Good Friday
1st Reading: Isaiah 52:13-53:12
2nd Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
Gospel: John 18:1-19:42
Dear friends,
Whenever I listen to the hymn 'In the Cross', written by Frances J. Crosby, grips my attention. This hymn evokes in me a deeper attachment to the Cross. It is worth listening meditatively. To listen to the hymn click here.
Jesus, keep me near the cross,
There a precious fountain—
Free to all, a healing stream—
Flows from Calv’ry’s mountain.
In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever;
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and Mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadows o’er me.
Near the cross I’ll watch and wait
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand,
Just beyond the river.
On Good Friday we meditate on the Passion of Christ. We meditate on Christ who endured rejection, humiliation and intense physical pain for the forgiveness of our sins. On this day we follow Jesus as He carries His cross to Calvary. We remain with Mary, the Mother of us all, and we stand at the foot of the cross to witness the sacrificial death of the Lamb of God.
One night a fisherman heard a loud splash. A man on a nearby yacht had been drinking and had fallen overboard. The fisherman leapt into the cold water and rescued the man and revived him with artificial respiration. Then he put the man to bed, and did everything he could to make the man comfortable. Finally, exhausted by the ordeal, the fisherman swam back to his own boat. The next morning the fisherman returned to the yacht to see how the man was doing. "It's none of your business," the man shouted defensively. The fisherman reminded the man that he had risked his life to save him. But instead of thanking him, the man cursed the fisherman and told him that he never wanted to see him around again.
Commenting on the episode, the fisherman said: "I rowed away from the yacht with tears in my eyes. But the experience was worth it, because it gave me an understanding of how Jesus felt when he was rejected by those he saved."
What a price had to be paid for this very sin and the sinful nature of humankind. The sufferings of Jesus indicate how much God loves us, and how much Christ loves us, and continue to show that love to us.
Understanding Jesus’ sacrificial love will enable us to love as He did. It will enable us to love those who have hurt us and those who persecute us. His love is total. It is generous beyond description.
Pope Francis said something during his very first general audience that inspired me to reflect on the suffering Jesus endured during his Passion for the sake of our redemption. He said, "Living Holy Week means increasingly entering into God's logic, the logic of the Cross, which is not first of all that of pain and death, but of love and of self-giving that brings life."
Let us stand near the Cross and find meaning in it. Good Friday is not about suffering, it is all about the climax of the love story of God.
In the Cross be my glory ever
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