20190419
JESUS
CARRIED OUR SUFFERINGS
19 APRIL, 2019,
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Red.
There is no Mass today.
The readings given here are used in the afternoon celebration of the Lord's
Passion.
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First reading
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Isaiah 52:13-53:12 ©
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The servant of the Lord, an expiatory
Sacrifice
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See, my servant will prosper,
he shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to
great heights.
As the crowds were appalled on seeing him
– so disfigured did he look
that he seemed no longer human –
so will the crowds be astonished at him,
and kings stand speechless before him;
for they shall see something never told
and witness something never heard before:
‘Who could believe what we have heard,
and to whom has the power of the Lord been
revealed?’
Like a sapling he grew up in front of us,
like a root in arid ground.
Without beauty, without majesty we saw
him,
no looks to attract our eyes;
a thing despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and familiar with
suffering,
a man to make people screen their faces;
he was despised and we took no account of
him.
And yet ours were the sufferings he bore,
ours the sorrows he carried.
But we, we thought of him as someone
punished,
struck by God, and brought low.
Yet he was pierced through for our faults,
crushed for our sins.
On him lies a punishment that brings us
peace,
and through his wounds we are healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
each taking his own way,
and the Lord burdened him
with the sins of all of us.
Harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly,
he never opened his mouth,
like a lamb that is led to the
slaughter-house,
like a sheep that is dumb before its
shearers
never opening its mouth.
By force and by law he was taken;
would anyone plead his cause?
Yes, he was torn away from the land of the
living;
for our faults struck down in death.
They gave him a grave with the wicked,
a tomb with the rich,
though he had done no wrong
and there had been no perjury in his
mouth.
The Lord has been pleased to crush him
with suffering.
If he offers his life in atonement,
he shall see his heirs, he shall have a
long life
and through him what the Lord wishes will
be done.
His soul’s anguish over
he shall see the light and be content.
By his sufferings shall my servant justify
many,
taking their faults on himself.
Hence I will grant whole hordes for his
tribute,
he shall divide the spoil with the mighty,
for surrendering himself to death
and letting himself be taken for a sinner,
while he was bearing the faults of many
and praying all the time for sinners.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
30(31):2,6,12-13,15-17,25 ©
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Father, into your hands
I commend my spirit.
In you, O Lord, I take refuge.
Let me never be put to shame.
In your justice, set me free,
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
It is you who will redeem me,
Lord.
Father, into your hands
I commend my spirit.
In the face of all my foes
I am a reproach,
an object of scorn to my neighbours
and of fear to my friends.
Father, into your hands
I commend my spirit.
Those who see me in the street
run far away from me.
I am like a dead man, forgotten in men’s
hearts,
like a thing thrown away.
Father, into your hands
I commend my spirit.
But as for me, I trust in you, Lord;
I say: ‘You are my God.
My life is in your hands, deliver me
from the hands of those who
hate me.
Father, into your hands
I commend my spirit.
Let your face shine on your servant.
Save me in your love.’
Be strong, let your heart take courage,
all who hope in the Lord.
Father, into your hands
I commend my spirit.
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Second reading
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Hebrews 4:14-16,5:7-9 ©
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The Lord burdened him with the sins of
all of us
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Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have
the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must
never let go of the faith that we have professed. For it is not as if we had a
high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have
one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin.
Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall
have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.
During
his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent
tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted
so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey
through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him
the source of eternal salvation.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Phil2:8-9
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Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Christ was humbler yet,
even to accepting death, death on a cross.
But God raised him high
and gave him the name which is above all
names.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
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Gospel
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John 18:1-19:42 ©
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The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ
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Key: N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C.
Crowd, or more than one speaker.
N. Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the
Kedron valley. There was a garden there, and he went into it with his
disciples. Judas the traitor knew the place well, since Jesus had often met his
disciples there, and he brought the cohort to this place together with a
detachment of guards sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees, all with
lanterns and torches and weapons. Knowing everything that was going to happen
to him, Jesus then came forward and said,
✠ Who are you looking for?
N. They answered,
C. Jesus the Nazarene.
N. He said,
✠ I am he.
N. Now Judas the traitor was standing among them.
When Jesus said, ‘I am he’, they moved back and fell to the ground. He asked
them a second time,
✠ Who are you looking for?
N. They said,
C. Jesus the Nazarene.
N. Jesus replied,
✠ I have told you that I am he. If I
am the one you are looking for, let these others go.
N. This was to fulfil the words he had spoken, ‘Not
one of those you gave me have I lost.’
Simon
Peter, who carried a sword, drew it and wounded the high priest’s servant,
cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter,
✠ Put your sword back in its scabbard;
am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?
N. The cohort and its captain and the Jewish guards
seized Jesus and bound him. They took him first to Annas, because Annas was the
father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who
had suggested to the Jews, ‘It is better for one man to die for the people.’
Simon
Peter, with another disciple, followed Jesus. This disciple, who was known to
the high priest, went with Jesus into the high priest’s palace, but Peter
stayed outside the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high
priest, went out, spoke to the woman who was keeping the door and brought Peter
in. The maid on duty at the door said to Peter,
O. Aren’t you another of that man’s disciples?
N. He answered,
O. I am not.
N. Now it was cold, and the servants and guards had
lit a charcoal fire and were standing there warming themselves; so Peter stood
there too, warming himself with the others.
The
high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus
answered,
✠ I have spoken openly for all the
world to hear; I have always taught in the synagogue and in the Temple where
all the Jews meet together: I have said nothing in secret. But why ask me? Ask
my hearers what I taught: they know what I said.
N. At these words, one of the guards standing by
gave Jesus a slap in the face, saying,
O. Is that the way to answer the high priest?
N. Jesus replied,
✠ If there is something wrong in what
I said, point it out; but if there is no offence in it, why do you strike me?
N. Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas
the high priest.
As
Simon Peter stood there warming himself, someone said to him,
O. Aren’t you another of his disciples?
N. He denied it, saying,
O. I am not.
N. One of the high priest’s servants, a relation of
the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
O. Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?
N. Again Peter denied it; and at once a cock crew.
They
then led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the Praetorium. It was now
morning. They did not go into the Praetorium themselves or they would be
defiled and unable to eat the passover. So Pilate came outside to them and
said,
O. What charge do you bring against this man?
N. They replied,
C. If he were not a criminal, we should not be
handing him over to you.
N. Pilate said,
O. Take him yourselves, and try him by your own
Law.
N. The Jews answered,
C. We are not allowed to put a man to death.
N. This was to fulfil the words Jesus had spoken
indicating the way he was going to die.
So
Pilate went back into the Praetorium and called Jesus to him, and asked,
O. Are you the king of the Jews?
N. Jesus replied,
✠ Do you ask this of your own accord,
or have others spoken to you about me?
N. Pilate answered,
O. Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief
priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?
N. Jesus replied,
✠ Mine is not a kingdom of this world;
if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being
surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.
N. Pilate said,
O. So you are a king, then?
N. Jesus answered,
✠ It is you who say it. Yes, I am a
king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to
the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.
N. Pilate said,
O. Truth? What is that?
N. and with that he went out again to the Jews and
said,
O. I find no case against him. But according to a
custom of yours I should release one prisoner at the Passover; would you like
me, then, to release the king of the Jews?
N. At this they shouted:
C. Not this man, but Barabbas.
N. Barabbas was a brigand.
Pilate
then had Jesus taken away and scourged; and after this, the soldiers twisted
some thorns into a crown and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple
robe. They kept coming up to him and saying,
C. Hail, king of the Jews!
N. and they slapped him in the face.
Pilate
came outside again and said to them,
O. Look, I am going to bring him out to you to let
you see that I find no case.
N. Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns
and the purple robe. Pilate said,
O. Here is the man.
N. When they saw him the chief priests and the
guards shouted,
C. Crucify him! Crucify him!
N. Pilate said,
O. Take him yourselves and crucify him: I can find
no case against him.
N. The Jews replied,
C. We have a Law, and according to that Law he
ought to die, because he has claimed to be the Son of God.
N. When Pilate heard them say this his fears
increased. Re-entering the Praetorium, he said to Jesus
O. Where do you come from?
N. But Jesus made no answer. Pilate then said to
him,
O. Are you refusing to speak to me? Surely you know
I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?
N. Jesus replied,
✠ You would have no power over me if
it had not been given you from above; that is why the one who handed me over to
you has the greater guilt.
N. From that moment Pilate was anxious to set him
free, but the Jews shouted,
C. If you set him free you are no friend of
Caesar’s; anyone who makes himself king is defying Caesar.
N. Hearing these words, Pilate had Jesus brought
out, and seated himself on the chair of judgement at a place called the
Pavement, in Hebrew Gabbatha. It was Passover Preparation Day, about the sixth
hour. Pilate said to the Jews,
O. Here is your king.
N. They said,
C. Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!
N. Pilate said,
O. Do you want me to crucify your king?
N. The chief priests answered,
C. We have no king except Caesar.
N. So in the end Pilate handed him over to them to
be crucified.
They
then took charge of Jesus, and carrying his own cross he went out of the city
to the place of the skull or, as it was called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they
crucified him with two others, one on either side with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross; it ran: ‘Jesus the
Nazarene, King of the Jews.’ This notice was read by many of the Jews, because
the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city, and the writing
was in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. So the Jewish chief priests said to Pilate,
C. You should not write ‘King of the Jews,’ but
‘This man said: “I am King of the Jews.”’
N. Pilate answered,
O. What I have written, I have written.
N. When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus
they took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one for each soldier.
His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece from neck to hem; so they
said to one another,
C. Instead of tearing it, let’s throw dice to
decide who is to have it.
N. In this way the words of scripture were
fulfilled:
They shared out my clothing
among them.
They cast lots for my clothes.
This is exactly what the soldiers did.
Near
the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of
Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved
standing near her, Jesus said to his mother,
✠ Woman, this is your son.
N. Then to the disciple he said,
✠ This is your mother.
N. And from that moment the disciple made a place
for her in his home.
After
this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed, and to fulfil the
scripture perfectly he said:
✠ I am thirsty.
N. A jar full of vinegar stood there, so putting a
sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick they held it up to his mouth.
After Jesus had taken the vinegar he said,
✠ It is accomplished;
N. and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.
Here all kneel and pause for a short
time.
It
was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during
the sabbath – since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity – the
Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away.
Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been
crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found
he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers
pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water.
This is the evidence of one who saw it – trustworthy evidence, and he
knows he speaks the truth – and he gives it so that you may believe as
well. Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture:
Not one bone of his will be
broken;
and again, in another place scripture
says:
They will look on the one whom
they have pierced.
After this, Joseph of Arimathaea, who was
a disciple of Jesus – though a secret one because he was afraid of the
Jews – asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave
permission, so they came and took it away. Nicodemus came as well – the
same one who had first come to Jesus at night-time – and he brought a
mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body
of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, following the Jewish
burial custom. At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and
in this garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried. Since it was the
Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus there.
JESUS CARRIED
OUR SUFFERINGS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 52:13 – 53:12; HEB 4:14-16; 5:7-9; JOHN 18:1 – 19:42 ]
We all suffer. From the time we come out of our
mother’s womb to the time we return to the tomb, we are crying. Suffering
is part and parcel of human life. No one is exempted from
suffering. Whether you are powerful or weak, healthy or sick, rich or
poor, famous or unknown, young or old, we all suffer in some ways. We all
have to carry our daily crosses as the Lord instructed His disciples. We
have responsibility for those who have been entrusted to us, our children,
loved ones and our friends. We also hold responsibility for the burden of
office and work as well. But these sufferings are less burdensome
compared to the suffering that comes from our sins and the sins of
others. Indeed, we know that many of our sufferings come from our folly
and our mistakes in life. We have been irresponsible, lazy and careless
in our work and tasks. But the suffering that we cannot bear is often the
suffering that is caused by others, whether due to their selfishness or the
result of natural disasters. Such suffering comes under the category of
innocent suffering. We feel a great sense of injustice because we feel we
do not deserve the suffering. Why should we suffer on account of the
injustices and selfishness of humanity? Why should we be made to suffer
when we have committed no sins. And so, we ask, “Why?”
We want to know the
meaning of our suffering, especially innocent and unjust suffering.
Freewill is one of the reasons for our suffering. We are given the grace to choose
between God and the world, the way of love of God and neighbour or the way of
selfishness. Because we are free, we can choose to live a life of charity
and justice or selfishness and injustice. We can live an honest and
upright life or an immoral life causing ourselves and people around us to
suffer. Purification is another reason for suffering. Through
our sufferings, we can grow in holiness and be purified in love. Either
through our own sufferings or through carrying the sufferings of others, we are
taught patience, humility, compassion, acceptance and the ultimate meaning of
life. When we suffer patiently, cheerfully and courageously for love, we
edify others who are suffering as well or are journeying with those who suffer.
In the final analysis,
suffering is the way to partake in the Passion of God. This is why we celebrate the
Passion of our Lord on Good Friday. Passion signifies the overwhelming
love for something or someone. Passion is also another word for
suffering. Whoever loves will have to suffer. All passion entails a
sacrifice of some sort. Even if it is passion for a sport, or music
or beauty, we have to discipline ourselves. Most of all, when we love
others, we will have to suffer for them and make sacrifices for their good and
happiness. That is why, when we think of the Passion of Christ, it gives
us consolation that we do not suffer alone but we suffer with the Lord and for
the Lord and His people.
Indeed, in Christ, God
the Father suffers with us. The suffering of our Lord is the way God
enters most intimately into the suffering of humanity. In Christ, the Lord does not simply
watch us suffer due to our sins and folly but He takes on our sufferings by
identifying with us in our humanity. The letter of Hebrews says,
“For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses
with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though
he is without sin.” Isaiah said, “And yet ours were the sufferings he
bore, ours the sorrows he carried. But we, we thought of him as someone
punished, struck by God, and brought low. Yet he was pierced through for our
faults, crushed for our sins.”
Jesus not only suffered
the frailty of humanity but also the effects of the sins of others. He was betrayed by His closest
disciples when Peter, James and John could not keep vigil with Him in
prayer in the darkest moment of His life. So, should we be surprised that
often when we are suffering intensely, not even our loved ones are with us or
could understand what is going on inside of us? But the most painful of
all betrayals was the denial of the disciples, including Peter who was too
cowardly to even acknowledge before a high priest’s servant and a maid that he
knew his master. Of course, one cannot imagine how Judas could betray his
master by selling Him for a song and with a kiss of peace! (cf Lk 22:47) This was the height of the
hypocrisy of a traitor.
Jesus too suffered the
injustices that we often suffer in the hands of our fellowmen. We have
been slandered, abused and discriminated. The Jewish religious leaders and the
Romans wanted Jesus to be killed simply because He was considered a rebel and a
potential cause of disorder as He was challenging the status quo of Judaism and
especially the conduct and motives of the religious leaders. So they
sought to frame Jesus with all kinds of charges. Yet, when Pilate saw the
selfish motives of the leaders who instigated the people to ask for Jesus’
death, he went along with them. He said, “I find no case against
him.” Indeed, the religious leaders and the people committed the
highest form of treason. By denying that God was their king, they went
against their fundamental belief. “Pilate said to the Jews, ‘Here is your
king.’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king except Caesar.'”
But Jesus taught us to
be faithful to our identity and our dreams. He said to Pilate, “Mine is not a kingdom
of this world. Yes, I am a King, I was born for this, I came into the
world for this; to bear witness to my truth, and all who are on the side of
truth listen to my voice.” Jesus was ready to stand up for His identity
as the Son of the Father. When the enemies came to Jesus, the Lord
without hesitation and without fear said, “I am he. I have told you that
I am he. If I am the one you are looking for, let these others go.” He
was courageous and was ready to go to the cross for His profession of faith.
When Simon Peter cut off the right ear of the high priest’s servant, Jesus said
to Peter, “Put your sword back in its scabbard; am I not to drink the cup that
the Father has given me?” How many of us are ashamed of our identity as a
Catholic, a Child of God before the world? How many of us proudly let the
world know that we are Christians, or do we fear being ridiculed by the world
and suffer discrimination?
If we are true to our
identity, then the world will believe in what we say. Indeed, this was
the case for Jesus’ enemies who recognized Him as the Son of God, the true man. We read, “When Jesus said ‘I
am he’, they moved back and fell to the ground.” They experienced the
divine presence in Him. Then later on Pilate said to them, “Here is the
man.” The Jews replied, “We have a Law, and according to the Law he ought
to die, because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”
Indeed, we cannot
imagine the extent, not just of the physical suffering of Christ on the cross,
but of His emotional suffering and that of His soul from the Garden of
Gethsemane till His passion on the cross. The first reading captures the state of
Jesus perfectly when the prophet wrote, “Like a root in arid ground. Without
majesty (we saw him), no looks to attract our eyes; a thing despised and
rejected by men, a man of sorrow and familiar with suffering, a man to make
people screen their faces; he was despised and we took no account of him.”
He is the suffering
servant of Isaiah as prophesied. “On
him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through his wounds we are
healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each taking his own way, and the
Lord burdened him with the sins of all of us. The Lord has been pleased to
crush him with suffering. If he offers his life in atonement, he shall see his
heirs, he shall have a long life and through him what the Lord wishes will be
done.”
Truly, it was His
innocent suffering that justifies us.
By looking at His suffering for us, we cannot but be convinced of the love and
mercy of God for us. “His soul’s anguish over, he shall see the light and
be content. By his sufferings shall my servant justify many, taking their
faults on himself.” It is for this reason that we are called to
turn to Him in our suffering. The Letter of Hebrews says, “Let us be
confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy
from him and find grace when we are in need of help.”
So, if we are suffering
today, whether through our faults or that of others, we must learn from Jesus
to pray fervently for God’s strength to endure. The letter of Hebrews says, “During
his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent
tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted
so humbly that his prayer was heard.” In the Garden of Gethsemane, the
Lord said, “Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial;
the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Lk 22:41)
With Jesus, let us do
God’s will in holy obedience.
“Although he was son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made
perfect, he became for all who obey the source of eternal salvation and was
acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of
Melchizedeck.” Only in obedience to our identity as sons and daughters of
the Father, can we live a life of fidelity, justice and compassion. With
Jesus, let us surrender our lives and our plans and the mystery of suffering to
the Father. With the psalmist we pray, “Father, into your hands I commend
my spirit. In you, O Lord, I take refuge. Let me never be put to shame.
It is you who will redeem me, Lord. My life is in your hands, deliver me
from the hands of those who hate me.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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