"By His Stripes We are Healed"

Good Friday Readings

In recent times, scientists have issued stark warnings about the perils of “global warming.” Human beings have been on the face of the earth for thousands of years. Has it taken us this long to realize that our actions and our lifestyle has consequences? If there is anything “global warming” is teaching us it is this, that we must take responsibility for our actions. To look at the melting ice in the artic region; to see rising sea levels causing untold hardships to the poor in low lying areas; to see the change in weather patterns across the world; to see the dramatic increase of droughts in Africa and Australia, flash floods in East and South Asia and hurricanes and tornadoes in the Americas is indeed a heart wrenching experience. We have seen this closely both in New Orleans and Biloxi, Mississippi. The most sobering experience for me has been to look at all these natural calamities and realize that in some way, I am responsible for this. Surely, our actions have consequences. Not only with global warming but in other aspects of our lives too, it is sobering to realize that someone else is bearing the consequences of our actions. It is even more sobering to realize that the consequences are sometimes borne by people we love and the ones who love us with their life. In fact, that is the Good Friday story as well. As the “Song of the Suffering Servant,” which is our first reading (Isaiah 52:13 –53:12) tells us:

He was spurned and avoided by men,
a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
One of those from whom men hide their faces,
spurned, and we held him in no esteem.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed.

We had all gone astray like sheep,
each following his own way;
but the LORD laid upon him
the guilt of us all.
(Is 53:2-5).

The only consolation in the readings is the realization that the suffering of the servant of God is not without purpose. This gruesome suffering is an act of supreme love. God willed to redeem us from the consequences of our actions, our sins. So God took it all upon his own self.

If it is true that actions have consequences then Jesus’ supreme act of love also has its consequences. Both the first reading and the second reading remind us of the consequences of Jesus’ atoning suffering and death:

But the LORD was pleased
to crush him in infirmity.
If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.
(Isaiah 53:10)

Again, the letter to the Hebrews reminds us:

In the days when Christ was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
(Hebrews 5:7-9)

I would like to draw three practical implications from today’s readings:

a) We are here for two reasons: first, to recognize that our sinful actions have consequences – on us and on the people we love; second, to worship God in gratitude for his self-sacrificing love. Today, let us recognize our sinfulness and repent. Let us also offer worship to our God who makes repentance possible. The letter to the Hebrews encourages us to do this in these words:
Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.
(Hebrews 4: 14-16)

Today, as we come forward for the adoration of the cross and to receive Jesus in Holy Communion, let us remember these words.

b) Good Friday should lead us to reflect on the consequences of our actions. As believers of Christ we must ensure that all our actions are redeeming actions. Let not our actions condemn others to pain and suffering. The actions of the religious authorities, of Pilate, of the soldiers and even some of the disciples caused pain and suffering for Jesus. Our lives must be like that of Mary, Jesus’ mother, and his friends that stood by the cross. Our lives must only bring comfort, joy and salvation. We can most do this by showing our solidarity with those who are suffering in our world and in our midst.

c) One more thing: Since the suffering of Jesus, no suffering goes unnoticed by God and no pain is without its purpose. As the letter to the Hebrews tells us, “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered” (Heb 5:8). When we suffer, we must realize that God is making our lives salvific like that of his Son, if we are willing to, like Jesus, “learn obedience from what we suffer.” Let us make every pain, every suffering and opportunity for salvation.

Let us, then, come to adore the cross with confidence. Let us receive Jesus in Holy Communion and unite ourselves to his suffering and the suffering of our brothers and sisters in the world.

Fr. Satish Joseph