Zimbabwe – Mozambican Jesuits reflect on Good Friday

When an honest and upright man joins a company full of thieves and embezzlers he will not be popular. This one man’s honesty reminds them of their own evil  and corrupt actions. This happened to the ancient prophets. Israel  did not listen to their words of warning.  They wanted praise-singers, flattering their wicked kings. When they spoke “truth to power” they were beaten, tortured and killed.

When  Christ entered this world, full of sin and rebellion against God, he exposed himself to great danger. He was the “Son”, the “heir”, whom the tenants had to liquidate so as to take over the vineyard as their own (Mark 12 : 1 – 12). John the Baptist said about Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1: 29). Jesus is seen as the sacrificial lamb that is slaughtered to ‘take away our sins’. The lamb dies so that we do not have to die.

Isaiah had a similar idea, “He took away our infirmities’ and bore our diseases” (Is. 53: 4). Matthew saw this prophecy fulfilled in Jesus the Healer and ‘Good Shepherd’  who would finally give his life for his sheep (Mt. 8: 17; see also John 10: 15).

The Son of God entered a world full of hatred and malice, violence and war, rebellion and defiance against God. His mission was to show people the God who is love and self-giving and who asks for our love and self-giving. He came to lead people to his ‘Abba-Father’ (Mark 14: 36). But the people wanted a God whom they could control. They did not want Jesus who was delivering himself entirely into the hands of his ‘Father’.

They wanted a powerful, almost violent God whose power and violence they could use to dominate and rule, not to serve and love (Mark 10: 45). They wanted a God who would  let them take revenge on their enemies. Not this Jesus who refused armed violence (Matthew 26: 52: ”All who take the sword will perish by the sword”) and military power.

Peter says about Jesus, “When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten” (1. Peter 2: 23).  He died praying for his executioners.

His enemies, the people of this world, want to take revenge and overcome evil by inflicting more evil, thereby perpetuating evil. Jesus overcomes hatred by love, sin by forgiveness, greed by poverty, pride by being humble. This Jesus turned the way of life of this rebellious people, the people of this world, upside down. They could not take this. They had to do away with him so that their evil way of life would not be disturbed. But Jesus did not  give up. He went all the way right up to Golgotha and the execution, on the cross. ‘He loved us to the very end’ (John 13: 1).

So, Jesus won for us a victory over the evil one. He did not give in. His love was stronger than  hatred; his life stronger than death. He did not pay back with evil, but embraced sinner with loving forgiveness. 

We are people of this world. We ‘pay back our enemies in the same coin’. We take pleasure in the misfortune and defeat of our enemies.

Walking with Jesus the Way of the Cross, standing with Mary the mother of Jesus at  the cross and encountering the Risen victorious Jesus at Easter, we need to transform our lives with Jesus one hundred percent.

(Jesuit Communications Zimbabwe –Mozambique)

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