Homily for Good Friday - April 2, 2021

 Readings for today can be found here.

            I happened to be a music minister during the Good Friday service several years ago.  My seat near the sanctuary afforded me a good view of the altar and the aisle leading up to it.  It came time for the adoration of the Cross.  Father put on a humeral veil, walked to the back of the church, and picked up a medium sized crucifix to begin the procession.  He was carrying the crucifix the way a parent holds a sick child, cradling it to his body with the tenderest of care.  When he neared the altar, I realized he was crying.  Not just a few tears in the corner of an eye, but sobbing, his shoulders heaving.  I was deeply moved by the way he looked at the crucifix and wept as if it was his own child that had died on the cross.  I later had a chance to speak to him and mentioned how moved I was by his genuine display of emotion.  His response was “how could I not be moved when realizing what Jesus did for us?”

            What did Jesus do for us?  Today, Jesus gave up everything for us.  Our first reading, from Isaiah, richly describes Jesus’ role as the Suffering Servant.  “He was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, by his stipes we were healed.”  Isiah describes what Jesus would endure on the way to the Cross.  Jesus’ teachings put him on a collision course with the religious leaders of His day.  Jesus knew this day was coming and willingly drank the cup that had been given to him by God.  He allowed the chief priests to hand him over to the Roman authorities, who beat and mistreated Him even though Pilate himself though him to be innocent.  After being sentenced to death, he was forced to carry the cross they would nail Him to.  And when the time came, He willingly lied down and allowed Himself to be nailed to it.

            Jesus died for us on the cross to be the ultimate scapegoat for our sins.  By following the will of His Father, Jesus became the perfect sacrifice to bring about the means of our salvation.  Isaiah writes that Jesus would be given a portion among the great “because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked: and he shall take away the sins of many and win pardon for their offenses.”  By His death, Jesus opens the way for us to be forgiven of our sins and restore our relationship with God.  Jesus won pardon for our offenses.

            Jesus did this out of His great love for us.  Does that still amaze us?  Does His sacrifice shake us to our core?  In the letter to the Romans, Paul speaks of the depth of this love saying “Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.  But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”  Jesus loved us so much, He was willing to die to save us all, every single one of us.  Soon, we will come forward to adore the Cross.  As we do so, reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.  What does it mean to us?  Where might we need healing and forgiveness in our lives?  Are we still moved to change our lives as we realize what Jesus did for us?