesn’t need to go into details to tell us about Jesus’s suffering. He uses short sentences: “Pilate had him scourged.” And, “He handed him over to them to be crucified.” He did not need to say more. Everyone in the Roman Empire had seen men tied to whipping posts. If they tried get away, they still heard the screams. And even small children had seen criminals writhing on wooden crosses.
People know what it meant when John said that Jesus was scourged and crucificied. Jesus suffered greatly for us. He did it to take away the penalty for our sins. He had committed no crime. You and I, however, have: not so much a civil crime, but against God. We have an overwhelming debt. That debt would crush us except for one thing: Christ has paid the debt by his blood, his suffering.
Jesus’ suffering has many dimensions. This evening I would to address one of those dimensions. I adverted to it in the quote from St. Elizabeth Leseur. You and I can have a share in Christ’s suffering. St. Paul says that in our own bodies we make up for what is lacking in the suffering of Christ. (Col 1:24) Of course, on one level Jesus’ suffering lacks nothing – he is perfect man and perfect God. But as a limited human he did not experience every type of suffering. He could not, for example, experience the unique suffering of a mother. But the Blessed Virgin was a t his. St. John and St. Mary Magdalene also brought their uniqueness to the cross. The same applies to you and me – if we are willing to take our suffering to the cross.
I feel hesitant to speak about this mystery. In relation to others I have suffered little. But I also know that any joy I experienced required that I first embrace some suffering. When I ran from suffering – which was often – I did not find joy, but emptiness, resentment and envy. When I did embrace a certain suffering, I began to find peace. I know that this applies not only to the vocation of priesthood, but also marriage and the Christian life in general.
Suffering is an inevitable part of the Christian vocation. With that in mind, I return to the words of St. Elizabeth: Suffering is everything. She knew what she was talking about. She had married a man who was a dedicated medical doctor, but an unbeliever who tried to dissuade Elizabeth from her faith. He gave her a copy of Renoir’s Life of Jesus – which scoffs at any hint of divinity. The book had an opposite effect on Elizabeth. It sparked her curiosity and she began read voraciously about Jesus. When she tried to share her faith with her husband, he cut her off, sometimes with mockery. Elizabeth bore his insults quietly and even though she was weakend by hepatitis, she worked diligently. In her early forties, she was diagnosed with cancer and for three years, suffered horribly.
After her death, her husband discovered the spiritual journal she kept. It moved him to his depths and he experienced a profound conversion. He became a Dominican priest and travelled though Europe speaking about his wife’s spiritual writings.
Brothers and sisters, in few moments we will venerate the cross. Jesus invites to unite our suffering with him. St. Elizabeth Leseur expressed it this way: “Though the divine action even our slightest pains, our least sorrows can reach out to souls both dear and distant and bring them light and peace and holiness.”
“The Stoics said, ‘suffering is nothing.’ They were wrong. Illuminated by a clearer light we Christians say, ‘suffering is everything.'”
So, this Good Friday we learn that through the suffering of Jesus we receive the greatest blessings – forgiveness and true life. If we join our own sufferings to his, they become means of grace. Illumined by faith, we can say, “suffering is everything.” Amen.