Good Friday Reflection and Podcast

Scripture Reading:
2 Corinthians 5: 11-21

Click here to listen to the podcast of this scripture reflection.

I have always found the veneration of the cross on Good Friday to be one of the most memorable and touching rituals of the entire year. I always appreciate the opportunity to venerate the cross myself, and I am inspired by watching other people approach the cross and offer their own personal act of devotion. Young and old, able-bodied and feeble, regular and not-so-regular churchgoers, everyone seems to be engaged at the deepest part of their being in this simple act of reverence.

The mystery of Good Friday is very rich; it touches on many dimensions of our faith. Central to this mystery, however, is the theme of reconciliation. In his Second Letter to the Corinthians, Paul has to defend his apostolic authority to the somewhat cantankerous Christians of Corinth. He is careful to relate his own ministry to the action of God in Christ: “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” Paul continues with an exhortation to this community: “So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

As we pray on this solemn day, I encourage you to reflect on the mystery of the cross as a mystery of God’s reconciling work in the world. Notice that Paul is very careful to affirm that the source of this great work of reconciliation is God himself. “God was reconciling the world to himself.” Jesus’ death on the cross is not an act of appeasing the wrath of an angry Father who is ready to punish the human family for its sins. Rather, the entire event of Christ’s life, death and resurrection is one definitive expression of the saving love of God. In Christ, God took the initiative to draw people into one, to bring us home to himself in Christ. As those who venerate the cross of Christ, then, we are called to be a reconciled and a reconciling people. As those who have been gifted with the Spirit of God, our lives must be about the work of reconciliation.

One of my favorite prayers in the liturgy is the Preface to one of the Eucharistic Prayers for Masses of Reconciliation. It includes these words:

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we praise and thank you through Jesus Christ our Lord for your presence and action in the world. In the midst of conflict and division, we know it is you who turn our minds to thoughts of peace. Your Spirit changes our hearts: enemies begin to speak to one another, those who were estranged join hands in friendship, and nations seek the way of peace together. Your Spirit is at work when understanding puts an end to strife, when hatred is quenched by mercy, and vengeance gives way to forgiveness. For this we should never cease to thank and praise you.

Where the Spirit of God is present and at work, reconciliation happens. This is a signature activity of the Holy Spirit.

It seems to me that all of us have an inbuilt tendency to take hostages. That is not a very pleasant image to use these days, particularly with the specter of terrorism that plagues our world. But I believe that there is a lot of truth to it. We tend to take the people who have hurt us or disappointed us and make them hostages of our anger, resentment, or inner contempt. Sometimes we even do that with people we just cannot seem to understand or with whom we disagree. We hold them inside, in a kind of inner captivity, where they are bound and tied. And sometimes it feels satisfying to do that, even though in our better moments we realize that we are held captive along with them. Living by the energy of resentment imprisons us as well.

True reconciliation requires the good will and resolve of both parties involved in the dispute. And sometimes that may not be possible, at least in the short term. The other person(s) may not be interested in reconciliation. All we can do is to remain open to the possibility that it might happen at some point in the future. But what we can do in the meantime is to take the small steps that pave the way for forgiveness. We can ask for the grace to untie the people we have bound up inside of ourselves and let them go free. We can make the effort to let them go free of our anger, resentment, contempt. That process is not comprised of a set of feelings. It is, rather, made up of a series of little acts of the will. Often the feelings of forgiveness only come later, in light of those acts of the will. For me, at least, sometimes the first step I must take is simply to ask for the grace to want to forgive. I need to ask God to give me the willingness to enter into the process of forgiveness. A second step is to pray for that other person(s), to ask God to give them the grace they need today.

Forgiveness is usually a jagged journey. It is often a process in which we find ourselves taking two steps forward and one step backward. But if we enter into it with trust we do find ourselves moving forward in that process and becoming more free ourselves. When we set free the people we have held hostage inside, we find liberation. We become more free to love others and to experience the depths of God’s compassion for us.
The mystery of Good Friday calls us to be a reconciled and a reconciling people. As we pray on this sacred day, we would do well to reflect on one or two persons in our lives from whom we are estranged, or perhaps upon a situation that is conflict-ridden and needs reconciliation. Let us pray for the grace of reconciliation with those people or in that situation. May we be willing to enter into the process of forgiveness, as God has forgiven us in Christ.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp