This Good Friday, let us make a spiritual journey to the foot of the cross, stand beside
Mary, the other women and John the disciple. Crucifixion is reenacted in the world
today. The world is carrying the heavy cross of coronavirus; many die alone at home, in
hospitals without family or friends present. Let today be a day of lamentation and
prayer, not seeking answers but simply to be there with Jesus crucified. Listen to what
Jesus says from the cross: Father, why have you forsaken me! forgive them, I thirst;
John, my mother is your mother now. God himself is not trying to control suffering; he
walked into unimaginable suffering, human violence and cruelty, trusting in the Father
saying, let this cup pass from me, yet, for this purpose I came.
Suffering is built into life in the world. Our goodness cannot be valued in terms of our
suffering but in terms of our God-given capacity to turn everything into an act of love.
Jesus on the cross manifests that suffering/death is filled with seeds of divine energy
for living and rising. The corona pandemic turned the world upside down! What
happened to power we thought we had; we see the limit to what we can control; we
confront ourselves, our vulnerability; we accept the sense of loss, it is real. We
remember Jesus’s words: a grain of wheat has to die to bear fruits. We learn that loving
and giving is the only meaningful experience in life. We are called to be like Simeon
who helped Jesus carry the cross; we are companions on the journey with the
suffering, with all healthcare workers who risk their lives to ease suffering and heal!
During plague of 260 AD in the Roman empire, a third of the population died. There
were no hospitals or treatments for pandemic diseases in those days. Dionysius,
bishop of Alexandria writes about it in his Easter letter: ‘Most of our fellow Christians
showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one
another. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need
and ministering to them in Christ and with them departed this life serenely happy; for
they were infected by others with the disease, drawing on themselves the sickness of
their neighbors and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many in nursing and curing others,
transferred their death to themselves and died in their stead. The best of our brothers
and sisters lost their lives in this manner, a number of priests, deacons and lay people
winning high commendation so that death in this form, the result of great piety and
strong faith, seems in every way the equal of martyrdom’. Those who risk to save
others are saints of our times. In a strange way, by keeping social distance we become
companions of all who suffer and we serve each other’s wellbeing.
Good Friday reminds us that no suffering/pain is in vain; our suffering is held with
dignity and esteem by God. Falling in love with love on the cross gives us strength and
hope to face suffering. Despite our inhumanity, on the cross God loved/valued
everyone’s life that we may love and value each other’s life; together we are awaiting
the great transfiguration of our humanity in our own Easter in Christ!