In these holy days of the Triduum there is much to ponder- the mystery of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ, the call to hope, and the encounter with suffering. in the midst of it all, I've offered the following reflection for the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph for their series of Lenten Reflections. Today may be Holy Thursday, but I pray this Good Friday message reaching you wherever you are.
I have always loved Holy Thursday. That might seem like an
odd way to start out a reflection on Good Friday, but as I sit with the many
questions and the somberness of this day, I can’t help but recall that initial
love found in foot washing, students turned friends, and memories of a dinner
party we recall with each Eucharist.
Today, on Good Friday, I imagine the dirty dishes left
behind. Signs of what was hoped for, quietly held in the stillness of a story
gone awry. The cross is not what the disciples had anticipated. They surely had
imagined triumph like we saw on Palm Sunday, a lauded Messiah who would save an
oppressed people, who would overturn structures of domination and suffering
just as surely as he had flipped the tables in the Temple.
Suffering is not on the top of any of our lists of what it
means to be a follower of Christ.
And yet, today we stand at the foot of the cross and wonder:
how did all this happen? What does it mean for us? Why did it have to happen
and why would God let it? Simply and emphatically, why?
The answers to these questions resound in silence. They come
with tears and grief, mourning and weeping, pain and anguish. These are natural
responses to injustice and evil in our world. Any easy answers offered for such
a catastrophe should certainly be deemed suspect.
God didn’t send Jesus to die on the cross. Jesus died
because he claimed who he was and preached the Gospel- proclaiming good
news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, and healing for the outcast. This
Good News was a call to right relationship with God and with every neighbor
without distinction. It threatened the status quo, and for this, Jesus was
killed. Ultimately, what Jesus’ death on the cross reveals is the fullness of
God’s love for humanity.
This love draws us into union with God. It is what is so
beautifully expressed on Holy Thursday and so heartbreakingly snuffed out on
Good Friday.
On this day, when we venerate the cross it’s important to
remember that Jesus gave his life not only for salvation from sin but also, in
the words of theologian Jon Sobrino, for freedom “from any sort of oppression,
inner and outer, spiritual and physical, personal and social.” That freedom
calls us to act for justice, wherever life is threatened or senselessly lost.
We are called to be agents of unity, bearing hope amid our mourning, faithful
friends actively upholding the promise of new life Jesus offers us.
For Reflection:
- -Take time today to reflect on the places of
despair and injustice in our world. Who suffers senselessly? How is life being
threatened? What would it mean to venerate unifying love in these situations?
- -They say on Good Friday the world stood still.
If you can, try walking outside today. Imagine Jesus is walking with you. What
would you want to say to Jesus? What might Jesus be trying to say to you?
- What does it mean for you to bear hope in the shadow of the cross?
