Reflecting on Holy and Good Friday Fr Luke A Veronis

He was arrested. He was beaten. He was ridiculed. He endured an unjust trial. He was humiliated. He was hated. He was whipped. He was crucified. In the end, he was killed in a most horrible and painful manner.

Anyone who listened to the 12 Gospels last night, who listened to the powerfully moving hymns of today, can understand very clearly what our Lord Jesus Christ suffered.

One hymn vividly stated this, “Every part of your sacred body endured humiliation on our account: Your head the thorns; your face the spitting; your cheeks the blows; your lips the bitter taste of vinegar mixed with gall; your ears the impious blasphemies; your back the scourging; your had the reed. Your whole body stretched out on the Cross; your limbs the nails and your side the lance. You who suffered for our sake and thus freed us from suffering, who in your love condescended to us, then raised us up, Almighty Savior, have mercy on us.”

For the human mind, it is hard to fathom this mystery. Although He is God, Christ endured the most unimaginable suffering. Although He is the Creator, Christ allowed His creation to mistreat him. Although He is the source of life, Christ voluntarily accepted to taste the greatest evil, death itself.

Incomprehensible. Unbelievable. A mystery beyond words. Yet, this is what happened 2000 years ago.

Why? Why did the God-Man Jesus accept the passion, the suffering, and ultimately, death itself? Why?

We can give an answer in only one word – LOVE! God willingly endured everything because of His love for the world.

He loved the world so much that he accepted terrible suffering in order to willingly die, and face the devil. He wanted to free humanity from the ancient curse of sin and death. Through His wounds, he took upon himself all of our wounds. He loved the world so much that he accepted to die, and to taste death itself, so that He could finally confront and then destroy the power of death.

Christ humbled himself and endured all for us because he loves us so much!

Thus today on this Holy and Good Friday, we remember what Jesus Christ did for us – how great His absolute, unconditional love is for us!

Today, though, we should also try to reflect upon how we should respond to God’s divine love. If Christ sacrificed wholeheartedly for me, is it appropriate for me to respond with a half-hearted effort?

As we listen to the details of the passion of Christ, we must remind ourselves that this path of sacrificial love is an example for each of us to walk in our own lives. Jesus told his disciples, “If you want to follow me, you must deny yourselves and carry your cross.”

To carry our cross isn’t a vague command. This means to concretely deny our wills every day, within our families, with our co-workers and friends, with our neighbors and relatives, and even with our enemies. We must be ready to sacrifice our own desires, and offer our life for the other.

Sometimes this means to accept humiliations and rejection, and even suffering and death in our lives. Of course, this is a mentality contrary to the ways of the world. St. Paul says, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor 1:18)

St. Paul could say this, though, because he understood that Christ’s passion does not end in defeat. We can never think of the suffering of Holy Friday alone. We must always remember that the Passion of our Lord only begins on Holy Friday, but concludes on Pascha Sunday. The Cross ends in the Resurrection. Suffering and death end in victory and life!

Remember, if we are called to suffer with Christ here and now, we will then be able to participate also in His resurrection!

As we sang in one of our hymns: “We worship your passion, of Christ. Show us now Your glorious Resurrection!”