Posted by The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Benigno Beltran SVD – Sacred Heart Parish, Kamuning, Quezon City
Good Friday in Holy Week
THE FIRST WORD
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
At the very moment of his death, Jesus preached forgiveness, just as he had taught his disciples in the Our Father: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12). He cautioned Peter that we should forgive seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22). He forgave the paralytic at Capernaum (Mark 2:5), and the woman caught in adultery about to be stoned (John 8:1-11). Following his Resurrection, Jesus’ first act was to commission his disciples to forgive: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:22-23). Our hearts are broken as a people blinded by darkness and sin were unable to recognize the true King in their midst. But he forgave them all. Are we able to love and pray for those who mistreat us?
THE SECOND WORD
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
The religious leaders, the soldiers, and the people mocked Jesus on the cross,
including one of the criminals who was crucified on his left. But the criminal on the right said that both of them were receiving what was due them, while “this man has done nothing wrong.” Then, turning to Jesus, he asked, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Ignoring his own suffering, Jesus responded with love and mercy. Forgiveness, this time, was directed to a thief. Jesus showed his loving mercy by opening heaven for a repentant sinner. If we turn our hearts and prayers to Jesus and accept his forgiveness, we will also be with him when he comes again in glory.
THE THIRD WORD
“Jesus said to his mother: ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple: ‘This is your mother.’” (John 19:26-27) At the foot of the cross were Mary his Mother; John, the disciple whom he loved; Mary of Cleophas, his mother’s sister; and Mary Magdalene. Jesus addressed his third word to Mary and John. The Lord referred to his mother as woman at the Wedding Feast of Cana (John 2:1-11), which also recalls the woman in Genesis 3:15, the first Messianic prophecy of the Redeemer. It is also in anticipation of the woman clothed with the sun in Revelation 12. Once again, a sword pierced Mary’s soul, reminding us of Simeon’s prediction at the Temple(Luke 2:35). We can rest assured of the prayers of a merciful Mother who suffered for our sake and shares our suffering.
THE FOURTH WORD
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34)
After 3 hours of darkness, “Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last” (Mark 15:37). This cry was from Jesus who felt deserted by His Father when he needed him most. In his desolation, Jesus completely lived the human experience of being alone in death. By doing so, he redeemed us from sin. Jesus’ cry from the Cross recalls the cry of Israel, and of all innocent persons who suffer: “They have pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones” (Psalm 22:16-17). The Psalm continues: “They divide my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots” (22:18). The burden of all the sins of humanity for a moment overwhelmed our Savior’s humanity. But it is by his death that we are redeemed: “By his wounds you have been healed.” (I Peter 2:24)
THE FIFTH WORD
“I thirst.” (John 19:28)
Jesus is now in shock. The scourging, the crowning with thorns, the long walk through the city of Jerusalem on the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha, and the nailing upon the cross are now taking their toll. This passage implies that more than just physical thirst, Jesus thirsted in a spiritual sense. He thirsted for the love of his Father, who abandoned him during the dreadful hour of his death and dying. He thirsted for the love and salvation of his people, the human race. The fountain of living water cried out that he was thirsty. The cross is a revelation of a God whose power is manifested most fully in humility and vulnerability. We are vulnerable and often hurt. In this universe our hearts are broken by the vagaries of life and the betrayal of others. We are here to transform our suffering into a personal holiness that seeks to transform the world into one where love is more possible. Can we slake his thirst by carrying our cross and following him?
THE SIXTH WORD
“When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished;’ and he bowed his head and handed over the spirit.” (John 19:29-30)
Jesus was sentenced to death on the Day of Preparation before the actual Passover. John testified that “when they came to Jesus and saw he was already dead, they did not break his legs,” recalling the instruction in Exodus 12:46 concerning the Passover Lamb. St. Paul wrote that: “Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed” (I Cor. 5:7). The innocent Lamb was slain for our sins, so that we might be forgiven. Crying out “It is finished” was Jesus’ recognition that his task was completed. Jesus’obedience to the Father showed in his giving of his love for humankind by redeeming us and all of creation with His death on the Cross and his Resurrection. This was a trinitarian event. In the surrender of their mutual identity as Father and Son for the sake of sinful human beings, Jesus and the Father experienced a new unity with one another in the Spirit who reestablished the communion between them at the very moment when they were prepared to renounce it for the sake of the salvation of the cosmos. In the cross was completed the self-giving love of the triune God as saving future, a self- giving love that opens the future of the universe as an on-going process towards the new heaven and the new earth.
THE SEVENTH WORD
“Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’” (Luke 23:46)
The seventh word is from Psalm 31:5: “Into thy hands I commend my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.” Jesus was obedient to His Father unto death. His final word before his death on the Cross was a prayer to His Father. On the cross, Jesus fulfilled His own and that of His Father’s mission: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone whobelieves in him may not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16). The tragic dark chapter in humanity’s history seemed hopeless. But God was able to overturn defeat and disaster and accomplish his purpose in the Cross. Jesus experienced the agony of being forsaken by the Father on the cross, the Father, likewise, experienced the anguish of being separated from his Son, of losing his identity as Father. The Son suffered dying; the Father suffered the death of the Son. The Father’s grief was just as important as the Son’s death in a garbage dump outside the gates of Jerusalem for the salvation of the universe. The cross is a revelation of a God whose power is manifested most fully in humility and vulnerability. The darkest day in human history became the brightest day for humankind.
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