Good Friday of the Lord's Passion
Lectionary: 40
Lectionary: 40
See, my servant shall prosper,
he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.
Even as many were amazed at himC
so marred was his look beyond human semblance
and his appearance beyond that of the sons of manC
so shall he startle many nations,
because of him kings shall stand speechless;
for those who have not been told shall see,
those who have not heard shall ponder it.
Who would believe what we have heard?
To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up like a sapling before him,
like a shoot from the parched earth;
there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,
nor appearance that would attract us to him.
He was spurned and avoided by people,
a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
one of those from whom people hide their faces,
spurned, and we held him in no esteem.
Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
each following his own way;
but the LORD laid upon him
the guilt of us all.
Though he was harshly treated, he submitted
and opened not his mouth;
like a lamb led to the slaughter
or a sheep before the shearers,
he was silent and opened not his mouth.
Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away,
and who would have thought any more of his destiny?
When he was cut off from the land of the living,
and smitten for the sin of his people,
a grave was assigned him among the wicked
and a burial place with evildoers,
though he had done no wrong
nor spoken any falsehood.
But the LORD was pleased
to crush him in infirmity.
If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.
Because of his affliction
he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear.
Therefore I will give him his portion among the great,
and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
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.
he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.
Even as many were amazed at himC
so marred was his look beyond human semblance
and his appearance beyond that of the sons of manC
so shall he startle many nations,
because of him kings shall stand speechless;
for those who have not been told shall see,
those who have not heard shall ponder it.
Who would believe what we have heard?
To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up like a sapling before him,
like a shoot from the parched earth;
there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,
nor appearance that would attract us to him.
He was spurned and avoided by people,
a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
one of those from whom people hide their faces,
spurned, and we held him in no esteem.
Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
each following his own way;
but the LORD laid upon him
the guilt of us all.
Though he was harshly treated, he submitted
and opened not his mouth;
like a lamb led to the slaughter
or a sheep before the shearers,
he was silent and opened not his mouth.
Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away,
and who would have thought any more of his destiny?
When he was cut off from the land of the living,
and smitten for the sin of his people,
a grave was assigned him among the wicked
and a burial place with evildoers,
though he had done no wrong
nor spoken any falsehood.
But the LORD was pleased
to crush him in infirmity.
If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.
Because of his affliction
he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear.
Therefore I will give him his portion among the great,
and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
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.
R. (Lk 23:46) Father,
into your hands I commend my spirit.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
For all my foes I am an object of reproach,
a laughingstock to my neighbors, and a dread to my friends;
they who see me abroad flee from me.
I am forgotten like the unremembered dead;
I am like a dish that is broken.
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God.
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors."
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
Take courage and be stouthearted,
all you who hope in the LORD.
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
For all my foes I am an object of reproach,
a laughingstock to my neighbors, and a dread to my friends;
they who see me abroad flee from me.
I am forgotten like the unremembered dead;
I am like a dish that is broken.
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God.
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors."
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
Take courage and be stouthearted,
all you who hope in the LORD.
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
Reading 2HEB 4:14-16; 5:7-9
Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.
In the days when Christ was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.
In the days when Christ was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
Verse Before
The GospelPHIL 2:8-9
Christ became obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name.
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name.
Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley
to where there was a garden,
into which he and his disciples entered.
Judas his betrayer also knew the place,
because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards
from the chief priests and the Pharisees
and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,
went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?”
They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.”
He said to them, “I AM.”
Judas his betrayer was also with them.
When he said to them, “I AM, “
they turned away and fell to the ground.
So he again asked them,
“Whom are you looking for?”
They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.”
Jesus answered,
“I told you that I AM.
So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”
This was to fulfill what he had said,
“I have not lost any of those you gave me.”
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,
struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear.
The slave’s name was Malchus.
Jesus said to Peter,
“Put your sword into its scabbard.
Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”
So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,
bound him, and brought him to Annas first.
He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year.
It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews
that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.
Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.
Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,
and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.
But Peter stood at the gate outside.
So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,
went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.
Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,
“You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?”
He said, “I am not.”
Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire
that they had made, because it was cold,
and were warming themselves.
Peter was also standing there keeping warm.
The high priest questioned Jesus
about his disciples and about his doctrine.
Jesus answered him,
“I have spoken publicly to the world.
I have always taught in a synagogue
or in the temple area where all the Jews gather,
and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me?
Ask those who heard me what I said to them.
They know what I said.”
When he had said this,
one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said,
“Is this the way you answer the high priest?”
Jesus answered him,
“If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong;
but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”
Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.
And they said to him,
“You are not one of his disciples, are you?”
He denied it and said,
“I am not.”
One of the slaves of the high priest,
a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
“Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
Again Peter denied it.
And immediately the cock crowed.
Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.
It was morning.
And they themselves did not enter the praetorium,
in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.
So Pilate came out to them and said,
“What charge do you bring against this man?”
They answered and said to him,
“If he were not a criminal,
we would not have handed him over to you.”
At this, Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”
The Jews answered him,
“We do not have the right to execute anyone, “
in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled
that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.
So Pilate went back into the praetorium
and summoned Jesus and said to him,
“Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered,
“Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?”
Pilate answered,
“I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?”
Jesus answered,
“My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”
So Pilate said to him,
“Then you are a king?”
Jesus answered,
“You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
When he had said this,
he again went out to the Jews and said to them,
“I find no guilt in him.
But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.
Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
They cried out again,
“Not this one but Barabbas!”
Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.
And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head,
and clothed him in a purple cloak,
and they came to him and said,
“Hail, King of the Jews!”
And they struck him repeatedly.
Once more Pilate went out and said to them,
“Look, I am bringing him out to you,
so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”
So Jesus came out,
wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.
And he said to them, “Behold, the man!”
When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,
“Crucify him, crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves and crucify him.
I find no guilt in him.”
The Jews answered,
“We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die,
because he made himself the Son of God.”
Now when Pilate heard this statement,
he became even more afraid,
and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,
“Where are you from?”
Jesus did not answer him.
So Pilate said to him,
“Do you not speak to me?
Do you not know that I have power to release you
and I have power to crucify you?”
Jesus answered him,
“You would have no power over me
if it had not been given to you from above.
For this reason the one who handed me over to you
has the greater sin.”
Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out,
“If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.
Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”
When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out
and seated him on the judge’s bench
in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.
And he said to the Jews,
“Behold, your king!”
They cried out,
“Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,
“Shall I crucify your king?”
The chief priests answered,
“We have no king but Caesar.”
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself,
he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull,
in Hebrew, Golgotha.
There they crucified him, and with him two others,
one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.
It read,
“Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.”
Now many of the Jews read this inscription,
because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city;
and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,
“Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’
but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.”
Pilate answered,
“What I have written, I have written.”
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus,
they took his clothes and divided them into four shares,
a share for each soldier.
They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless,
woven in one piece from the top down.
So they said to one another,
“Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “
in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:
They divided my garments among them,
and for my vesture they cast lots.
This is what the soldiers did.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and that they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is speaking the truth,
so that you also may come to believe.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:
Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced.
After this, Joseph of Arimathea,
secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews,
asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.
And Pilate permitted it.
So he came and took his body.
Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night,
also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes
weighing about one hundred pounds.
They took the body of Jesus
and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices,
according to the Jewish burial custom.
Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden,
and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.
So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day;
for the tomb was close by.
to where there was a garden,
into which he and his disciples entered.
Judas his betrayer also knew the place,
because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards
from the chief priests and the Pharisees
and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,
went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?”
They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.”
He said to them, “I AM.”
Judas his betrayer was also with them.
When he said to them, “I AM, “
they turned away and fell to the ground.
So he again asked them,
“Whom are you looking for?”
They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.”
Jesus answered,
“I told you that I AM.
So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”
This was to fulfill what he had said,
“I have not lost any of those you gave me.”
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,
struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear.
The slave’s name was Malchus.
Jesus said to Peter,
“Put your sword into its scabbard.
Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”
So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,
bound him, and brought him to Annas first.
He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year.
It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews
that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.
Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.
Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,
and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.
But Peter stood at the gate outside.
So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,
went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.
Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,
“You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?”
He said, “I am not.”
Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire
that they had made, because it was cold,
and were warming themselves.
Peter was also standing there keeping warm.
The high priest questioned Jesus
about his disciples and about his doctrine.
Jesus answered him,
“I have spoken publicly to the world.
I have always taught in a synagogue
or in the temple area where all the Jews gather,
and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me?
Ask those who heard me what I said to them.
They know what I said.”
When he had said this,
one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said,
“Is this the way you answer the high priest?”
Jesus answered him,
“If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong;
but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”
Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.
And they said to him,
“You are not one of his disciples, are you?”
He denied it and said,
“I am not.”
One of the slaves of the high priest,
a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
“Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
Again Peter denied it.
And immediately the cock crowed.
Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.
It was morning.
And they themselves did not enter the praetorium,
in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.
So Pilate came out to them and said,
“What charge do you bring against this man?”
They answered and said to him,
“If he were not a criminal,
we would not have handed him over to you.”
At this, Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”
The Jews answered him,
“We do not have the right to execute anyone, “
in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled
that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.
So Pilate went back into the praetorium
and summoned Jesus and said to him,
“Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered,
“Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?”
Pilate answered,
“I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?”
Jesus answered,
“My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”
So Pilate said to him,
“Then you are a king?”
Jesus answered,
“You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
When he had said this,
he again went out to the Jews and said to them,
“I find no guilt in him.
But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.
Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
They cried out again,
“Not this one but Barabbas!”
Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.
And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head,
and clothed him in a purple cloak,
and they came to him and said,
“Hail, King of the Jews!”
And they struck him repeatedly.
Once more Pilate went out and said to them,
“Look, I am bringing him out to you,
so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”
So Jesus came out,
wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.
And he said to them, “Behold, the man!”
When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,
“Crucify him, crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves and crucify him.
I find no guilt in him.”
The Jews answered,
“We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die,
because he made himself the Son of God.”
Now when Pilate heard this statement,
he became even more afraid,
and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,
“Where are you from?”
Jesus did not answer him.
So Pilate said to him,
“Do you not speak to me?
Do you not know that I have power to release you
and I have power to crucify you?”
Jesus answered him,
“You would have no power over me
if it had not been given to you from above.
For this reason the one who handed me over to you
has the greater sin.”
Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out,
“If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.
Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”
When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out
and seated him on the judge’s bench
in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.
And he said to the Jews,
“Behold, your king!”
They cried out,
“Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,
“Shall I crucify your king?”
The chief priests answered,
“We have no king but Caesar.”
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself,
he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull,
in Hebrew, Golgotha.
There they crucified him, and with him two others,
one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.
It read,
“Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.”
Now many of the Jews read this inscription,
because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city;
and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,
“Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’
but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.”
Pilate answered,
“What I have written, I have written.”
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus,
they took his clothes and divided them into four shares,
a share for each soldier.
They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless,
woven in one piece from the top down.
So they said to one another,
“Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “
in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:
They divided my garments among them,
and for my vesture they cast lots.
This is what the soldiers did.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and that they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is speaking the truth,
so that you also may come to believe.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:
Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced.
After this, Joseph of Arimathea,
secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews,
asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.
And Pilate permitted it.
So he came and took his body.
Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night,
also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes
weighing about one hundred pounds.
They took the body of Jesus
and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices,
according to the Jewish burial custom.
Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden,
and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.
So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day;
for the tomb was close by.
Meditation: "It is
finished"
Who can bear to look upon the bloodied cross where
Jesus hung without shame or sorrowful grief, disbelief or reverent awe? The
cross brings us face to face with Jesus' suffering. He was alone - all his
disciples had deserted him except for his mother and three women along with
John, the beloved disciple. And his death was agonizing and humiliating.
Normally a crucified man could last for several days on a cross. Jesus' had already
been scourged, beaten with rods, and a crown of thorns pressed into his skull.
It is no wonder that he died mid-afternoon. Pilate publicly heralded Jesus
"The King of the Jews" as he died upon the cross, no doubt to
irritate and annoy the chief priests and Pharisees (John 19:19).
The King who ransoms us with his own life
Jesus was crucified for his claim to be King. The Jews had understood that the Messiah would come as their king to establish God's reign for them. They wanted a king who would free them from tyranny and foreign domination. Many had high hopes that Jesus would be the Messianic king. Little did they understand what kind of kingship Jesus claimed to have. Jesus came to conquer hearts and souls for an imperishable kingdom, rather than to conquer perishable lands and entitlements.
Jesus was crucified for his claim to be King. The Jews had understood that the Messiah would come as their king to establish God's reign for them. They wanted a king who would free them from tyranny and foreign domination. Many had high hopes that Jesus would be the Messianic king. Little did they understand what kind of kingship Jesus claimed to have. Jesus came to conquer hearts and souls for an imperishable kingdom, rather than to conquer perishable lands and entitlements.
Jesus' death on the cross defeated sin and death for
us
We can find no greater proof of God's love for us than the willing sacrifice of his Son on the cross. Jesus' parting words, "It is finished!" express triumph rather than defeat. Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit knowing that the strife was now over and the battle was won. Even on the cross Jesus knew the joy of victory. What the Father sent him into the world to do has now been accomplished. Christ offered himself without blemish to God and he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (see Hebrews 9:24-26).
We can find no greater proof of God's love for us than the willing sacrifice of his Son on the cross. Jesus' parting words, "It is finished!" express triumph rather than defeat. Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit knowing that the strife was now over and the battle was won. Even on the cross Jesus knew the joy of victory. What the Father sent him into the world to do has now been accomplished. Christ offered himself without blemish to God and he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (see Hebrews 9:24-26).
As we gaze on his wounds - we touch the scars of his
resurrection
While the close company of Jesus' disciples - his apostles - had deserted him and hid out of fear from the Jewish authorities, Jesus' mother and some of the women who were close to Jesus stood close to him while he hung upon the cross. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D) in his sermon on John's passion account focuses on the gaze of the women who witnessed the shedding of his blood and the offering of his life as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world.
While the close company of Jesus' disciples - his apostles - had deserted him and hid out of fear from the Jewish authorities, Jesus' mother and some of the women who were close to Jesus stood close to him while he hung upon the cross. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D) in his sermon on John's passion account focuses on the gaze of the women who witnessed the shedding of his blood and the offering of his life as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world.
"As they were looking on, so we too
gaze on his wounds as he hangs. We see his blood as he dies. We see the price
offered by the redeemer, touch the scars of his resurrection. He bows his
head, as if to kiss you. His heart is made bare open, as it were, in love
to you. His arms are extended that he may embrace you. His whole body is
displayed for your redemption. Ponder how great these things are. Let all this
be rightly weighed in your mind: as he was once fixed to the cross in every
part of his body for you, so he may now be fixed in every part of your
soul." (GMI 248)
Augustine invites us to present ourselves before Jesus
crucified who took our sins upon himself and nailed them to the cross. Through
the eyes of faith we, too, gaze upon the bloodied body of our Redeemer who paid
the price for our sins - and we touch the scars of his resurrection who
defeated death for our sake so that we may know the victory of his cross and
resurrection and receive the promise of everlasting life and glory with him in
his kingdom.
The miracle of my salvation
In the cross of Christ we see the triumph of Jesus over his enemies - sin, Satan, and death. Many Christians down through the centuries have sung the praises of the Cross of Christ. Paul the Apostle exclaimed, "But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14).
In the cross of Christ we see the triumph of Jesus over his enemies - sin, Satan, and death. Many Christians down through the centuries have sung the praises of the Cross of Christ. Paul the Apostle exclaimed, "But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14).
Hear what Gregory Nazianzen (329-389 AD), an early
church father and bishop of Constantinople, wrote about the triumph of Christ's
exaltation on the cross:
"Many indeed are the wondrous
happenings of that time: God hanging from a cross, the sun made dark and again
flaming out (Luke 23:44, Mark 15:33); for it was fitting that creation should
mourn with its creator. The temple veil rent (Matthew 27:51), blood and water
flowing from his side (John 19:34): the one as from a man, the other as from
what was above man; the earth shaken, the rocks shattered because of the rock
(Matthew 27:51); the dead risen to bear witness to the final and universal
resurrection of the dead (Matthew 27:52). The happenings at the sepulcher and
after the sepulcher, who can fittingly recount them? Yet no one of them can be
compared to the miracle of my salvation. A few drops of blood renew the whole
world, and do for all men what the rennet does for the milk: joining us and
binding us together. (On the Holy Pasch, Oration 45.1)
Rupert of Deutz
(1075-1129), a Benedictine abbot and theologian, wrote:
"The cross of Christ is the door to
heaven, the key to paradise, the downfall of the devil, the uplifting of
mankind, the consolation of our imprisonment, the prize for our freedom."
The throne of love and sign of God's mercy
The Cross of Christ is the safeguard of our faith, the assurance of our hope, and the throne of love. It is also the sign of God's mercy and the proof of forgiveness. By his cross Jesus Christ has pardoned us and set us free from the tyranny of sin. He paid the price for us when he made atonement for our sins. The way to peace, joy, and righteousness in the kingdom of God and the way to victory over sin and corruption, fear and defeat, despair and death is through the cross of Jesus Christ. Do you follow the Lord Jesus in his way of the cross with joy, hope, and confidence?
The Cross of Christ is the safeguard of our faith, the assurance of our hope, and the throne of love. It is also the sign of God's mercy and the proof of forgiveness. By his cross Jesus Christ has pardoned us and set us free from the tyranny of sin. He paid the price for us when he made atonement for our sins. The way to peace, joy, and righteousness in the kingdom of God and the way to victory over sin and corruption, fear and defeat, despair and death is through the cross of Jesus Christ. Do you follow the Lord Jesus in his way of the cross with joy, hope, and confidence?
"Lord Jesus Christ, by your death on the cross
you have won pardon for us and freedom from the tyranny of sin and death. May I
live in the joy and freedom of your victory over sin and death."
A Daily Quote for Lent: Christ nailed our weakness to the cross,
by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"As evening drew near, the Lord yielded up His
soul upon the cross in the certainty of receiving it back again. It was not
wrested from Him against His will. But we too were represented there. Christ
had nothing to hang upon the cross except the body He had received from us. And
in doing so He nailed our human weakness to the cross." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 140,5)
FRIDAY, MARCH
30, JOHN 18:1--19:42
FRIDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD (GOOD FRIDAY)
Day of Fast and Abstinence
(Isaiah 52:13 ̶ 53:12; Psalm 31; Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9)
FRIDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD (GOOD FRIDAY)
Day of Fast and Abstinence
(Isaiah 52:13 ̶ 53:12; Psalm 31; Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9)
KEY VERSE: "It is finished" (v.30).
TO KNOW: The passion and death of Jesus is ritually expressed in the liturgy of Good Friday. It is the only day of the year when Mass is not celebrated. The service held in the afternoon recalls the "hour" of Jesus' crucifixion. The red vestments signify the blood that Jesus shed. Just as Jesus was stripped of his garments, the altar is laid bare. The readings are somber; Jesus is the suffering servant of the Lord. The assembly listens to John's Gospel recounting Jesus' passion and death. The mental and physical pains that Jesus suffered cannot be measured. The crown of thorns pierced his head; his back whipped with forty lashes; carrying the cross to the place of his crucifixion and, to add to all this torment, Jesus' hands and feet were nailed to the wood of the cross. At Jesus' last words, "It is finished" (Jn 19: 30), we bow our heads and kneel in prayer. Then we come forward to venerate the cross of salvation, and to receive the body and blood of the Lord in communion. By the wounds of the Lord, we are healed; he is the source of eternal salvation for all who believe in him.
TO LOVE: Gaze at a crucifix and remember the sacrificial love Jesus has for each of us.
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, "through the cross you brought joy to the world" (Antiphon, Veneration of the Cross).
NOTE: Good Friday is a Day of Fast and Abstinence
All Catholics between the age of 18 and 59 are obliged to fast and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. One full meatless meal is allowed on the days of fast. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength, are allowed. Together the two meals should not exceed the full meal. Drinking liquids, including milk and fruit juices, does not break the fast.
NOTE: The crimes during the Passion of Christ cannot be attributed to all Jews of that time, nor to Jews today. The Jewish people should not be referred to as rejected or cursed. The Church ever keeps in mind that Jesus, his mother Mary, and the Apostles were all Jewish. As the Church has always held, Christ freely suffered his passion and death because of the sins of all, that all might be saved. -- Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs
PASSOVER BEGINS AT SUNSET
Passover is probably the best known of the Jewish holidays, mostly because it ties in with the Last Supper, which was apparently a Passover seder. Passover starts at sundown on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan, which typically falls in March or April. It is the first of the three major festivals with (the other two are Shavu’ot and Sukkot). Passover represents the beginning of the harvest season in Israel, but little attention is paid to this aspect of the holiday. The primary observances of Passover are related to the Exodus from Egypt after 400 years of slavery. This story is told in Exodus, Ch. 1-15. The name “Passover” refers to the fact that the angel of death “passed over” the houses of the Jews when slaying the firstborn of Egypt. In Hebrew, it is known as Pesach, which is based on the Hebrew root meaning “pass over.”
Friday 30 March
2018
The entombment of Christ, 1602–04. Musei Vaticani, Rome.
Good Friday. Day of Fast and Abstinence.
Isaiah 52:13–53:12. Ps 30(31):2, 6, 12-13, 15-17, 25. Hebrews
4:14-16; 5:7-9. John 18:1–19:42.
Father, I put my life in your hands—Psalm 30(31):2, 6, 12-13,
15-17, 25.
Anna is an interesting person in the gospel.
At different times in our lives, we will relate to practically
all the people in the passion story. Sometimes, we run away from those who need
us, as the disciples did. Other times, we will be as faithful and brave as the
women who stood at the foot of the cross. Sometimes, we will want to wash our hands
as Pilate did. Other times, we will step in and get our hands dirty as Simon of
Cyrene did.
There is a part of us that resembles Joseph of Arimathea who
kept his faith secret because he was afraid. He was an open man; he loved to
listen to Jesus. He also wanted to ensure that Jesus was buried with dignity.
For Joseph, Jesus never stopped being a person. Caravaggio paints him as a
tender figure, looking at us, seeming to ask for our help.
Caravaggio grew up as a street kid. He was familiar with grime
and squalor of every kind. He had seen no shortage of dead
bodies, covered in blood, or injuries or disease.
Yet he shows the body of Jesus as unlike any of that. It has a
strength and purity. It has lost none of its vigour. Even in death, Jesus is
seen as a source of hope. Around him, his friends are alive in their grief.
Indeed, it is rare to find as picture of death that is so completely full of
life.
The death of Jesus is, indeed, at the heart of understanding all
human life. St Ignatius loved the prayer called the Anima Christi.
It asks ‘water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of
Christ, strengthen me.’
Saint Peter Regalado
Saint of the Day for March 30
(1390 – March 30, 1456)
Saint Peter Regalado’s Story
Peter
lived at a very busy time in history. The Great Western Schism (1378-1417) was
settled at the Council of Constance (1414-1418). France and England were
fighting the Hundred Years’ War, and in 1453, the Byzantine Empire was
completely wiped out by the loss of Constantinople to the Turks. At Peter’s
death, the age of printing had just begun in Germany, and Columbus’s arrival in
the New World was less than 40 years away.
Peter
came from a wealthy and pious family in Valladolid, Spain. At the age of 13, he
was allowed to enter the Conventual Franciscans. Shortly after his ordination,
he was made superior of the friary in Aguilar. He became part of a group of
friars who wanted to lead a life of greater poverty and penance. In 1442, he
was appointed head of all the Spanish Franciscans in his reform group.
Peter
led the friars by his example. A special love of the poor and the sick
characterized Peter. Miraculous stories are told about his charity to the poor.
For example, the bread never seemed to run out as long as Peter had hungry
people to feed. Throughout most of his life, Peter went hungry; he lived only
on bread and water.
Immediately
after his death on March 31, 1456, his grave became a place of pilgrimage.
Peter was canonized in 1746.
Reflection
Peter
was an effective leader of the friars because he did not become ensnared in
anger over the sins of others. Peter helped sinning friars rearrange the
priorities in their lives and dedicate themselves to living the gospel of Jesus
Christ as they had vowed. This patient correction is an act of charity
available to all Franciscans, not just to superiors.
LECTIO DIVINA: GOOD FRIDAY
Lectio Divina:
Friday, March 30, 2018
The Passion of Jesus according to John
John 18:1 – 19:42
1. RECOLLECTION IN PRAYER
– STATIO
Come, You who refresh us,
the soul’s delightful guest,
come take away all that is mine,
and pour into me all that is yours.
the soul’s delightful guest,
come take away all that is mine,
and pour into me all that is yours.
Come, You who are the nourishment of
every chaste thought,
source of all mercies, sum of all purity.
Come and burn away all that in me is cause
of my not being able to be consumed by You.
Come, Spirit,
who are ever with the Father and the Bridegroom,
and rest over the brides of the Bridegroom.
(St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, O.Carm.,
in La Probatione ii, 193-194.)
source of all mercies, sum of all purity.
Come and burn away all that in me is cause
of my not being able to be consumed by You.
Come, Spirit,
who are ever with the Father and the Bridegroom,
and rest over the brides of the Bridegroom.
(St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, O.Carm.,
in La Probatione ii, 193-194.)
2. A PRAYERFUL READING OF THE
WORD – LECTIO
From the Gospel according to John
Jesus went out with his disciples across
the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples
entered. Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met
there with his disciples. So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from
the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and
weapons. Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out
and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?” They answered him, “Jesus the
Nazorean.” He said to them, “I AM.” Judas his betrayer was also with them. When
he said to them, “I AM, “they turned away and fell to the ground. So he again
asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.” Jesus
answered, “I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men
go.” This was to fulfill what he had said, “I have not lost any of those you
gave me.” Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s
slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to
Peter, “Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the
Father gave me?” So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards
seized Jesus, bound him, and brought him to Annas first. He was the
father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who
had counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than
the people. Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Now the other
disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered the courtyard of the high
priest with Jesus. But Peter stood at the gate outside. So the other disciple,
the acquaintance of the high priest, went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and
brought Peter in. Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, “You are
not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the slaves
and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because
it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping
warm. The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his
doctrine. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken publicly to the world. I have
always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather,
and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me? Ask those who heard me what I
said to them. They know what I said.” When he had said this, one of the temple
guards standing there struck Jesus and said, “Is this the way you answer the
high priest?” Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the
wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” Then Annas sent him
bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping
warm. And they said to him, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He
denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the slaves of the high priest, a
relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the
garden with him?” Again Peter denied it. And immediately the cock crowed. Then
they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium. It was morning. And they themselves
did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat
the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring
against this man?” They answered and said to him, “If he were not a criminal,
we would not have handed him over to you.” At this, Pilate said to them, “Take
him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.” The Jews answered him,
“We do not have the right to execute anyone, “ in order that the word of Jesus
might be fulfilled that he said indicating the kind of death he would die. So
Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, “Are
you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have
others told you about me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own
nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus
answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong
to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over
to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” So Pilate said to him,
“Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was
born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who
belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
When he had said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, “I find
no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at
Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” They cried
out again, “Not this one but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a revolutionary. Then
Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of
thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they
came to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly.
Once more Pilate went out and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to
you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out,
wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, “Behold,
the man!” When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,
“Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and
crucify him. I find no guilt in him.” The Jews answered, “We have a law, and
according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”
Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid, and went back
into the praetorium and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” Jesus did not
answer him. So Pilate said to him, “Do you not speak to me? Do you not know
that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?” Jesus
answered him, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you
from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater
sin.” Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, “If
you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a
king opposes Caesar.” When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and
seated him on the judge’s bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew,
Gabbatha. It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he
said to the Jews, “Behold, your king!” They cried out, “Take him away, take him
away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief
priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed him over to them
to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went
out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they
crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the
middle. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read,
“Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” Now many of the Jews read this
inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and
it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews
said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am
the King of the Jews’.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them
into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the
tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down. So they said to one
another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “in
order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says: They divided
my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots. This is what the
soldiers did. Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s
sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother
and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold,
your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that
hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, aware that everything was
now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I
thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge
soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had
taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over
the spirit. Here all kneel and pause for a short time. Now since it was
preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the
sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked
Pilate that their legs be broken and that they be taken down. So the soldiers
came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was
crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already
dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his
side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified,
and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you
also may come to believe. For this happened so that the Scripture passage might
be fulfilled: Not a bone of it will be broken. And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced. After this, Joseph of
Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if
he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took
his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came
bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They
took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices,
according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been
crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had
yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation
day; for the tomb was close by.
3. REFLECTING ON THE WORD
– MEDITATIO
3.1. A key to the reading:
- Jesus master of His fate
I would like to suggest that we meditate
in the spirit of Mary, at the foot of the cross of Jesus. She, the strong woman
who understood the full meaning of this event of the passion and death of the
Lord, will help us cast a contemplative glance at the crucified (Jn 1:5–27). We
are looking at chapter 19 of John’s Gospel, which begins with the scene of the
scourging and the crowning with thorns. Pilate presents “Jesus the Nazarene,
the king of the Jews” to the chief priests and to the guards who call for His
death on the cross (Jn 1:). Thus Jesus begins the way of the cross towards
Golgotha, where He will be crucified. In the story of the Passion according to
John, Jesus reveals himself as master of himself and in control of all that is
happening to Him. John’s text is full of phrases that point to this theological
fact, that Jesus offers His life. He actively, not passively, endures the
events of the passion. Here are just some examples putting the stress on some
phrases and words. The reader may find other examples:
Knowing everything that was to happen to
Him, Jesus came forward and
said: "Who are you looking for?" They answered, "Jesus the
Nazarene". He said, "I am He!". Now Judas the traitor was
standing among them. When Jesus said to them "I am He", they moved
back and fell on the ground. He asked them a second time, "Who
are you looking for?" They said, "Jesus the Nazarene". Jesus
replied, "I have told you that I am He. If I am the one you are looking
for, let these others go". This was to fulfill the words
He had spoken, "Not one of those You gave me have I lost".
(Jn 1:-9)
“Jesus then came out wearing the
crown of thorns and the purple robe” (Jn 1:),
Jesus replied, “You would have
no power over me at all, if it had not been given you from
above.” (Jn 1:1).
On the cross too, Jesus takes an active
part in His death, He does not allow himself to be killed like the thieves
whose legs were broken (Jn 1:1-33), but commits His spirit (Jn 1:0). The
details recalled by the Evangelist are very important: Seeing His mother and
the disciple whom He loved standing near her, Jesus said to His mother, “Woman,
this is your son.” Then to the disciple He said, “This is your mother.” (Jn
1:6-27). These simple words of Jesus bear the weight of revelation, words that
reveal to us His will: “this is your son” (v. 26); “this is your mother” (v.
27). These words also recall those pronounced by Pilate on the Lithostrotos:
“This is the man” (Jn 1:). With these words, Jesus on the cross, His throne,
reveals His will and His love for us. He is the lamb of God, the shepherd who
gives His life for His sheep. At that moment, by the cross, He gives birth to
the Church, represented by Mary, her sister (or sister-in-law) Mary of
Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene, together with the beloved disciple (Jn 1:5).
- Beloved and faithful disciples
The fourth Gospel specifies that these
disciples “stood by the cross” (Jn 1:5-26). This detail has a deep meaning.
Only the fourth Gospel tells us that these five persons stood by the cross. The
other Evangelists do not say so. Luke, for instance, says that all those who
knew Him followed the events from a distance (Lk 2:9). Matthew also says that
many women followed these events from afar. These women had followed Jesus from
Galilee and served Him. But now they followed Him from afar (Mt 2:5–56). Like
Matthew, Mark gives us the names of those who followed the death of Jesus from
afar (Mk 1:0-41). Thus only the fourth Gospel says that the mother of Jesus and
the other women and the beloved disciple “stood by the cross”. They stood there
like servants before their king. They are present courageously at a time when
Jesus has already declared that “it is fulfilled” (Jn 1:0). The mother of Jesus
is present at the hour that finally “has come”. That hour foretold at the
wedding feast of Cana (Jn 2:1 ff). The fourth Gospel had remarked then that
“the mother of Jesus was there” (Jn 2:1). Thus the person that remains faithful
to the Lord in his destiny, he/she is a beloved disciple. The Evangelist keeps
this disciple anonymous so that each one of us may see him/herself mirrored in
the one who knew the mysteries of the Lord, who laid his head on Jesus’ chest
at the last supper (Jn 13:25).
3.1.1. Questions and suggestions
to direct our meditation and practice
● Read once more the passage of the
Gospel and look in the Bible for the texts mentioned in the key to the reading.
Look for other parallel texts that may help us penetrate deeper into the text
presented for our meditation.
● In spirit, and with the help of the prayerful reading of John’s text, visit the places of the Passion, stop on Calvary to witness with Mary and the beloved disciple the events of the Passion.
● What struck you most?
● What feelings does this story of the Passion arouse in you?
● What does the fact that Jesus actively bears His passion mean for you?
● In spirit, and with the help of the prayerful reading of John’s text, visit the places of the Passion, stop on Calvary to witness with Mary and the beloved disciple the events of the Passion.
● What struck you most?
● What feelings does this story of the Passion arouse in you?
● What does the fact that Jesus actively bears His passion mean for you?
4. ORATIO
O Eternal Wisdom, Infinite Goodness,
Ineffable Truth, You who probe hearts, Eternal God, help us to understand that
You can, know and want to! O Loving and Bleeding Lamb, crucified Christ,
fulfill in us that which You said: “Anyone who follows me will not be walking
in the dark, but will have the light of life” (Jn 8:12). O perfect light, from
whom all lights proceed! O light for whom light was created, without whom all
is darkness and with whom all is light. Light up, light up, do light up! Let
Your whole will penetrate all the authors and collaborators You have chosen in
this work of renewal. Jesus, Jesus love, Jesus, transform us and make us
conform to You. Uncreated Wisdom, Eternal Word, sweet Truth, silent Love,
Jesus, Jesus Love!
(St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, O.Carm.,
in The Renewal of the Church, 90-91.)
(St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, O.Carm.,
in The Renewal of the Church, 90-91.)
5. CONTEMPLATIO
Repeat frequently and calmly these words
of Jesus when He offered himself:
“Father into Your hands I commend my
spirit”
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