By Fr Antony Christy, SDB –
The Word in the Holy Week
The Word in the Holy Week
Another Passion Week amidst the Pandemic – the Good Friday
April 2, 2021: Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42
Thinking of the Cross in relation to the pandemic is no difficult thing, it syncs naturally. So many different crosses, directly due to the disease and the indirectly due to its related effects. The disease itself, the strange symptoms and the stranger lines of action like quarantine and isolation, the loss of dear ones, the still unclear state of the virus and its nature, the power and control that the moneyed have over the rest of the world, the ironic fact of how both the rich and the poor are affected by it, the silent cries of the millions and economic crises of families as well as societies… all these are crosses that we have faced during the time of pandemic which is still going on and threatens to prolong itself much more!
Amidst such experiences, how do we make sense of the Cross? “…ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried’ – the words of Isaiah that prefigured the passion of Christ, give us a clue to understand what a true Cross is. Cross is not any suffering. Cross is not merely any inconveniences experienced in any mode. Cross is salvific, a suffering or an inconvenience, that brings a salvific grace to you and to others, is what can be called a Cross: this is the lesson that Jesus on the Cross offers us today.
Cross is Salvific. Not any suffering is a cross…what if I chose to do all the wrong things and as a conequence, I face the suffering – is that a cross, merely because it is a suffering? What if I knew well where it was taking me, still I either actively or passively submitted myself to things that were very clearly enslaving and entrapping – could the resultant sufferings be called a cross just because it tears my life asunder? What if I deliberately chose to be arrogant and self-centred and and as a result I feel abandoned and alone, languishing in loneliness and pain – could it be called a cross just because it gives me pain and burden? No… these are not salvific, these are choices that I make and the consequences that I have incurred. Cross, though heavy and burdensome, elevates me, raises me up to experience the mighty presence of God. If it has to be so, then, Cross is submission to God’s will and Cross is taken up for the sake of others!
Cross is submission to God’s will: “Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering” says the letter to the Hebrews. “Not mine, but your will be done,” prayed Jesus as he took up the will of God. Cross is suffering in submission to the will of God. It is transcending rebellion and complaint; it is growing up to see the salvific nature of a suffering because it is accepted in submission to God’s will. During these days of suffering due to the pandemic and its aftermath, how prepared are we to submit ourselves to God and God’s will? How prepared are we to see the presence of God, even through the dark valley of insecurity, incertitude and inadvertent sufferings?
Cross is taken up for the sake of others: The pandemic has taught us this – wearing the masks, is not for myself but for others; staying in quarantine is not primarily for myself, but for others; giving up the normal pleasures of life, like going for entertainment and recreation, is not for myself, but for others! Without looking at the practicality and rightness of these directives, when I am able to take it upon myself for the sake of the others, that inconveniences becomes salvific – that is truly a Cross, from Christ-ian point of view! When I am ready to bear the burden, go the extra mile, do an extra sacrifice, exert a little more my energy and suffer an unnecessary trouble for the sake of others, not for my own benefit, that is a Cross and it is salvific: it serves others and saves me!
Today from the Cross the Lord speaks to us – for you I have taken up all these suffering! How much suffering are you prepared for, for the sake of the other? Cross, is the Salvific Suffering for the sake of the other… are you prepared?
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005, who has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (Specialisation in Catechetics). He is currently pursuing his doctoral research in Theology at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the Young towards a World of Peace and Dialogue is the passion that fires him.