God's suffering in solidarity with humanity's suffering through Jesus-- Good Friday Sermon

Good Friday is the only day in the Christian calendar in which the center of the ceremony is not the Eucharist but the cross.  We do not consecrate the host on this day, but consume the reserve sacrament from the previous day.

Have you ever realized after preparing a delicious meal that everything tastes better the day after? The leftovers have that property. They taste especially different with such deliciousness because they have soaked in the spices and the juices better.  In our Christian life, eating the reserve sacrament the day after, reminds us of this special taste of Jesus’ sacrifice and offering for us. We have the privilege to recreate this memory as if it were our first memory of the taste of Jesus’ body and blood.

The cross requires all of our attention. We contemplate, honor, revere and worship the crucified Jesus. This is the ultimate act of salvation in which the law of the prophets and God’s promise to God’s people are fulfilled. Jesus gives his spirit up in the third hour.  And today especially, the Christian world is united in the journey to the cross. We will reenact Jesus’ passion as if each one of us carries our own cross uniting our suffering with Jesus’ suffering. All of our crosses become one in the crucified Jesus.

God offered his beloved son to the world. Jesus understood this. That’s why when Simon Peter cut off the right ear of the priest’s servant Malchus,  Jesus’ words carried a mild rebuke of his action. Jesus had no intention of avoiding the “cup of suffering.”  God gave Jesus this cup, and therefore, drinking from it reveals why he came into the world.

What happened with Malchus? And why did john even record his name?  I found the name Malchus means “my king”, “kingdom” or “counselor”. There is something about the way John says “The servant’s name was Malchus.”

In the Old Testament, we found that Priest and King Melquizedek blessed Abraham.  His blessing reads:  ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!’” (Gen.14:18–20). This blessing struck me, especially the last phrase …”and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hands.” This phrase carries awareness of what Jesus’ humble action represents. Jesus knows this is his Father’s will. Therefore, as an obedient servant, he surrenders himself to his enemies. Jesus blesses his enemies because salvation must be fulfilled.

In John, Malchus, with a name that carries kingship, is a humble servant of a High Priest. Jesus is King, and he doesn’t need to prove it. His servant- hood and kingship is not from this world. His servant-hood comes from following God’s command regarding love.

John is the only one to call Malchus by name, but Luke is the only one to record that Jesus healed his ear. Jesus’ healing of Malchus subverts any human act of healing. Jesus blessed his enemies through healing. Jesus came to serve with love, and by touching the hearts of the marginalized.  And, as a loving servant he is following his fate; and therefore, God’s salvific action in the world. He knows he will die on the cross, but dying on the cross is a symbol of reparation for the hurting world.

God is not distant from our suffering. God, in Jesus’ suffering, reveals his solidarity with our suffering. The crucified Jesus is calling us to be closer to him. Jesus’s suffering show to us that there is a place for our suffering; and therefore, a place to find consolation for our anguish and despair. Jesus took this cup from us but there is an invitation open. We are invited to drink from this cup through Jesus’ death on the cross. Our suffering is understood by Jesus because he embodied the suffering of the world.

On A day like today, Jesus took all our sins as his own. Jesus gave up his life for our sins. This extraordinary sacrifice represents the most important gesture of love that anyone would ever offer for each one of us. He paid the ultimate price of offering his life to rescue us. What should we do then? How do we respond to Jesus’ love as Christians? I have an answer for this question. Let me share this short parable with you all. During the ice age, many animals perished because of the cold. The porcupine, perceiving this situation, decided to live in groups, so they could provide shelter and mutual protection. But the quills of each of them wounded those nearest them, even those to whom they were trying to offer warmth. And because of that, they separated from each other. Once again, they felt cold, and had to make a decision: either disappear from the face of the earth, or accept the barbs/quills of those near them.

Wisely, they decided to return, and live together.

In this Good Friday, let’s be one body in the crucified Jesus. And “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love.” (Hebrews 10:1-25)