I - Is. 52: 13 - 53: 12
II - Heb. 4: 14-16; 5: 7-9
III - Jh. 18: 1 - 19: 42
GOOD FRIDAY
In the book of Leviticus (Ch. 16) we read that on the day of atonement Aaron set two goats at the entrance of the tent of the meeting: one for sin offering to the Lord and other for sending as scapegoat. Two lots would be set over the goats. The goat upon which the lot falls for the Lord would be set aside for sin offering to the Lord and other goat, the scapegoat will be presented alive before the Lord and be sent away into the wilderness. Aaron would lay his hands on the scapegoat, confess all the inequities of the people of Israel and will finally be driven into the wilderness where it would die bearing the sins of the people symbolizing that the people are set free from their sins by the atoning work of the scapegoat. It was a never ending process because, “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned” (Rom. 5: 12). On the other hand God’s eyes are too pure that He can never look upon evil and tolerate the wrongdoings of the people (Hab. 1: 13). To end this process and reconcile people with God once and for all Jesus gave away his life on the cross fulfilling the words of John the Baptist when he publicly introduced Jesus saying, “Behold! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29).
There are three types of ‘giving’ in love: one, to give from what we have; two, to give all that we have and; three to give all that we have and all that we are as well. Jesus’ love is of the third type. “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:1-8). Hence the Cross becomes the sign and symbol of God’s unfathomable love for us. On this Good Friday we would partake in the ceremony, Ritual and Liturgy prescribed by the Church, mourn and weep for the sufferings inflicted upon Jesus and often too criticize those people who crucified him, forgetting that every time we go against the commandment of love, we do crucify Jesus on Calvary. Let us resolve to prove ourselves as Christians in our love for our neighbour and please God in loving our neighbour. May our mind and heart resonate with the prayer: “Thank you Jesus for your love and benevolence”.
