Homily (Reflection) for Good Friday (Celebration
of the Lord’s Passion) (25th March, 2016) on the Passion and the
celebration
Is 52:13–53:12;
Ps 30:2.6.12-13.15-17.25. (R. Lk
23:46); Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9;
Jn 18:1 – 19:42.
No sacraments are celebrated today
or tomorrow. The altar should be completely bare, without cloths, candles, or
cross. Today’s celebration consists of three parts: liturgy of the word,
veneration of the cross, and Holy Communion[1].
Topic: Behold the man, your King, cf. Jn 19:5, 14.
In today’s Passion, we see Jesus’
arrest, His unjust trial, Peter’s denial, His condemnation, death on the cross
between two thieves, the piercing of His side, and His burial. During Jesus’ trial,
when Pilate brought Him out to the Jews to show that he did not see any offence
against Him and said to them, “Here is the man!” the chief priests and the
police shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” And when he said to them, “Here is
your King!” they cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!”
In the gospel according to Saint John, Jesus tells us that “The
thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (Jn 10:10) yet they preferred a thief instead of the author of life,
cf. Jn 18:40. Christ came and
brought light to all in darkness of sin; those who dwelt in a land of deep
darkness, cf. Is 9:2; Matt 4:16. Hence He tells us, “I am
the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will
have the light of life” (Jn 8:12).
The naked King ruling from a tree will be unveiled in this
celebration with the invitation, “This is the wood of the cross, on which hung
the Saviour of the world.” We are to either follow the chief priests to shout, “Away
with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” or to adore Him humbly saying “Come, let
us worship”.
Let us consider this story: After a forest fire in
Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to
assess the inferno’s damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in
ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree.
Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the
bird with a stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under
their dead mother’s wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending
disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered
them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise.
She would have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. When the
blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched he small body, the mother had
remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover
of her wings would live...[2]
Like this little bird, Jesus willingly accepted the most
ignoble suffering and death for us to live. The Passion narrative tells us that
the soldiers and the police “stepped back and fell to the ground” when Jesus
told them that He was the one they were looking for. Nothing prevented Him from
going away other than His love for us. He knew that the hour of our liberation
had come. Hence He tells us, “No one takes it [my life] from me, but I lay it
down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it
again; this charge I have received from my Father” (Jn 10:18).
May we never go back to the yoke of slavery from which Jesus
had set us free, cf. Gal 5:1. Whoever
follows Jesus will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. However,
anyone who prefers darkness is condemned, cf. Jn 3: 18, 19.
Bible Reading: Jn 3:11-21; 1Pt 3:8-22.
Thought for today:
Christ died to set us free.
Let us pray: Lord, may your Son’s suffering and
death never be in vain for us – Amen.
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