GOOD FRIDAY (JOHN
18:1-19;42)
God loves to thwart the plans of
the wicked. His enemies wanted to erase His work by crucifying Him;
instead, they occasioned the culmination of His mission. They wanted
His death to be a cause of fear for His followers. Instead, His
death gave His followers the hope of life. Christ's seeming
mortality became the restoration of our immortality.
Even in human affairs, when we see
others, specially a loved one, suffer or punished for a wrong we
have done, we feel bad. . .that is, if we have a kind heart. . .and
this inspires us to repent. Well, every suffering of Christ was
borne for our sake. . .for my sake. Only one with a hard heart will
not be moved by that. He took on Himself the punishment imposed on
sinners. . .namely, us.
Because of original sin we
have the tendency to refuse obeying God's laws. To set us free from
this curse, Christ had to die. So He carried the cross and underwent
the death that was rightfully ours. By His passion and death, He
destroyed the power of death and became for us the source of eternal
life. Freeing us from the tendency to disobey God's laws He now
expects us to obey God's laws.
So Christ left commandments by
which we can follow Him. And though the first commands are easy,
being meant for beginners, the subsequent commands become more
difficult. And Christ's example today shows the courage that is
needed to obey them. We must obey His commands even if it kills us.
That is perfection. . .that is the lesson of Good Friday. In so
doing, we are assured of a resurrection and eternal bliss in heaven.
And dying means dying to one's former way of worldly life.
St. Cyril
(01-22-03) |