Good Friday
April 16, 2014
John 18:1 – 19:42
“It
is fulfilled” – John 19:30
Everyone has a purpose and we
live to achieve this purpose. Only through the fulfillment of this purpose, we
may taste what happiness is all about. What is our purpose, then? Our Lord puts
it simply, “You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all
your strength. And, you shall love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31).”
Yet, this ultimate purpose can only be accomplished by taking up our daily
purposes. If we are students, then study with perseverance is a clear purpose.
If you are a husband, then total love and unflinching fidelity to your wife are
your purpose. If I am a lowly brother
who commits myself to preaching the Gospel, then my obvious purpose is to write
this reflection to show forth to you God’s love even more.
Now, let us pause a moment and
try to reflect on Jesus’ purpose. Doubtless, He was sent to save us. Yet, a
question is boggling us today: Why did He have to suffer and die on the cross
to save us? In today’s Gospel, Jesus endured terrible torment and finally died
as a criminal. These took place as a consequence of His obedience to His
Father. Wait a second! Do you mean that God wanted the cruel death of His Son?
But, why? Was God punishing Jesus? Yet, Jesus is sinless, so it must be our
enormous sins. Does it mean God castigate Jesus in the place of us? This
crudely puts God in the very negative perspective: if we perceive that He
wished the suffering and the killing of His Son, then we reduce God into the
level of a cold-blooded murderer!
Surely, it is unthinkable to see
God as a killer of His own Son. But then, how we are going to fathom this
mystery? St. John said that God is love and only in love, we may comprehend His
way (cf. 1 John 4:16). God never intended the death of Jesus, but what He
wanted is that Jesus loves us to the end and gives His own life up for the sake
of love. Betrayal, condemnation and physical death might be unavoidable
consequences, but despite the worst things the world can harbor, Jesus loves us
till the end. As St. Peter would say, “Above
all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude
of sins (1 Pet 4:8).” Indeed, the love of Christ is immeasurably intense
that it covers all of our sins.
To love truly is extremely
difficult, dangerous and even lethal, but without it, we never achieve our
purpose. I remember of story by Bp. Pablo David, DD on a wife who was abandoned
by her husband running with another woman. She was left alone to raise her
three little children. Yet, instead looking for another man, she remained
faithful to her marriage covenant. Then, when her husband was stricken by a grave
illness and left by his mistress, she brought her spouse home and took care of
him until his death. During the funeral, a friend asked her why she did all of
this. Her answer was simple: “He is my
husband and I am his wife.” See what love can make of us!
The passion of Christ does not
only remind us about the suffering and death of Christ, but primarily about His
great love. He forgave those who mocked Him, He defended the people who
crucified Him, and He embraced His friends who betrayed and ran away from Him.
In the cross, He taught us how to love however difficult it may be. To love our
aging spouse is never easy, but love is patient. To love our stubborn children
is rough, but love bear anything.
Despite the ugliest of this world, His love never fails and it never
ends. This is the love of Christ for you and me. Then, when we have loved to
the end, together with Jesus, we say, “It is fulfilled”.
Br.
Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP
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