April 18, 2025
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
Lectionary: 40
Reading I
See, my servant
shall prosper,
he shall be
raised high and greatly exalted.
Even as many were amazed at him--
so marred
was his look beyond human semblance
and his
appearance beyond that of the sons of man--
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.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm
31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25
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.
Reading II
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.
Verse Before the Gospel
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.
The passion
narratives are proclaimed in full so that all see vividly the love of Christ
for each person. In light of this, the crimes during the Passion of Christ
cannot be attributed, in either preaching or catechesis, indiscriminately
to all Jews of that time, nor to Jews today. The Jewish people should not
be referred to as though rejected or cursed, as if this view followed
from Scripture. The Church ever keeps in mind that Jesus, his mother Mary,
and the apostles all were 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.
Gospel
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.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041825.cfm
Commentary on Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9;
John 18:1—19:42
On Good Friday, let us contemplate these two scenes:
God in Jesus,
battered and naked on the Cross, is made accessible to all. We
still need discerning eyes to see this, but even a pagan soldier could see it
(see Mark 15:39).
The veil of the
Temple is torn in two. The Holy of Holies is thrown open (Matt 27:51) and God
is no longer hidden behind a veil, inaccessible except to the High Priest, and
then only once a year. He is available to all of us—at any
time and in any place.
All early cultures sacrificed blood to their gods. Blood was
associated with the life principle—we can bleed to death. The most precious
offering to God was blood, and the most precious blood of all was human blood.
Historians tell us that many ancient cultures engaged in
human sacrifice (Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac is seen by
some as related to this practice—see Gen 22:1-18). Later, human sacrifice was
eliminated and only animals were used. By the time of Jesus, the Temple had
become a giant butchery, with priests killing animals non-stop. When Jesus
drove out the money-changers, it was estimated that 90 percent of commerce was
linked to animal sacrifices.
Why, then, so much blood at Jesus’ death? For so many
centuries people had been spilling blood to reach out to God. But in the
Crucifixion, it is reversed—God spills his own blood to reach out to us. This
is to take away our old fear, that we need to spill blood to try to appease an
angry God. There is no such thing as an ‘angry’ God. There is only an
unconditionally loving God.
Paul tells us that Jesus “emptied himself” (Phil 2:6-7). He
emptied himself of all egoism, of all anger, fear and anxiety, of all human
dignity in the sight of others. He let go of everything and because he did so,
he was fully taken up in union with his Father.
For us it has to be the same. Our lives are so tied up with
all kinds of concerns, desires, ambitions, fears and anxieties. We need to
remove these blocks and just let go. We need to break down the barriers
separating us from total union with the Source and Goal of all being.
The Way is shown clearly in the Gospel, and most of all in
the Way of the Cross—leading to resurrection, new life and ascension, and to
union with God in Christ.
Paul was very close to it when he said:
…it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives
in me.
(Gal 2:20)
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Friday,
April 18, 2025
Good Friday
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. 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.)
A Prayerful Reading of the Word – Lectio
From the Gospel according to John (18:
1-19: 42)
1 After he had said all
this, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron valley where there
was a garden into which he went with his disciples. 2 Judas the traitor knew
the place also, since Jesus had often met his disciples there, 3 so Judas
brought the cohort to this place together with guards sent by the chief priests
and the Pharisees, all with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Knowing
everything that was to happen to him, Jesus came forward and said, 'Who are you
looking for?' 5 They answered, 'Jesus the Nazarene.' He said, 'I am he.' Now
Judas the traitor was standing among them. 6 When Jesus said to them, 'I am
he,' they moved back and fell on the ground. 7 He asked them a second time, 'Who
are you looking for?' They said, 'Jesus the Nazarene.' 8 Jesus replied, 'I have
told you that I am he. If I am the one you are looking for, let these others
go.' 9 This was to fulfill the words he had spoken, 'Not one of those you gave
me have I lost.' 10 Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high
priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. 11
Jesus said to Peter, 'Put your sword back in its scabbard; am I not to drink
the cup that the Father has given me?'
12 The cohort and its tribune and the
Jewish guards seized Jesus and bound him. 13 They took him first to Annas,
because Annas was the father-in-law of
Caiaphas, who was high priest that
year. 14 It was Caiaphas who had counselled the Jews, 'It is better for one man
to die for the people.'
15 Simon Peter, with another
disciple, followed Jesus. This disciple, who was known to the high priest, went
with Jesus into the high priest's palace, 16 but Peter stayed outside the door.
So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the
door-keeper and brought Peter in. 17 The girl on duty at the door said to
Peter, 'Aren't you another of that man's disciples?' He answered, 'I am not.'
18 Now it was cold, and the servants and guards had lit a charcoal fire and
were standing there warming themselves; so Peter stood there too, warming
himself with the others.
19 The high priest questioned Jesus
about his disciples and his teaching. 20 Jesus answered, 'I have spoken openly
for all the world to hear; I have always taught in the synagogue and in the
Temple where all the Jews meet together; I have said nothing in secret. 21 Why
ask me? Ask my hearers what I taught; they know what I said.' 22 At these
words, one of the guards standing by gave Jesus a slap in the face, saying, 'Is
that the way you answer the high priest?' 23 Jesus replied, 'If there is some
offence in what I said, point it out; but if not, why do you strike me?' 24
Then Annas sent him, bound, to Caiaphas the high priest. 25 As Simon Peter
stood there warming himself, someone said to him, 'Aren't you another of his
disciples?' He denied it saying, 'I am not.' 26 One of the high priest's
servants, a relation of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, 'Didn't I
see you in the garden with him?' 27 Again Peter denied it; and at once a cock
crowed.
28 They then led Jesus from
the house of Caiaphas to the Praetorium. It was now morning. They did not go
into the Praetorium themselves to avoid becoming defiled and unable to eat the
Passover. 29 So Pilate came outside to them and said, 'What charge do you bring
against this man?' They replied, 30 'If he were not a criminal, we should not
have handed him over to you.' 31 Pilate said, 'Take him yourselves, and try him
by your own Law.' The Jews answered, 'We are not allowed to put anyone to
death.' 32 This was to fulfil the words Jesus had spoken indicating the way he
was going to die.
33 So Pilate went back into
the Praetorium and called Jesus to him and asked him, 'Are you the king of the
Jews?' 34 Jesus replied, 'Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others
said it to you about me?' 35 Pilate answered, 'Am I a Jew? It is your own
people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you
done?' 36 Jesus replied, '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. As it is, my kingdom does not belong here.' 37 Pilate said, 'So, then
you are a king?' Jesus answered, 'It is you who say that I am a king. I was
born for this, I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth;
and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.' 38 'Truth?' said
Pilate. 'What is that?' And so saying he went out again to the Jews and said, 'I
find no case against him. 39 But according to a custom of yours I should
release one prisoner at the Passover; would you like me, then, to release for
you the king of the Jews?' 40 At this they shouted, 'Not this man,' they said,
'but Barabbas.' Barabbas was a bandit.
19:1 Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged; 2 and after
this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on his head and
dressed him in a purple robe. 3 They kept coming up to him and saying, 'Hail,
king of the Jews!' and slapping him in the face. 4 Pilate came outside again
and said to them, 'Look, I am going to bring him out to you to let you see that
I find no case against him.' 5 Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns
and the purple robe. Pilate said, 'Here is the man.' 6 When they saw him, the
chief priests and the guards shouted, 'Crucify him! Crucify him!' Pilate said,
'Take him yourselves and crucify him: I find no case against him.' 7 The Jews
replied, 'We have a Law, and according to that Law he ought to be put to death,
because he has claimed to be Son of God.'
8 When Pilate heard them say this
his fears increased. 9 Re-entering the Praetorium, he said to Jesus, 'Where do
you come from?' But Jesus made no answer. 10 Pilate then said to him, 'Are you
refusing to speak to me? Surely you know I have power to release you and I have
power to crucify you?' 11 Jesus replied, 'You would have no power over me at
all if it had not been given you from above; that is why the man who handed me
over to you has the greater guilt.'
12 From that moment Pilate was
anxious to set him free, but the Jews shouted, 'If you set him free you are no
friend of Caesar's; anyone who makes himself king is defying Caesar.' 13
Hearing these words, Pilate had Jesus brought out, and seated him on the chair
of judgement at a place called the Pavement, in Aramaic Gabbatha.
14 It was the Day of Preparation, about the sixth hour. 'Here is your king,'
said Pilate to the Jews. 15 But they shouted, 'Away with him, away with him,
crucify him.' Pilate said, 'Shall I crucify your king?' The chief priests
answered, 'We have no king except Caesar.' 16 So at that Pilate handed him over
to them to be crucified. They then took charge of Jesus,
17 and carrying his own
cross he went out to the Place of the Skull or, as it is called in Hebrew,
Golgotha, 18 where they crucified him with two others, one on either side,
Jesus being in the middle. 19 Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the
cross; it ran: 'Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.' 20 This notice was read
by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the
city, and the writing was in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. 21 So the Jewish chief
priests said to Pilate, 'You should not write "King of the Jews," but
that the man said, "I am King of the Jews." ' 22 Pilate answered,
'What I have written, I have written.'
23 When the soldiers had
finished crucifying Jesus they took his clothing and divided it into four
shares, one for each soldier. His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece
from neck to hem; 24 so they said to one another, 'Instead of tearing it, let's
throw dice to decide who is to have it.' In this way the words of scripture
were fulfilled: They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my
clothes. That is what the soldiers did.
25 Near the cross of Jesus
stood his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of
Magdala. 26 Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her,
Jesus said to his mother, 'Woman, this is your son.' 27 Then to the disciple he
said, 'This is your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his
home.
28 After this, Jesus knew
that everything had now been completed and, so that the scripture should be
completely fulfilled, he said: I am thirsty. 29 A jar full of sour wine stood
there; so, putting a sponge soaked in the wine on a hyssop stick, they held it
up to his mouth. 30 After Jesus had taken the wine he said, 'It is fulfilled';
and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.
31 It was the Day of Preparation, and
to avoid the bodies' remaining on the cross during the Sabbath -- since that
Sabbath was a day of special solemnity -- the Jews asked Pilate to have the
legs broken and the bodies taken away. 32 Consequently the soldiers came and
broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the
other. 33 When they came to Jesus, they saw he was already dead, and so instead
of breaking his legs 34 one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and
immediately there came out blood and water.
35 This is the evidence of
one who saw it -- true evidence, and he knows that what he says is true -- and
he gives it so that you may believe as well. 36 Because all this happened to
fulfil the words of scripture: Not one bone of his will be broken; 37 and
again, in another place scripture says: They will look to the one whom they
have pierced.
38 After this, Joseph of
Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus -- though a secret one because he was
afraid of the Jews -- asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate
gave permission, so they came and took it away. 39
Nicodemus came as well --
the same one who had first come to Jesus at nighttime -- and he brought a
mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. 40 They took the
body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, following the
Jewish burial custom. 41 At the place where he had been crucified there was a
garden, and in this garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried. 42
Since it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they laid
Jesus there.
Reflecting on the Word – Meditatio
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 19: 25–27). 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 19: 6). Thus begins for Jesus 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 fulfil
the words he had spoken, "Not one of those you gave me have I
lost." (Jn 18: 4-9)
“Jesus
then came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe” (Jn 19: 5),
Jesus replied, “You would have no power
over me at all, if it had not been given
you from above.” (Jn 19: 11)
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 19: 31-33), but commits his spirit (Jn 19: 30). 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 19: 26-27). 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 19: 5).
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, his sister Mary of Cleophas and Mary Magdalene together with the beloved
disciple (Jn 19: 25).
•
Beloved and faithful disciples
The fourth Gospel specifies that these disciples “stood by
the cross” (Jn 19: 2526). 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 23: 49). 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 27: 55–56).
Like Matthew, Mark gives us the names of those who followed the death of Jesus
from afar (Mk 15: 40-41). 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 19: 30). The
mother of Jesus is present at the hour that finally “has come.” That hour
foretold at the wedding feast of Cana (Jn 2: 1ff). 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).
Questions and Suggestions for 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?
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, fulfil 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)
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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