20200410 DEALING WITH INNOCENT AND UNJUST SUFFERING
April, 2020, Good Friday of the Passion of the
Lord
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
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
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
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.
DEALING
WITH INNOCENT AND UNJUST SUFFERING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 52:13-53, 12; HEB 4:14-16; 5:7-9; JN 18:1-19:42 ]
Suffering is
part of our humanity because we are all members of a fallen race. St Paul says in Romans, “all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ (Rom 3:23) We suffer for many reasons.
Those of us who suffer because of our folly and our mistakes in life can accept
the sufferings because we reap what we sow. Paying a price for our
mistake is something inevitable. But what people cannot accept is
innocent suffering, which can come because of tragedy due to natural disasters
or the mistakes of others. People ask why God allows us to suffer
innocently. Why are there natural disasters and diseases like the Corona
virus that affects so many people’s lives? Worse still if we are
innocently killed because of someone’s carelessness and negligence, whether in
a car accident or at the work place. Even then, we can accept such
innocent suffering as the imperfection of nature and human beings. We all
make mistakes and cause others to suffer.
However, the
most difficult form of suffering to accept is unjust suffering. We all suffer from
injustices in life, whether at home, at school, in our workplace and even in
the Christian community. More so especially when we encounter injustices
in the Church, because of favoritism or discrimination. The
spontaneous response from those who suffer unjustly is to demand for their
rights and fight for justice. Some of us will go at length to demand
justice and accountability for the sufferings caused to us. At times,
revenge, rather than putting things right, motivates our demand for
justice. Anger, resentment and violence are often human reactions to
injustices.
Yet in
today’s Good Friday celebration, we are celebrating the death of not just
anyone but the Son of God who died not just innocently but unjustly. Jesus was the innocent
lamb led to the slaughter house. He did nothing wrong, as the Lord
said to Anna the High Priest who slapped Him. “If there is something
wrong in what I say, point it out; but if there is no offence in it, why do you
strike me?” Even Pilate himself declared Jesus innocent of crime.
Pilate’s verdict was clear. He said, “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?” To
get the Jews to rescind their demands, he had Jesus scourged, hoping to appeal
to their sympathy. He then said to them, “Look, I am going to bring him out to
you to let you see that I find no case.”
Not only did
Jesus die innocently, He died unjustly. He was charged for a crime, that He did not commit.
He was accused of a political crime to overthrow the Romans. Pilate asked
Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “Mine is not a kingdom of
this world: If my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to
prevent me being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this
kind. 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.” He was like the Suffering Servant, “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.”
Who were the
guilty ones? The priests, the Jews and Pilate! Ironically, they were the
ones who were on trial before the Lord, and not the Lord on trial. In
putting Jesus on trial, they put themselves on trial. They showed themselves to
be inconsistent, liars and traitors. As the Lord said in the
gospel, “with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you
give will be the measure you get.” (Mt 7:2) So how did they judge our Lord?
They were the ones who were not true to themselves. They pretended to
serve Caesar when they hated him. They even went to the extent of denying
God as their King and proclaimed Caesar as their king. “We have no king
except Caesar.” It was a blatant lie.
Furthermore,
they made all kinds of false charges against Jesus, such as that He threatened
to destroy the Temple, or that He blasphemed against God. So they were the
guilty ones! When Pilate concluded, “I find no case against him…would you
like me, then, to release the king of the Jews?’ At this they shouted,
‘Not this man, but Barabbas.’ Barabbas was a brigand.” Instead of
releasing an innocent man, they released Barabbas, a murderer!
Those who condemned the Lord were not free. Ironically, Jesus
who stood firm in the truth was set free.
Indeed, this
was the plan of God. God will set Him free at His death by raising Him
from the dead. Jesus would not only be freed from His enemies but even from
death, which is the last enemy of God. For this reason, Jesus, in John’s
narration of the Passion was presented as someone in control of the
situation. Jesus was sure of the plan of His Father. When He was
arrested and the disciples tried to protect Him, Jesus said, “I am He.”
And to Peter, He said, “Put your sword back in its scabbard; am I not to drink
the cup that the Father has given me?” This was what Jesus told Peter
before, after the announcement of His passion: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a
stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but
on human things.” (Mt 16:23)
The innocent
death of Jesus on the cross therefore is the instrument of God in saving
humanity. It
is the way of God to show His utter love for humanity. In spite of
man’s ingratitude and evil, God continues to love us. He did not stop
loving us even when He had to suffer innocently for us. “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.” This is what St Peter
spoke about as well. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the
cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his
wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep,
but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.”
But how does
innocent and unjust suffering save us? It is hoped that when we see the effects of our
sins on an innocent man who is the Son of God, we will be moved to repentance
by His love and by our sins against Him. “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?'” Indeed, only the unjust suffering of the innocent
can break our hardened hearts. We are not moved when we see the guilty
suffer for their sins but we will be moved when we see the innocent suffer
unjustly.
Most of all,
His death conquers our fear of death. As St Paul says, “The last enemy to be
destroyed is death.” (1 Cor 15:26) Again, he said, “The sting of death
is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 15:56f) Death is the cause of all
sins. It is the fear of death which includes suffering that makes man
selfish. Out of fear of pain, man tries to protect himself, his wealth,
his power and his ego so that he can find security in all these things.
But these are false securities. When we no longer fear death like our
Lord, and when we know that fullness of life is to be with Christ and in
Christ, here and hereafter, then we can live our lives freely and generously
knowing that even if death comes, it is not the end of everything.
So today, we
are called to trust in God’s plan. If we have to suffer unjustly and
innocently, like Jesus and the Suffering Servant, we need to surrender the
injustices to God. St Peter wrote, “For to this you have been called,
because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you
should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in
his mouth.’ When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered,
he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges
justly.” (1 Pt 1:21-23) God
will win the victory for us. Most of all, He will touch the hearts of our
enemies.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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