By Sr Lini Sheeja MSC –
The cross on which Jesus the Saviour of the world was hung was a cross of love. When the cross was given to Him, He embraced it with love; and because He loved us, He carried it with love. He came to pay a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. When we are broken, He is there to give life, because He knows what it is to be torn down. We were washed of our sins when His side was pierced and when the water and blood flowed down from His pierced heart. We received new life when He breathed His last and gave up His Spirit on the cross. The cross on which Jesus died is full of life because it is soaked with His love for humankind. During this Holy Week we gaze upon the cross and see a God, who sacrificed himself by shedding every drop of His blood and with His love He paid over and above the debt we owed.
Jesus: Our Blood Donor
He became the blood donor for each one of us. What more do we require? When He died on the cross hung by three nails, He forgave all our sins with total love. We may change, our behaviour may change and our love for God may change. But the love of God remains ever the same, because he went willingly to the cross out of pure love and nothing will change this love. No one will ever love us like Jesus: this is our faith and strong belief. His suffered deeply in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, because his love and care for us was deep. He promised to be with us till the end of the ages as He handed over His spirit to us. By handing over his Spirit, He strengthens us and tells us that we need not be afraid, even when things are beyond our control. Our God on the cross asks each one of us to endure all our loneliness, miseries and sufferings with hope, because we are created by the God of hope, who was resurrected on the third day after enduring humiliation with love.
God Continues to Thirst
As the song goes, for us Christians it should be the cross leading us in the front and the world behind us. The cross and the God who died on it, is bigger than all the problems we face. When Christ was hung on the cross and died by bleeding, God looked down on humanity and said loudly, ‘I love you’. For a Shepherd every sheep is counted, which is the reason he went in search of the lost sheep leaving the other ninety-nine behind. Jesus handed over the entire human race to God when he said at the cross, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit’ (Lk 23:46). Jesus, on the cross, accomplished His mission as He saved all of us from the clutches of sin which made that Friday to be named as ‘Good Friday’. As Christians we are called to place God first, in whatever situation we are in, trusting He knows best. Jesus, who did thirst on the Cross, continues to thirst today for all of us with open arms. On this
Blessed Mother’s Lap Invites us
On this good day, the holiest day Blessed Mother’s lap would like to speak to each of us as Blessed Mother remain silent. Mother’s lap invites us to gaze upon our Master who is tortured and crucified. “The death of Jesus was the saddest event in the annals of humanity. Mother Mary is speechless, as her only son is lying dead on her lap. Hence, I, the lap of Mother Mary would like to speak. Her tears of blood have drenched me. She has quietly prepared herself to accept everything from the very instance of the Annunciation to the agony of seeing Jesus dead on the cross. He who gave life to the birds of the air and the fish of the seas, is now lying lifeless on the lap of his mother. She who had shed tears of joy at his birth at Bethlehem is now shedding tears of blood at the foot of the cross at Calvary.
When baby Jesus cried, she dandled him on her lap singing many lullabies. Even as a grown up child, whenever Jesus was tired and weary, she did the same for him beyond all telling. Hand and lap are a symbol of comfort and consolation. Hence, having laid Jesus on her lap, now she gently touches him with her hand. What a disgusting sight to see the torn flesh, broken ribs and bones; and the disfigured body of Jesus! ‘Oh my son, what wrong have you committed to beget such an insulting death! And how have you gone away from me at the prime of your life?’ I can hear these words of distress coming from the mother of sorrows. The one who consoled and comforted the women of Jerusalem is no more to utter a single word of comfort to his own mother. As a child when Jesus was lost and found in the temple after three days, Mother Mary had asked, “Son why did you do this to us? And he replied, “Don’t you know that I must do the business of my heavenly father?” (Lk 2:49). Is recalling of this event made her silent? Or is she silent because she knows well that her son will rise after three days?”
Good Friday Blessings
Let us surrender all our aspirations, sorrows, and dreams to God and embrace life with love. Let each one of us respond to the call of holiness as our Heavenly Father is holy and the son who redeemed us is holy. May this holy day make all of us holy as we stand at the foot of the cross on this Good Friday! Let our whole world be sanctified by the God who sacrificed Himself on the Cross. May our Blood Donor wash us of our iniquities and make us whole.
Sr Lini Sheeja MSC, belongs to the Congregation of Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. She worked as the team member of Child-line, BOSCO Bangalore. She served as the Chief-Editor for Prison Voice, a national monthly magazine and she authored a book named, Prison Ministry: The Dreamers’ Mission in which she invites all dreamers to join hands together to do wonders for broken humanity.