HOMILY OF THE HOLY FRIDAY — YEAR A
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FRIDAY — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: THE GREATEST OF ALL FRIDAYS
BY: Fr. Karabari Paul
Is 52:13-53:12; Heb. 4:14-16,5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42
‘It is finished’ (John 18:1-19:42)
No innocent human being has ever endured the level of cruelty and wickedness done to Jesus on this day. And human logic would tell us there is nothing good about this friday. At best, it is the darkest friday in the history of humanity. So those who are not Christians would see it. It is not so with us. On this day, whatever debt we owed the Ancient Serpent, God settled it. It is a good friday; the greatest of all Fridays.
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It all started from the garden. It has to be so, for the fall of humanity happened in the Garden, and the victory over that fall must start from the Garden. Adam, after the fall, hid himself from God in the Garden of Eden, and now God began the final phase of search for the children of Adam in the Garden of Gethsemane. Just as the Ancient Serpent came to Adam with a deceit, Judas would kiss a deceitful kiss to betray his Master; for the greatest betrayal comes from those of close associations.
Only the sacrifice of the new Adam was needed and so He asked them to let others go if He was the one they sought because “No other man shall be within the Tent of the Presence from the time when he (the High Priest) enters the sanctuary to make expiation until he comes out” (Lev.16:17). He must go to sacrifice alone.
Like a gentle lamb, Jesus was taken without resistance. Even when Peter tried to resist the arrest and cut off Malchus’ ear, Jesus opposed that because the sword wins by slaying but the cup by submission. Peter had to learn that Jesus was not so weak to defend himself since He could raise a greater army than any on earth. Looking at the Jews coming to arrest Him with the cohort or the tenth part of a legion (about 6000 men), Jesus didn’t see enemies to be defeated by a sword but a cup.
He was the promised Messiah, and the hour had come to reveal His identity, but when He admitted to His Messianic identity, and the High Priest tore his robe and alleged blasphemy. But Caiphas rending his garments was symbolic. Hebrews rend their garments to show great grief and pain, as Jacob rent his garments when he received news of the death of his son Joseph, and as David rent his clothes at hearing of the death of Saul. In tearing off his own garments, Caiphas was stripping off his priesthood, putting an end to the priesthood of Aaron and opening the way to the priesthood of Melchizedek; the priesthood of Christ. The robes priesthood was rented by the hands of the high priest himself, but the veil of the temple would be rented by the hand of God. Caiphas from bottom to top as customary but God top to bottom.
Jesus became helpless in the face of betrayal, false accusations, and torture. Even before false witnesses rose against Him, His own disciples had deserted Him. Even Peter could not maintain his ‘initial gragra’, he denied Jesus. Pilate knew he was innocent but, like all of us, decided to sacrifice divine interest for self-interest and peace of the state. Long-time enemies, Pharisees and Sadducees, Herod and Pilates suddenly all became friends to destroy one man, Jesus. Positively or negatively, Jesus was reconciling all warring forces and kingdoms. As we are used to, we see people choosing evil over goodness when they chose Barrabas over Christ.
Dear friends, this is our story. Firstly, it is our sins, then our price paid, and finally, our redemption.
Redemption comes from the idea of someone paying your debt that was beyond you to settle. Such a gesture demands that you live in total gratitude to Him. Not so with us. We are still ungrateful. We are still indifferent.
Jesus knew that by now everything had been competed; “It is finished!”
Everything was completed!
It was three o’clock. “It is finished,” He cried, and then He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
At the time, the moment was filled with too much emotion for those words to sink in and to ponder what they meant. But later, as the early Christians read John’s Gospel and heard again those words, it dawned on them just how powerful these dying words of Jesus were. John wrote his Gospel in Greek, and those last words of Jesus are just one word in Greek; tetelestai (pronounced te-tel-es-sty). The expression “It is finished” or tetelestai was well known to them. It was a part of everyday language.
When a servant had completed a difficult job that his master had given him to do, he would say to the master tetelestai, “I have overcome all the difficulties; I have done the job to the best of my ability. It is finished. ” When the Jewish people went to the temple with their sacrifice, the High Priest would examine what was brought. Most likely, he didn’t speak Greek, but he would use the Hebrew equivalent of tetelestai, meaning, “Your offering is accepted; it is perfect.” When the merchant at the marketplace made a sale and the money was handed over, he would say, “tetelestai, the deal is finished, completed. The price has been paid in full. I am satisfied.” When Jesus spoke those final words, he was not saying, “This is the end of me” as if there was nothing else to do but to give in to his enemies and die. His last words weren’t a final surrender to the power of Satan as if to say, “You have won. I’m done for.” These words don’t tell us that Jesus was dead now, and that was all. Or that He was finished, and so was everything that He stood for and promised during His earthly life.
All those who heard the word tetelestai, the servants, those who offered sacrifices at the temple, the buyers and sellers at the market place, the artists and parents and children understood that Jesus was saying that His job of saving the world has been completed.
He has finished the task.
Jesus paid the price in full. He cancelled all debt. His sacrifice has been a perfect one, acceptable to the heavenly Father who, looking down on His Son hanging lifelessly from the cross, said, “Well done, this is my dear Son with whom I am well pleased”.
Tetelestai, it is finished. Everything is completed
What is it that is finished when Jesus said, “It is finished”? Reconciliation is finished. The word ‘reconciliation’ has been used a lot in connection with the relationship between warring parties
Sin has a devastating effect on our relationship with God. Sin separates us from God, and if we want to have any hope of going to heaven to be with God, then someone has to deal with sin and restore our relationship with God. So God sent his Son into the world for this very purpose.
Jesus died on the cross to get rid of the power of sin to condemn us. His death bridged the deep gulf between God and us. “Salvation is finished,” Jesus cried. The restoration of the friendship between God and humanity has been finished. The task for which God’s Son came to earth has been completed. He has won forgiveness for all people. Salvation is completed. “It is finished.”
That is why we call today “Good Friday”. It certainly was not a good day for Jesus. He endured pain, soul-wrenching agony, hanging with the nails in his hands for hours, died on a rough wooden cross, for our sakes. We call today “Good Friday” because the cross is proof of the powerful love that God has for each of us. No one, not even God, would do something like that unless he truly loves us. Here, we see a love that was prepared to endure the ultimate pain in order to rescue us. And indeed, it is the greatest of all fridays.
Because of love, people do extraordinary things for others. God the Father sent His dearly loved Son into dangerous territory. He allowed His Son to be treated cruelly. He stood by and watched His innocent Son be nailed to a cross and to hang there in agony. He could have rescued him and cursed those who were treating Him so brutally and maliciously. He allowed His Son to carry the sin of all humanity and so became repulsive even to His own Father. I do not think we can fully appreciate what it meant for the Father to abandon the Son and let Him die at the hands of evil people. Jesus confessed to the love between Him and the Father, yet in the face of agony, He cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” We sense something of the terror of bearing the weight of the sin of all humanity. Whenever you endure pain, do not think that God hates you.
God did all this for us. This is a perfect show of His love. Paul writes, “God has shown us how much he loves us. It was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! … We were God’s enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son.” (Romans 5:8,10). That is how much God loves us. Jesus died for the undeserving. His death has made us God’s friends.
Jesus’ announcement, “It is finished,” is clear and simple. Jesus has completed his task. The reason why He came in human form has been fulfilled. He came to give us the victory over sin and the consequences of sin. This is not an entertaining story. It is the reality of our lives and Christian faith. Are you at a stage where you no longer feel God’s love? Ask God to wrap you tightly in arms, forgiving you, watching over you, guiding you. If you feel that Jesus and His love for you are not real for a large part of your life, ask for His help. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. …Because by your Holy Cross, you have redeemed us.
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