Homily for April 14, 2017.
Our celebration this afternoon focuses on the pain, shame and suffering
of our Lord Jesus Christ. The prophet Isaiah as if to summarize all our
readings from the Stations of the Cross so far paints an exact picture of what
Jesus went through.
“He had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, no beauty that
we should desire him, he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows,
acquainted with grief, as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised
and we esteemed him not.”
During the drama of the Stations of the Cross, I could see tears flowing
in the faces of some persons. Indeed by every standard, since today we reflect
on pain and sorrow, today ought to be called bad Friday or sorrowful Friday.
Yet, we call it Good Friday.
What is good about today? What is good about the fact that we recall the
gruesome death of an innocent man on the cross? What is good about the fact
that Jesus was betrayed, arrested and brought on trial, that he didn’t try to
defend himself before the authority, that the people choose Barabbas, a thief
and a murderer in his place?
What is good about the fact that Jesus was beaten and humiliated, mocked
by passers-by, mocked by the chief priests, mocked even by a criminal at the
cross? What is good about the fact that Jesus was stripped and hung on the
cross before the eyes of all who stood by?
What is good about the seemingly triumph of evil over good? Why is today
a good Friday? It is a Good Friday not because suffering, shame and death is
good but because of the good that would come of it. As Isaiah tells us in our
first reading:
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his
stripes we are healed… the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all… he
makes himself an offering for sin… through him many shall be accounted
righteous!”
In other words, the goodness of today arises from the fruit of the
suffering and pain of Jesus. Today is Good Friday because today, our sins were
nailed to the cross, today, we have received healing by the stripes of Jesus,
today, we are accounted righteous because of what Jesus has done.
If we can see goodness in the suffering and pain of Jesus, it simply
follows that we should also be able to look beyond whatever pain, agony and
suffering that we face in our own lives as a result of our choice to be
Christians. Indeed, it is a good thing that we suffer persecution.
And as the book of Hebrews reminds us this afternoon, when we suffer
pain and sorrow, let us remember that we have in Jesus a great High Priest who
understands our situation perfectly and is able to sympathize with us. Let us
never assume that God no longer cares for us. He is right there with us, he
feels our pains and he knows what we go through.
It is not for us to simply suffer in vain, let us learn to approach the
throne of Grace in prayer with confidence that we may receive mercy and grace
in time of need. Just as Jesus offered many prayers and supplications, we must
be deeply prayerful.
If we say today is Good Friday, then we shouldn’t be asking: “God, where
are you?” when we see Barabbas go away smiling and we who are innocent are made
to suffer. In fact, we must learn to call our sufferings good and not be solely
pre-occupied with eliminating pain from our lives.
Christ died to prove to us that this world is not our home. Many
expected Christ to take over earthly powers from the Romans but instead watched
him subject himself to their power. This is to show us that it is not our
ultimate goal to rule here on earth.
Christ died bearing our sins so that we do might die to sin and no
longer live under the subjection of evil all because of the fear of dying. He
died so that we would rather choose to die than to sin in the name of
sustaining our life.
This afternoon, we shall all come out to kiss the cross. We shall all
genuflect and bow before the cross. This means that we accept the pains, that
we accept the sacrifices and the sorrows that we bear for being Christians.
By genuflecting before the Cross, we are saying that we will not reject
the cross but accept whatever God permits to come our way; that our hearts are
not set on possessing earthly kingdoms that we are ready to follow Christ and
die just as he too died.
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to see goodness in my sufferings. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless
you. (Good Friday Celebration of the Lord’s Passion. Bible Study: Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Hebrews 4:14-16,5:7-9. John
18:1-9:42).
Fr. Abu.
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