GOOD FRIDAY 2019
YEAR OF THE YOUTH
April 19, 2019
JESUS, I trust in you!
Lent began with Jesus engaging in a
fight with the devil as he fasted in the desert. The devil tried to dissuade
him from fulfilling the Father’s will by seducing him with more convenient ways
of acquiring glory and power. All Jesus had to do was to relinquish his
divinity and kneel before the devil and the kingdoms of the earth will easily
be given to him. But Jesus did not fall for this seduction because he knew
himself and he knew who the devil was. He knows fully well that he is the Son
of God sent by the Father to destroy the works of the devil his adversary.
He engaged in this spiritual battle
and it was a very fierce one. In this battle, the Lord revealed to us the real
ugly and deadly face of sin. Using the example of the Galileans executed by
Pilate and the 18 people to perished at the collapse of the tower of Siloah,
the Lord Jesus gave us a stern warning about the effects of sin: “If you do not
repent, you will perish as they did.” Adam and Eve did not know better. They
were easily deceived by the devil and so when they disobeyed, sin entered the
world and together with sin entered death.
But in this battle, the Lord did
not only warn us of the deadly effect of sin. In order to redeem us, he
literally jumped into the devil’s lair. Today, the Lord allowed death to touch
him. He, the sinless One, endured the wage of sin which is death. He did not
sin. There was nothing in him to merit death. And yet, today, he died. He died
for sins he did not commit. He died for sins which we committed. He died for the
sins of the world.
It is easy to say that Jesus died
in atonement for our sins. But it is only when we really meditate on his
Passion…when we look at the sufferings he endured, it is only then that we will
tremble at what we have done to him. That Negro spiritual song says it very
well: “Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Oh, sometimes, it causes me
to tremble, tremble, tremble. Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” We
look up to Jesus hanging on the Cross and we ask him: “Lord, who did this to
you?” And when we look down, we see the hammer in our hands. And so, with
hearts filled with remorse, we should rather say: “Were you there when I
crucified my Lord?”
We rightly deserved to die in the
very same way that the adulterous woman deserved to perish. We are guilty as
charged. And yet, the Lord declares to us: “I do not judge you.” He does not
point an accusing finger at us. Instead, willingly he opened his arms on the
wood of the Cross to endure for us a death which is cruel and excruciatingly
painful. Jesus bled to death. The medical term is “traumatic hemorrhagic
shock.” We should have been on that Cross but he took it upon himself for us.
He went to the very depth of death because what he did not assume, he did not
redeem.
And so, after that long and
difficult battle, Jesus declares his cry of victory: It is finished! Refusing
the devil’s shortcut, Jesus fulfilled the Father’s will through that long and
difficult suffering. He loved his own and now, he loved until the very end. It
was a declaration of accomplishment. Jesus declares that he has completed the
task. He did not leave any stone unturned. His humiliation undid the arrogance
of Satan. His unconditional obedience atoned for the disobedience of Adam and
Eve and all of us, their sons and daughters. Justice is satisfied. Now we can
avail mercy and forgiveness.
And so, let us value the mercy that
we receive. Never should we take for granted the forgiveness bestowed on us.
Keep in mind that mercy is not cheap. Someone paid dearly for it to be given to
us. After a few days of penance, many of us will surely be tempted to return to
their former ways of life. Don’t! Resist the temptation! Do not treat
forgiveness lightly. Remember the Lord’s suffering. Remember his sacrifice.
Jesus paid dearly for it. “Remember that you were not bought at the measly sum
of silver or gold, but at the price of the blood of Christ, the blood of a
spotless and unblemished lamb.”
O Mary conceived without sin, pray
for us who have recourse to thee!
