Bound in Love

Good Friday 1st Word

Consider “forgive.” In English, we use the prefix “for” to mean “do not” or it negates whatever action is in the verb. We bid people to do things, and that is a command to do something. We forbid them from doing things, and that is a command to “not” do something.

When we “forgive” somebody, we do not give them what justice demands. We choose mercy instead. Jesus is now nailed on the Cross, lifted up for all to see, and they are mocking him and spitting on him. His mother stands at the foot of the Cross, and she knows better than anyone there how Jesus is innocent of the charges brought against him. The people have rejected the Son of David, and they should be punished for turning away from the True King. The leaders have abandoned the prophets who pointed to Jesus the Messiah, and they should be replaced by true servants of God. The Roman governor has given in to the mob, and an innocent man will be killed. Justice demands action, but Jesus prays for mercy.

Throughout the Old Testament we hear of the justice of God, and many times we hear of his vengeance. For the Son of God to pray for mercy today in this setting seems to be in direct contrast to the God of the Old Testament. But the entire Scriptures – Old and New Testaments – are a single message of love and mercy from a loving God who treasures humanity as his most precious creation.

He made us in love at the dawn of creation. He loved us – and we loved him back – in a perfect and unblemished relationship. We walked with him without shame or fear. We walked in freedom, which he gave us because he loved us enough to make us in his own image.

We abused that freedom. We listened to the lies and tested the theory that God really doesn’t love us. We disobeyed the Original Commandment and committed the Original Sin. And at the moment when we deserved judgment and vengeance, the Father chose mercy and forgiveness. He sent us out on a long journey that would ultimately lead back to him if we could practice self-control and embrace true freedom instead of license. The loving father of the parable of the prodigal son is prefigured time and time again in the Jewish scriptures. We turned away but he never did. He forgave us over and over. His son asks today that he do it one more time.

They know not what they do.

This is not merely a simple execution by the governor in a remote Roman province. This is not even the execution they think it is; it is a sacrifice in which the priest making the offering is also the offering being made. Last night, on Holy Thursday, Jesus taught his Apostles how to make a true memorial of his sacrifice. He makes the sacrifice today; this day he offers his body and his blood for the salvation of all who follow him.

The people at Golgotha do not know what they do. Certainly the Roman soldiers have little idea what is really happening. The Jewish religious leaders think they are dealing with a dangerous heretic who refuses to toe the line. The Apostles all left; only Mary and the adolescent John are here. John didn’t even have the sense to run away with the other Apostles. Mary may have some idea because she is Mother of the Church and our model of humility and receptivity. She has always known that God is all-powerful and all-knowing; her humility gave her comfort when His ways were hard to understand, and she was always receptive to his messages.

Another figure did not know what he had done. The Devil thought he had won. The Devil thought he had killed the Son of God. The Devil seethed for thousands of years over God’s merciful response to the sin of Adam and Eve. Today seemed to be a day of victory for Satan: the man who claimed to be the heir of David and the Son of God is dying on the Roman implement of torture and death. The Devil exults in his rage as he watches today.

But the Devil doesn’t know what God knows. The Devil was once known as Lucifer. He was the greatest creation of God: brilliant and beautiful. But he remains a creature; he can never be the creator. His knowledge and his intellect may be the greatest created but it is dwarfed by the knowledge of God.

Instead of killing God, the Devil has killed Death. Death was the trophy he carried out from the Original Sin in the Garden of Eden. Death with him ruled the world. All were captured by Death, which was the consequence of Sin.

The Devil doesn’t know he has lost Death through the sacrifice of the Son. Jesus offers himself on behalf of Adam and Eve and all their children forever. He pays the debt incurred by Adam and Eve. He redeems us through the Cross. The debt owed to God that no man could ever pay but only a man should pay was paid by the Man who was also God.

God so loved the world that he gave his only beloved Son. He gave us the Son at Christmas so the Son could give himself on Good Friday.

Nobody on this dreadful day understands that the Cross is also the Throne. Jesus Christ is King, and as he hangs upon the Cross he sits upon the throne. The Cross is revealed to be the Tree of Life. The tree we lost in the Garden after the original sin is found again on Calvary. The Cross opens for us the narrow gate that leads to eternal life and Jesus on his throne. The Pharisees and Sadducees who asked for Jesus to die know not what they do today. Pontius Pilate who ordered Jesus to die knows not what he does today. The Roman soldiers who made Jesus die know not what they do today. Satan who worships death knows not what he does today.

Today seems so sad. It seems the political leaders have won. It seems the weak religious leaders have won. It seems the Devil has won. Today is truly good. Death dies today.

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.