April 2, 2010 Good Friday Homily
Good Friday
One of the more popular television shows is the series “CSI.” It is about investigating crimes to determine the culprits and the motives. The investigators look at all the evidence, and then beneath the surface of things to discover the truth. One of the things that makes the series so popular are the many mysterious twists and turns the investigations take before the truth is found.
What would happen is the CSI detectives and forensic experts showed up on Calvary that Good Friday? At first glance, there is no crime. It is an open and shut case. Jesus of Nazareth was accused and found guilty of claiming to be God and making himself king. This execution was carried out by the Romans at the requests of the Jewish authorities and the mob gathered around the so-called trial. But is that the whole truth? Does it all add up? If someone were a thorough investigator, he or she would soon discover that there is more there than what meets the eye.
When the records are examined, it is true that Jesus does not defend himself against the charges. He does not appear bitter or defensive. He does not blame anyone else. He simply speaks the simple truth. It is this: God has sent his Son into the world to show his love for it and for his desire that the world be healed from all that afflicts it, namely sin, hatred, division and death. Jesus is a witness to this by what he says and does. There are no ulterior motives or secret conspiracies. There is no fomenting of political revolution. He has come to bring an abundant life to a world devastated by sin and death.
When the people demanded justice, Jesus preached mercy. When some people demanded special treatment, he treated all people, rich and poor alike with respect and dignity. When the people thought they knew all they needed to know about God, He came to reveal the truth about a loving God. The angrier they became, the more he loved; the more they attacked, the more he forgave; the more they shouted, the quieter he became.
While it appears that the physical cause of Jesus’ death was crucifixion and asphyxiation, deeper investigation reveals that the real cause was love. Jesus came to show us that the only true answer to the mystery of suffering and death is love. It came to be that the only way he could teach this to people was to die out of love for the people to whom he was sent, the entire human race.
The death of Jesus was not something to done to please God the Father or settle the score for human sin. The Father says time and time again that “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. The Father loves the Son deeply.
The death of Christ was for us and by us. We are ultimately responsible for Calvary. When we face suffering, our first response is often to lash out, seek vengeance and cause pain to others. Some of us may even believe the statement, “If I am unhappy, then EVERYONE is going to be unhappy!” That response never works. It never brings peace and in the end it will destroy us.
On this Good Friday, the Son of God is who became man, has seen the suffering with his own eyes, the woman caught in adultery, the death of his friend Lazarus, the crippled man at the pool of Bethsaida. He heard with his own ears the human shouts, “Son of David have pity on me!” If one were to ask Jesus what he would do about this, he would not speak in word but in action. His answer is to suffer in love for us. It was our anger over our sins and suffering that drove us to nail him to the cross. Jesus responded not just by suffering for them and with them, but to love them until his final breath. That Spirit he gave up on Calvary is destined to descend upon usso that we too may follow his example. The answer to evil is love- a self-emptying, agonizing, life-giving love.
The evidence of this is our faith and the faith of all who have come before us, down to Mary and John and the other women at the foot of the cross. We cannot escape the cross. All our anger, indignation, shouting and violence will not lighten our burden one bit. It will only increase it. The cross shows us the true divinity of Christ. Only God will suffer innocently unto death for the guilty. Only God would patiently endure injustice to show his mercy. Only God can destroy hatred by love.
Jesus has given us the true path and if we honestly investigate the case, the evidence is overwhelming. St. Paul said it clearly: Jesus died for sinners, you and me because he loved us and desired everlasting life for us. We must die to ourselves, not simply because we are guilty or because it is a matter of justice. We must do it because we love God before all else and we recognize him alone as the true path to life and freedom in this world and the next. Case Closed.
