Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

The readings for Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion may be found at:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040221.cfm

Several years ago, a software developer that I worked with, I’ll call him Ahmed, because that’s his name, asked me why Christians call today, “Good Friday”.  Being a logical thinker and based on the facts, he thought it should be called “Sad Friday”.  

I wish I had said to him, what I’m about to say to you.

It’s true that the cross was the most brutal, drawn out way to bring suffering and death at the time - a place where a person was literally hung until they died.  

The Roman soldiers took it even further with Jesus.  They struck His face, flogged Him, put a crown of thorns on His head, kept striking Him, forced Him to carry the cross alone, crucified Him and for good measure, after Jesus was already dead, pierced his side with a spear.  That’s not a Good Friday.

The cross was suffering and death.  It was pain and loss, sorrow and separation.  

If that wasn’t enough, the ones that Jesus had met, loved, served, taught and healed all disappeared.  

Peter wasn’t even able to look at the cross or Jesus.  

When asked if he was Jesus’ friend, Peter answered, “I am not”, “I am not”, I am not”.  That’s certainly not a good Friday.

Peter wanted to follow Jesus as a disciple, learned from him, ate at the Last Supper with him, and insisted that he would follow Jesus even to death. 

But despite his best intentions, Peter fails miserably when forced to choose in a difficult situation.   

If we are honest, we know at times, we’ve been unfaithful to Jesus.  

Peter’s actions remind us not to underestimate our own weakness and to be careful not to put ourselves into situations where we are pressured to sin and deny our relationship with Jesus. 

But, if today is just a day to reenact the execution of Jesus, with its suffering and brutality, its disappointment and loss, then it is not a Good Friday.  

But, for Jesus, the focus is not on suffering and death. It is on love. 

That’s why Jesus can give himself to the cross. 

He doesn’t look at the cross, he sees through it.  

The crucified love of Christ is stronger and more real than death. 

The crucified love of Jesus does more than join us in our sufferings - it carries us through them. 

That’s what makes this Friday “Good”. 

God’s love defeats sin and death every time.

As with Peter, God’s mercy is far greater than the worst of our sins. God is always ready to forgive those who return to him.

To my co-worker Ahmed, Jesus’ death on the cross represented defeat and humiliation, but in fact it is God’s victory and triumph. 

God freely chose the humiliation and agony of the cross to demonstrate how great his boundless, self-giving love is for us.

Today is called Good Friday because Jesus died to save us and reconcile us to God.

Today is called Good Friday because Jesus Christ gave His life so that we could live abundantly. 

Today is called Good Friday because His love frees us from our sins, heals us from our hurts and reconnects us with God in a way that we could never achieve on our own - it’s a gift, freely given.

Today, let us pray and reflect on that great gift.  

If we do that, it should leave no doubt as to why today is called “Good Friday”.