Good Friday 07

Good Friday 2007
April 6, 2007
Reading I: Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Responsorial Psalm: 31:1, 5, 11-12, 14-16, 24
Reading II: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
Gospel: John 18:1-19:42

Good Friday
Today, Good Friday, is a day of penance, of fasting, of prayer, of participation in the passion and death of the Lord on the Cross. But what Good is there today when our Lord Jesus died. Do we consider this Good? It is as if we are delighted by the death of our Lord Jesus. Is there really something that we have to celebrate? The good news for today is that evil has been overcome by good. Secondly, God’s unconditional love was revealed today and through this love we receive our salvation. And this all happened on the Cross of Christ.

My First Prayer
The first prayer I ever learned was a simple sign of the cross. I can still remember how my mother would gently guide my two little fingers pointing to my forehead, down to my belly and to my left and right shoulders as I say in Tagalog, “In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. ” Every night before going to bed I would often make the sign of the Cross assuring myself that God would keep me away from the ‘monsters’ that might appear in my dreams. And as far as I can remember making sign of the Cross was my earliest memory of my Christian faith. Every time I would make sign of the Cross before and after praying, when I pass our parish church, or when I was afraid, I knew that it is a sign of God’s blessings, his protection, and his loving presence. For indeed the Cross of Christ is the holiest sign there is. On the Cross our Lord saves the whole humanity. It is the sign of the Totality, it is the sign of our salvation.

The Cross
During the time of Jesus, for the Jews and the Gentiles crucifixion is the most shameful form of death which is appropriate only to the most notorious criminal in society. The death of Jesus on the Cross gives us a glimpse of his unbearable pain and horror – both physically and spiritually – it represents the degradation and destruction of his dignity both as God and human.
Commenting on Good Friday, St. John Chrysostom, a 4th century saint wrote: "Before, the cross meant disdain, but today it is venerated. Before, it was a symbol of condemnation, today it is the hope of salvation. It has truly been converted into a fount of infinite goods; it has liberated us from error, it has scattered our darkness, it has reconciled us with God. From being enemies of God, it has made us his family, from foreigners it has converted us to his neighbors: This cross is the destruction of enmity, the fount of peace, the coffer of our treasure" ("De cruce et latrone," I, 1, 4).

Human Sufferings
We, as Christians desiring to be faithful disciples, always remind ourselves that the Cross is very much a part of our life. We make sign of the cross every time we pray individually or communally. We wear it as a necklace; put it on our altars both in churches and in our homes. But the Cross we have as Christians most of the times can be our individual sufferings and pains, experience of the death of our loved ones.

Good Friday celebration reminds us that the Cross, that is our suffering and death, are very much a part of our life and we cannot escape from them. We heard from the Gospel that Jesus himself did not remove his pain, his humiliation, his suffering and death but rather only gave meaning to them. They are opportune moments of his total obedience to the Father, and unconditional love for each and one of us.

Cross is not Only Pain
However, the most important component of the Cross is not that it causes pain, not that it causes suffering. The most important component of the Cross is that it gives life to others. When our sufferings do not give life to others, that is not the Cross of Christ. When our pains do not bring life to others that is not the Cross of Christ because the Cross of Christ always gives life. The Cross of Christ always leads to the resurrection.

When we refer to the cross only as pain, when we refer to the Cross only as suffering, when we refer to the cross only as problems, that is not our Christian understanding of the cross. Carrying the cross of our suffering without Christ in our hearts, only brings us sorrow, pain, disappointment and despair. But a Cross with Christ brings life and salvation.

A Christian without cross is incomplete as Jesus calls us, “Come follow me and carry your cross daily.” The cross that we are challenged to carry in our daily lives is the cross that brings life, happiness, love, peace and forgiveness to others. So, let us not fear to carry our own crosses.

Conclusion
Let us remember that Passion of Christ did not end on the cross. Jesus, hanging lifeless on the Cross, shows us that he did not die in vain, his suffering and death are redemptive fulfillment of his love. A new life and a new spirit are poured out.

So let us not remain in our crosses too – in our Good Fridays, in our deaths. Let our deaths, our Good Fridays be experiences of paschal death!

As described in today’s gospel reading, the death of Jesus on Good Friday was a tragic event indeed. Yet, it becomes more tragic in our eyes when we understand that it was not necessary.

The Cross of Jesus is a blessing. His Cross is life. His Cross is our Salvation. His Cross is Love. This is the meaning of Good Friday. Amen.

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Resources: Love Like Jesus by Bishop Socrates Villegas, Homily Guides For Lent and Easter http://www.rcam.org/pdf/2007_HG_LentEaster.pdf