Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Psalm31, Hebrews 4:14-5:9, John18:1-19:42
The Suffering and Death of Jesus
Today’s readings are about suffering. In Isaiah we find a reflection on the servant who is despised by others. We read that there are
“no looks to attract our eyes; a thing despised and rejected by people … a man to make people screen their faces; he was despised and we took no account of him.”
Today we remember the suffering and death of Jesus, and there are so many questions to ponder. Why did Jesus have to suffer? What does it mean to suffer? What do we do with suffering? How does suffering change us?
St. Paul tries to answer some of those questions. The reading from Hebrews emphasizes that Jesus took on our humanity which included being subject to temptation and experiencing the pain of suffering. Through his suffering he was trying to teach us something about living as a person in relationship with God in the course of our earthly life. Suffering is part of our lot as humans. Will encounter not only the pain of injury but also the pain that the Psalmist speaks of today, the pain of lonliness.
“those who see me in the street hurry past me; I am forgotten, as good as dead in their hearts, some thing discarded.”
The readings today invite us to reflect on the suffering of Jesus who did so for us and how we deal with our own suffering and loss. We are also reminded of how we deal with the suffering of others. Do we harden our hearts to our own pain and the pain of others, or can we confide our pain to God and ask for help in living with it and moving on in ways that empower us to recognize another person’s pain and respond in ways that the other will know they are not alone? Jesus is always so constant in letting us know that we are never alone.
In John, we read the passion of Jesus, and according to John, Jesus claims that,
“mine is not a kingdom of this world, if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews, my kingdom is not of this kind.”
In the highly nationalistic culture in which Jesus lived his message was not about resistance and overcoming the occupiers; Jesus’ message is about forgiveness, loving each other – even the enemy and learning from our suffering to become more present to each other and to our God. Through suffering, we can become more fully human and more fully a reflection of God’s continued presence in the world.
And we remember that Good Friday is not the end of the story. If it were we would not call it good. But it is just the beginning of the mystery that we celebrate during this holy Triduum. Out of darkness, out of evil, out of chaos God brings something new and good that the world had never seen before. This Good Friday our sorrow is tempered by hope, hope in the resurrection. But for now we wait in silence and contemplation.
Spend some time in prayer today.
Give thanks for what Jesus did for you.
A Blessed and Peaceful Easter Father.
God bless.