A llow your heart to be touched and your world to be shook by this breathless and unbelievable account of the demonstration of God's love for us revealed in the self-giving love of Jesus. Be with Him in His suffering as a dearly beloved friend. Nothing more important than that should absorb our attention today. "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?"

Good Friday of the Lord's Passion

Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Psalm 31:2+6, 12-13, 15-16, 17+25

Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9

John 18:1-19:42

Meditation by Bert Thelen, S.J. (St. John's Church)

A visitor to planet Earth from another planet or dimension might find it very puzzling that a group of earthlings would call this Friday "Good."  An innocent and very loving person is arrested, tortured, condemned and executed in a horribly painful manner by state and religious leaders – you call that Good?  And we could answer emphatically, "Yes, even more than "Good," we call it the best Friday ever.  And it lasts forever.  Would today's readings convince him of our claim?

It would certainly help. This solemn celebration of the Lord's Passion and Death draws on the tradition of a mysterious Servant, One who suffers terribly on our behalf, almost a corporate personality, whose suffering and death on our behalf is the source of our healing, our recovery, our return to Paradise. 

Even though this description in Isaiah 52 and 53 of the Suffering Servant can stand in its own right and apply to any person who gives her life for others, the first Christians clearly saw in it a pre-figuring of the Passion and death of Jesus.  So can we, even today. To read this sacred text before a crucifix is to pray as accurately and fully as we possibly can about the meaning of this day, this good Friday.

T he psalm too, echoing as it does some of the final words of Jesus, can help us continue this prayer, as well as the reading from HEBREWS, which is a summary of the priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the summarizing prayer of believers in the eternal salvation His death purchased for us "with loud cries and tears." "So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help."

But, above all, reading John's account of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the preferred way of praying today for all "who hold fast to our confession" of faith in Jesus as our personal and universal Savior.  Take time to read the words carefully, to reflect on them deeply, to try and visualize, imagine, and make present this,  the central Mystery of our faith.

Allow your heart to be touched and your world to be shook by this breathless and unbelievable account of the demonstration of God's love for us revealed in the self-giving love of Jesus.  For, in earlier words of John, "Greater love than this no one has than to lay down His life for His friends."  Be with Him in His suffering as a dearly beloved friend.  Nothing more important than that should absorb our attention today. "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" # # #

GOD BLESS US ALL!

O Theos Na Mas Evlogisi!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU. – Bobot Apit

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