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| The "big crucifix" on the back wall of the sanctuary of St. Pius X Church. |
(Good Friday 2014: This homily was given on April 18, 2014
at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, RI, by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16;
5:7-9. Also read the Passion Narrative
of St. John.)
[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Good Friday 2014]
Did Jesus waste his time on Good Friday?
That may seem like an odd question, but it really isn’t.
Objectively speaking,
of course, Jesus did not waste his time on Good Friday or on any other day of
his earthly life. As he said in John 6:
38, “I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the
will of the one who sent me.”
And that “will” of the Father reached its climactic point on
this day a little more than 2,000 years ago when “he gave his life as an
offering for sin” (as Isaiah puts it in today’s first reading) so that we might
have the hope of being cleansed of our sins and living forever in his
kingdom. As our second reading tells us,
“Son though he was, [Jesus] learned obedience from what he suffered; and when
he was made perfect [through the resurrection], he became the source of eternal
salvation for all who obey him.”
The sacrifice of Jesus on Mt. Calvary was sufficient for the
forgiveness of any and every sin in human history: from the sin of our first
parents, Adam and Eve, to the final sin that will be committed in this world just
before the Second Coming of Christ and the Final Judgment.
That’s the “good news” of Good Friday!
So, objectively speaking, “It is finished!” Salvation has been won for us! Jesus accomplished his mission from the
Father, and he accomplished it PERFECTLY!
From that perspective, he definitely did NOT waste his time.
However, subjectively
speaking, my brothers and sisters, he might have! In other words, even though it’s an objective
fact that salvation has been made possible for us by the Passion, Death and
Resurrection of our Savior, if we don’t actually experience that salvation
personally—subjectively—then, in a very real sense, you could say that Jesus
“wasted his time” for us in going through all the horrors that we just heard
about in this gospel!
You could even say he wasted his time if, on a given
occasion, we refuse to accept the forgiveness that he’s already given to us.
What brought all this to mind was something that happens
every once in a while in the sacrament of Confession. A person will come in and say, “Father, I
committed such-and-such a sin many years ago, and I’ve confessed it before
(actually, I’ve confessed it several times).
But it still bothers me.”
The priest will say, “Well, did you commit the sin again?”
“Oh no, Father, I only did it that one time, but I still
feel like I’m guilty.”
The priest will then try to help the person to understand
that since they’ve confessed the sin with true contrition in their heart and
been absolved from it in the sacrament, Jesus has forgiven it—totally and
completely!
And so they need to make the effort to forgive themselves
for it and let it go.
But some people will insist that they can’t. At that point I will usually say something to
this effect: “Ok, here’s what I want you to do.
When this confession is over I want you to go out into the main part of
the church, and kneel down, and look at the big crucifix on the back wall. And then I want you to spend some time
thinking about everything Jesus went through on Holy Thursday and Good Friday:
how he was beaten, and kicked, and spat upon, and scourged until his flesh
peeled off his body—and finally crucified.
Spend some quality time really thinking about that. (If you saw The Passion of the Christ, remember everything that you saw in that
film.) And then I want you to look up at
Jesus and say to him in your heart, “Lord Jesus, I know that you went through
all of that for me. I know you endured
all of those terrible things and went through that living hell so that I could
be forgiven for this sin—and for every sin.
But you see, Lord Jesus, even though you did all of that for me—and have
forgiven me—the fact of the matter is that I can’t forgive myself. So I guess, Lord, that you wasted your time. You wasted your time dying on that cross for
me.”
I usually end by saying, “Do you really want to say that to
Jesus? Do you really want to tell him
that, as far as you’re concerned, he went through all of that pain and suffering
for nothing?”
Sometimes that will help the person—finally—to move beyond
their self-loathing and find some peace.
By seeking the Lord’s forgiveness as often as we need it
(which is every day!), and by forgiving ourselves after Jesus has already forgiven
us, we make the Passion and Death of Jesus personally—subjectively—worthwhile.
So the message tonight from our loving Lord is simple:
“Remember all that I did to save your soul.
Thank me from the very bottom of your heart. And then make sure—make sure above all
else—that I did NOT waste my time on that cross suffering and dying for you.”
