The Crucifixion

Jesus' Death on the Cross is the heart of His Story. The act of crucifixion at the hands of the authorities, with the complicity of others seeking to eradicate His influence could have been one more story of injustice and the end of the Story. Instead, it becomes the symbol of self-sacrifice and sacrificial Love. While the world can see it as an act of cruelty, the eyes of Faith are able to pierce into it as the sign of infinite Mercy. The Son of God embraced our human life in its fullness. He laid down His own life, only to take it up again.

"Why did they kill Jesus?" is a question that comes from a first-grader. "They" are "we." The Lord was put to death by individuals caught up in fear and in their blindess to their own responsibility and their true freedom to do things differently. In facing His death, even death on a Cross, Jesus loved them -- loved us -- to the end. He never backed away from the Truth that the Father sent Him. He never stopped reaching out to those who were with Him to the end.

"Father, forgive them. They know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)
"This day you will be with Me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43)
"Woman, behold your son. Behold your Mother." (John 19:26-27)
"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34)
"I thirst." (John 19:28)
"It is finished." (John 19:30)
"Father, into Your hands I commmend My spirit." (Luke 23:46)

These "seven last words" show Jesus' selflessness even in the face of death. His words are of forgiveness and concern for those around Him, and expression of human need and longing. They point to the deep Truth that there is always a freedom to give of oneself. Human beings are capable of Love. The Crucified Lord stretches out His hands on the Cross to reveal just how much God Loves Us.

The Carrying of the Cross

Jesus came into our world to bring about salvation. In taking on our human nature, He took on everything that pertains to human life in this world. One constant that is found among all human beings is the fact of suffering. We are born through suffering. We experience pain throughout our lives. For some, the moment of death involves intense pain. Thos left behind experience suffering at the loss of the loved one. In carrying His Cross, Jesus embraces suffering and makes it a means of our salvation.

As we walk the Way of the Cross with Jesus, we can unite our sufferings to the suffering of Christ. Each step He takes mirrors the sufferings of human beings. The Cross is imposed, and yet He takes it up willingly and invite us to follow, taking up our own crosses. It is a heavy burden, one that causes Him to fall, as Tradition has it, three times on the way to Golgotha. Eventually, it is a burden that is shared, as Simon of Cyrene assist Him through part of the journey. The Cross does not impede human encounters; the fact of its being carried along a path means that it allows for Jesus to meet many along the way -- the weeping women, His Mother, Veronica, and those who chose to stay with Him to the end. Human suffering makes companions of us all, for we all must suffer.

The Sufferings of Christ bring about salvation. As He experiences rejection, punishment, and the anguish of body, mind and spirit that come with suffering, Jesus lays claim to all that is human. "By His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)