Friday of the Passion of the Lord (Good Friday)

Fr Dominic’s Homily

Our Gospel today is John’s account of the Passion of Jesus. And of course the basic message is that because of our sinfulness instead of welcoming and following him we actually killed the very creator of Life.

Notice that right at the beginning Jesus says “I AM” in response to the soldiers sent to arrest him in the garden of Gethsemane. They are words in which Christ proclaims his divinity before the soldiers.

In saying “I AM” Jesus is using the same words that God used to describe himself to Moses on Mount Sinai. They are the words that describe the one who cannot be named, the one who cannot be controlled, the Creator of the universe.

For this reason, the soldiers initially fell to the ground. For an instant they recognised that they were in the presence of divinity and just who it was they were arresting.

A little later on we hear that Peter says “I AM NOT.” When he denies being a follower of Jesus and in fact even knowing who Jesus is. These words of Peter are in stark contrast to the words of Jesus.

In a way Peter represents all of us in saying this. He confesses his human fragility. When “Are we Not”? When do we let human ways get the better of us? When do we let worldly ways try to define us?

We think that that our careers, our possessions and even our families define who we are. That’s why we never feel a sense of fulfilment in this world. We are defined only by God’s love. Because we are made by him and for him.

It’s difficult for us to understand exactly why Jesus had to die in this manner in order to repair our relationship with the Father. It seems so extreme. Yet is shows us just how devastating the effects of sin are in order for him to have to do this for us.

The crucifixion of Jesus is the demonstration of complete love through absolute suffering.

It is thought that the reason why Jesus came into the world when he did was because the Romans had actually managed to devise the most devastating and excruciating torture of all time.

The scourging at the pillar was worse than we can imagine. It was devised to cause laceration and maximum blood loss without actually quite killing the person. So that those who witnessed it were shocked and horrified and would never disobey the Romans.

Today is the sixth day. Saturday being the seventh day – the Sabbath day. The day of rest. When Jesus rests in the tomb. And Sunday is technically the first day of the week.

Remember that on the sixth day of creation God created Adam. And then God created Eve. God put Adam into a deep sleep, and took one of his ribs, and from this rib formed Eve.

So at the beginning of creation Adam went into a deep sleep and his side was opened. And from his open side came his spouse, his bride. Eve.

Jesus is the New Adam who undoes the sin of the first and allows us to enter through the gates of paradise that had been locked all those years ago.

Now in the same way on this sixth day Jesus sleeps the deep sleep of death on the cross. And his side which represented the veil of the true temple was torn asunder as the soldier pierced him with a lance.

And from his side came his spouse, the Church, as the sacramental blood and water poured from his wound.

The creation of the Church in baptism, confession, and the Holy Eucharist all came out of his wounded side.

And today, as we look on Jesus as the new Adam and as we venerate his most sacred wounds and see his opened side we too can say, this is where I have come from. This is my truest identity.

We can in some small way undo the denial of Peter as we acknowledge that “I AM” associated with Jesus.

To follow Jesus defines us in the deepest way. This is the ultimate definition of who “We really are”.