Good Friday: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima
Theme: THE CROSS:
Jesus transforms whatever He touches
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Dear friends
in Christ, the Good Friday Ceremony – the Veneration of the Cross – is a
celebration of the victory of the ‘foolishness of God’ over the wisdom of man,
a celebration of the transformation of the symbol of shame – the cross – into a
symbol of our salvation. This transformation is courtesy of Jesus, who
transforms whatever he comes in contact with.
Before the
death of Jesus on the cross, the cross was a symbol of shame, a course reserved
only for criminals and other outlaws. In that case, death on the cross was the
most shameful of all deaths. It was for this very reason that the Pharisees and
the elders, who instigated the condemnation of Jesus, asked Pilate to have Him
crucified on the cross. They wanted a shameful death for Him. However, the
nature of Jesus is to transform whatever he touches. His encounter with this symbol
of shame – the cross - transformed it into a symbol of salvation, a symbol that
is revered and venerated. Jesus touched the symbol of shame and transformed it
into a symbol of faith and salvation. Such is the power of Christ.
Dear friends,
the church invites us to open ourselves to Christ, to allow ourselves to be touched
by Him. He transforms whatever He touches. If he comes in contact with you,
your life will never remain the same. Today, we have the cross of Christ in our
midst; it will be lifted up in all parishes in the world. Let us embrace it,
let us venerate it so that we will feel its transforming power.
Every Good
Friday, we listen to the Passion narrative; it is not a sweet story. It is
rather a sad one, a story that recounted the injustice of the powerful over an
innocent man. This narrative should push us to take a decision to defend the
course of the innocent. It was the silence of those who were supposed to talk
that led to the triumph of injustice in the trial of Jesus. Therefore, we
should realize that any form of silence from us in the face of injustice can
lead to the death or the suffering of someone who is innocent. We should
realize that evil triumph when good people do nothing. The Passion of Christ
should push us to say ‘no’ to being silent in the face of evil in our society.
It should lead us to say that we will never allow the voice of injustice to
triumph wherever we are gathered, be it in the family or in the workplace.
Lastly, it
was our sins that necessitated the coming of Christ to die for us. Hence, as we
condemn those who unjustly judged Jesus for their wickedness, we should also
ask ourselves whether we are still committing those acts that made Him to
accept the sorrowful journey to Calvary. Every form of sin is a betrayal of
Christ who died for us on the cross. Every sinful act increases the weight of
that cross. We condemn him to death any time we fell into sin.
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