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Dear Friend, One of the constant
refrains we hear a person saying is: “It’s not fair!” “Life’s not fair!” We
have an acute sense of justice when we are wronged and we want to fight for
justice for ourselves. However we do not feel so strongly about justice for
others, especially the poor, the marginalized and the downtrodden. We have to
get used to the fact that indeed “Life is not fair!” Jesus accepted it and
died on the cross though he was innocent and did no wrong. The only way to
make meaning out of suffering is to use suffering as a means of loving others
and God. Have a ‘Good’ Friday being
loved by Jesus on the cross! Fr. Jude Botelho |
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Today’s first reading from Isaiah, the fourth
and finest of the songs of the Servant of Yahweh, is a passage of the
humiliation and the suffering of the suffering servant of the Lord, ‘a man of
sorrows and familiar with suffering.’ Through his suffering we have been
saved. The reading gives us Israel’s deep insight into the problem of
suffering, it contemplates the fate of the man upon whom rests the hopes of
Israel. The unmerited sufferings of the servant expiate for the wickedness of
the others. Beyond the rejection suffered at the hands of his own people and
his shameful death, his ultimate triumph is glimpsed. The New Testament usage
of this text identifies the suffering servant with Jesus. The servant is
innocent, humble and gentle. He is the one chosen by God to bring his justice
to the world. The mystery of suffering can never be understood but has to be
accepted and lived as part of being a follower of Jesus Christ. In the second reading the
author of Hebrews presents Christ as the compassionate high priest, who
understands us and our human trials and sufferings because he has gone
through it all, being like us in all things but sin. We are shown the means
(suffering) by which the saving work of Jesus is effected as well as the
results for himself and for all those who trust in him. Through his obedience
he surrendered himself totally to the Father’s will and won for us our
redemption. His was obedience unto death and it is through obedience to God
that we can accept suffering and make it an expression of our love and trust
in God. For the person who trusts there is no fear of death. He abolished death Giving Generously On
Good Friday we consider John’s carefully written version of the passion and
death of Jesus. John’s account of the passion is a powerful affirmation of
Jesus identity. John’s description of the passion is dramatic and it presents
the triumph of the Son of God. The cross, an instrument of ignominy and shame
becomes the crowning glory through which Jesus the King ascends to the Father
and through which he brings salvation to the world. Throughout the passion as
described by John, Jesus is serenely in command as he asserts, “No one takes
my life from me but I lay it down of my own accord.” In the central section
of the passion, the trial before Pilate, the recurrent theme is kingship.
When Pilate asks, Jesus calmly claims that he is a king though his kingship
is not of this world; rather he reigns in men’s heart by truth. Those who
oppose him see Jesus as a danger to them and so they mock him, scourge him,
ridicule him, but they cannot ignore him. They strip him of all power and
even then he is not over powered and always in control. When men are at their
worst, rejecting him and crying for his blood, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
Jesus is at his best. “Father, forgive them,,,,” When Jesus is led to his
death, seemingly vanquished, John presents him as standing tall and
victorious. Jesus gives his life out of love and thereby shows the way of
service to his disciples. From the cross, the Lord is calling us to love
fully. The Good Friday story is not about something that happened a long long
time ago to Jesus but it is about me, and my refusal to love my brothers and
sisters, now, as Jesus loved me. It is about failing to hear Jesus saying:
“Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers that you do unto me”. Forgiveness-best revenge George Washington and Peter Miller were schoolmates. One
became the President of the Unites States of America; the other, a pastor, a
preacher of the Gospel message. In his parish of Ephrata, 70 miles from
Philadelphia, where Washington lived, Miller suffered continual persecution,
and even personal violence from a man named Michael Wittman. Wittman on a
charge of treason was sentenced to death. Miller walked the seventy miles to
see Washington, who asked him “Well Peter, what can I do for you?” “For our old
friendship’s sake, George, I have come to plead for the life of the traitor
Wittman.” “No, Peter, this case is too black. I cannot give you the life of
your friend.” “My friend!” exclaimed Miller. “He is no friend of mine. In
fact he is my bitterest enemy, and has been given endless trouble to me
personally and in my parish!” Then Miller explained to George what he had
suffered at the hands of Wittman for over twenty years. “Ah, then Peter,”
said Washington, “this puts things in a different perspective. I could not
give you the life of your friend; but I will freely pardon your enemy!” Three
days later, Peter Miller and his persecutor Michael Wittman walked back to
Ephrata together. Wittman overcome by the beauty of Miller’s forgiveness
became a totally new person! – This is a beautiful example of what Jesus asks
us to do in the Gospels: “Love your enemy. Do good to those who hate you.”
Jesus not only preached forgiveness but gave us the best example on the
cross. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!” Percival Fernandez in ‘100 Inspiring Anecdotes’ How do I forgive? ‘I have found it easier to forgive when I recognize that the
very things I hate in others are what lie hidden and unowned within me.
However, when I own that I am as nasty, stubborn, pigheaded, selfish or
unjust as I blame others to be then automatically change occurs and I become
more compassionate in the process. Like most people I have believed that I am
the one who has the difficult job of forgiving others all the time. The truth
however, I recognize, is that others have often been the ones who are very
tolerant, compassionate and forgiving of me in so many different ways which I
realize only in hindsight. God himself has been so merciful to me all through
my life. I, in turn, am now called to show mercy and forgiveness to other
people. We look on the outstretched arms of Jesus on the cross today and hear
him cry out, “Father forgive them….” What is the Good Friday challenge of
forgiveness that the Lord is inviting us to? What are the burdens of
resentment we carry and the long-standing grudges we bear that we are asked
to set aside? “Answer me,” says the Lord.’ - Vincent Pereira ‘It is not easy to die even for a good man’ A Boeing 737 crashed in a severe snowstorm into the Potomac
River in Washington DC on January 13, 1982. Arland Williams, along with six
others survived the crash but was thrown into the icy water. Fighting for his
life he courageously gave up his chance of rescue each time a lifeline was
thrown to him, preferring instead to save others. Finally, he drowned giving
his life for total strangers. ‘Greater love has no man than this, than to lay
down his life for his friends (Jn. 15:13) True love always involves true
sacrifice. Jesus freely laid down his life for us while we were still God’s
enemies Vincent Nichols in ‘Walk with Me’ Looking at His cross may we
know how much Jesus loved us! Fr. Jude
Botelho |
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Other Sunday Homily Websites Daily Reflections Immaculate Heart Retreat Center Gospel Commentary from Ireland Daily Scripture |
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