Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
Lectionary: 40
Reading I
Isaiah 52:13—53:12
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
Hebrews 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.
Verse Before the Gospel
Philippians 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.
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
John 18:1—19:42
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.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
“BEHOLD
THE WOOD OF THE CROSS, WHICH HUNG THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.”
Thus begins our Good Friday Celebration. And a
celebration it is. We can never forget that, without the Crucifixion, there
would not Resurrection. Jesus’ suffering and death was mandatory. Because of
this, our suffering also becomes mandatory to unify ourselves with the
Crucified Christ, and thus God. What better way to get close with someone than
to suffer alongside them? Nothing else can replace the closeness that develops
through a shared experience such as this. Jesus knows all our thoughts,
emotions, and pain. It is through His crucifixion that we too can experience
the death of our old selves. How can this Be? Because the Crucifixion, and the
Resurrection, are beyond time and space. Yes, these events happened in a
historical sense, but they both continue through a mystical one. We, as His
children, are fortunate enough to experience every moment of our lives.
Perpetually Jesus, through His actions, relieves us from our sins and takes
then upon Himself. They are then nailed to the cross to die with Him. They are
extinguished and forgotten, while we remain as new creations. AS the Suffering
Servant verses in the reading from the Book of Isaiah tells us,
“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,”
and
then finally,
“by
his stripes we were healed.”
To
experience that healing, we only must acknowledge our wounds by acknowledging
Him.
Jesus
is not hiding from us; He is inside of us and all around us. The Prayer of
Saint Patrick says it best,
“
Christ with me,
Christ
before me,
Christ
behind me,
Christ
in me,
Christ
beneath me,
Christ
above me,
Christ
on my right,
Christ
on my left,
Christ
when I lie down,
Christ
when I sit down,
Christ
when I arise,
Christ
in the heart of every man who
thinks
of me,
Christ
in the mouth of everyone who
speaks
of me,
Christ
in every eye that sees me,
Christ
in every ear that hears me.”
That
is the truth and central to our faith. When we remain in Him, He will remain
within us. If we turn away from Him, He will never turn away from us. We have
the greatest advocate in Jesus Christ. We become only as broken as we feel.
Jesus has the capability of, not only healing our wounds, but alleviating the
burden of the guilt and remorse caused
by them. He does not want us to be laden with sorrows but filled with joy. So
much so that he died for our sins.
We
are invited to participate in His Passion, ultimately leading to His death. We
are invited to have our old lives, with its misery, to suffer a horrendous
death only to be transformed into something better. This invitation that first
brings about pain and torment, as we are shaped and molded by the experience,
then leads us to the path of the Resurrection. We are then participants in all
that it offers: a new life bound for eternity and paradise.
Deacon
Tom
