In 1947, Aug 15, on the first Independence day of India, Gandhi made this appeal to the British: “Leave my country, not as enemies but as friends”. A news reporter asked him: “How could you forgive the British who occupied your country for several years? How could you tell them to leave as friends?” Gandhi replied: “I learned this lesson from Calvary, from Jesus on the cross”.
The death of Jesus made a difference in the world. The death of Jesus touched the hearts of Billions and it opened a new way of living. On this Good Friday let us spend a few minutes reflecting on the transforming power of Jesus’ death on the Cross.
The sacrifice of Jesus showed the world the possibility of transforming an evil situation into a moment of grace and reconciliation. Jesus did not deserve death. It was inflicted upon him by the powers of evil. He could have easily avoided his crucifixion by destroying his enemies. He had the power to do so. He, however, chose a different course of Action. Victory always implies defeat of someone else. And as long as there are defeated people, there is the possibility of revenge. So he chose to forgive and break the chain of hatred. He prayed, “Father, forgive them” Luke (23:34). The result was immediate. The Centurion, who was in charge of his execution, surrendered his weapon and said, “He is really the Son of God” (Mark 15:39). His worst enemy became the first evangelizer.
Jesus was really successful on the cross, especially in his act of forgiveness. There are limited options to get the world back to God and to one another. Surely one is by the act of forgiveness. The modern world takes forgiveness as weakness. The truth is just the opposite. The weakness of forgiveness is more powerful than the strength of pride. Looking at the Crucifix, Archbishop Gudier said: “There is a greater greatness than the greatness of success that is the greatness of failure”. Many of us are living in a hell-like situation, because of our unwillingness to forgive. A little more humility can bring back the lost paradise.
The sacrifice of Jesus made suffering a sacrament of grace, a means of redemption. No one likes suffering. Suffering in itself can be evil. When we accept suffering for a noble purpose, it becomes a sacrifice; it becomes a means of grace. Jesus showed this at Calvary. He accepted suffering and offered it to God for the salvation of the world. Thus His suffering became a source of grace.
Suffering and sacrifice are part of the human experience. A grain of wheat cannot produce fruit unless it falls on the ground and dies. The same way, we can’t achieve anything worthwhile without sacrificing many of our personal comforts and desires. To bring up our children in the right way, parents needs to sacrifice some of their interests. To achieve a good grade in school, students need to give up some of their fun times. All these bring certain amount of suffering. This suffering shapes the quality of our lives. Martin Luther King said: “If a person has nothing worth dying for, he is not fit to live”.
The death of Jesus challenges us to work for justice. The suffering Jesus underwent was not the result of his wrong choices. It was the suffering of the world. It was the suffering of the leper…It was the struggles of the sinners…It was the pain of the outcast…When Jesus reached out to give them a life, he lost his life. There is no doubt that ‘real love suffers and hurts’. When Mother Therese started her work in Calcutta, some Hindu priests went to the police and asked them to stop her on grounds that she was converting the people. The police visited her place, but were touched by her work of charity. They returned to the priests and said: “Yes, we will stop her if you take up the work she is doing”.
And finally, his death reminds us of our sinfulness. Remember the first murder recorded in the Bible: the murder of Abel: God asked Cain: “Cain where is your brother?” He replied: “I don’t know!”(Genesis 4:8ff). Today, we cannot say that we don’t know Jesus. We cannot wash our hands like Pilate. Let us take the responsibility of the death of Jesus and start working for the Kingdom of God.
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