Good Friday
John’s passion account is strikingly different from the Synoptic Gospels. Jesus is not a victim; he voluntarily lays down his life, and no one, not even Pilate, holds power over him.
Who or what holds power over me? Am I laying down my life in ways that benefit others?
Conflicts between light and darkness, truth and falsehood, and life and death unfold. Jesus offers the way, truth, and life that do not mesh with Judas’ plans. Judas betrays Jesus in the night. Pilate asks, “What is truth?”
Do I walk in darkness or the light of faith? Do I pursue “Truth”?
Only John records the soldier lancing Jesus’ side from which blood and water flowed. They symbolize Eucharist and Baptism through which Jesus poured out his life to nourish and cleanse us. In John, Jesus asks Peter: “Will you lay down your life for me?”
Do I pour out my life for others? Do I nourish and cleanse my spiritual life regularly?
Jesus asked those who came with torches and weapons: “For whom are you looking?” For whom or what are you searching?
Jesus pondered, asking his Father to save him from this hour. Do I place God’s will over my will?
Before Jesus says, “It is finished,” He says, “I thirst.” For what do I thirst this Good Friday?
Prayer
As Mary, the new Eve, and John, the beloved disciple, stood at the foot of the cross, help us, O Lord, to be part of a community whose primary virtue is love as you show us the way, the truth, and the life that leads to Your eternal kingdom. Amen.
Fr. Richard Myhalyk, S.S.E. ‘66
Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-17, 25
Second Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
Gospel: John 18:1—19:42
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