Homily on Good Friday

St. John Passion

"Ibi ergo propter parasceven Judaeorum quia juxta erat monumentum, posuerunt Jesum."

"So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by."

The drama had ended. Everything seemed to have ended. We now enter deeper into the silence of the Triduum. We enter into the silence of the tomb. We try to comprehend the incomprehensible.

The second reading in the breviary tomorrow begins with the haunting words. "Something strange is happening. There is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep."

In this profound silence of Good Friday, a silence that continues into the oddness of Holy Saturday, we are placed in the tomb with Christ. We meditate on that which we cannot grasp. We contemplate how Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, chose to become vulnerable. We are mute as we consider how He who is infinite, the Alpha and the Omega, accepted the humiliation of the cross, a death reserved for the lowest of the low. We stand in awe at Jesus' ultimate act of self-emptying love. 

They laid the King there for the tomb was close by.
Silence covered the earth.

We adore thee oh Christ
and we bless thee,
because by Thy holy cross
Thou hast redeemed the world.
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The photo was taken while on the long retreat during tertianship in Sevenhill, South Australia. We made the retreat during Lent, ending just before Palm Sunday and then returning to Sydney for the Triduum. The crucifix was in the choir loft of the church in preparation for the veneration of the cross on Good Friday. Just finished the Good Friday liturgy about an hour ago.

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD