Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year C, 2022

“Do You Love Me More Than These?”

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year C

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, May 1, 2022

Our beautiful Gospel (John 21:1-19) for today is about Jesus’ third appearance to his disciples after his resurrection. The setting is the Sea of Tiberias, which is also called the Sea of Galilee or the Sea of Gennesaret. What are the disciples doing at the sea? For three years, they have been Jesus’ disciples. For three years they have given up their livelihood, given their entire lives to him. At the climax of his ministry, they saw him arrested. They saw him crucified and died. Three days after his death, he rises from the dead, and has appeared to them twice. So what do they do now? What comes next? Unsure of what next to do, they decided to return to their previous occupation, “I am going fishing,” Simon Peter said. “We also will come with you,” replied the disciples with him. After an all night hard work, they caught nothing. Not even a single fish. By morning, they were getting ready to go home in disappointment. Then they saw a strange man standing on the shore and asking, “Have you caught anything to eat?” Their simple response of “No,” suggests they were not happy at all. And they have every reason not to be. No one is particularly happy when hard work does not produce the desired result of success. 

But how come the Apostles, Jesus’ best friends did not know it was him at first? The same thing happened in every other post-Resurrection appearance. At the tomb, Mary Magdalene mistakes him for the gardener, until he calls her name, “Mary” (John 20:11-18). In the upper room, the Apostles mistake him for a ghost until he eats some fish to prove that he is the one and that he has a body (Luke 24:36-43). On the road to Emmaus, the two disciples don’t recognize him even as their hearts burn as Jesus explains all the messianic passages that refer to him in the Scriptures. They only recognize him when he breaks the bread (Luke 24:13-35). In today’s Gospel, the Apostles don’t recognize him immediately at the beach; it is only when the miracle of 153 fish happens that they finally realize that it is the Lord. So, why did his closest friends not recognize him right away? I don’t really know. May be he changed in a real way. How were they able to identify later that he is the one? They recognized him by what he did. The Resurrection appearances give us hints of what kind of bodies we will have in heaven. They will certainly be different and more beautiful. In 1 Corinthians 15:44, St. Paul calls them, “spiritual bodies” rather than “natural bodies. 

In this final appearance, Jesus performs four significant miracles before his Apostles. They worked all night and caught nothing. But by acting on the instruction of Jesus, they caught plenty of fish. That’s the first miracle. The second miracle is that “even though there were so many (fish caught), the net was not torn.” The third miracle is that Jesus serves them a meal of fish and bread. Where did Jesus get the fish and bread? Where did he get the charcoal? Who made the fire for him? If he could feed a multitude of five thousand with just two fish and five loaves, he could certainly do anything. He is God in human flesh. The fourth miracle that occurred at the Sea of Tiberias is the restoration of Simon Peter. 

During the Passion of Jesus, Peter denied Jesus thrice before a charcoal fire. After his Resurrection, Jesus sets another charcoal fire and offers Peter a threefold opportunity to re-commit his love for him. In the exchange Jesus says to Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” The word Jesus uses for “love” is agape, which is the strongest form of love, an unconditional love like God’s own love for us. It is the kind of love that Jesus exemplifies, the totally self-giving love that is willing to die for the beloved. Peter is honest enough to say that he does not have that kind of love, the agape love that Jesus lives and demands of us. So, he uses the word philia (philes te): “You know everything, you know that I love you,” which is the love of friendship. Philia love is a much weaker love but a true and sincere love nevertheless. It is a natural and human love, not the divine and supernatural love that the Lord exemplifies and demands from us. For the second time Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” (Agapes me?). Again, for the second time Peter replies, “philes te” (I love you in true friendship). In his third questioning, Jesus now adopts Peter’s kind of love, the friendship love, “Simon, philes me?” (Do you love me as a friend?”) At this time Peter is grieved. Why? Because twice Jesus asks if he Peter has agape, and twice Peter replies he only has philia, a lower and weaker kind of love. Yet, even on that level, Jesus is still questioning Peter’s philia, Peter’s friendship, Peter’s natural love. Is Jesus doubting Peter’s love? Not at all! Is he rejecting Peter’s love? Not in the least! He is giving Peter a threefold opportunity to redeem himself and to re-commit his love for Jesus. He is also meeting Peter in his own terms, that is, I accept you in your weakness, but I call you to a love that I alone can refine and perfect and purify. Here are the two points: No matter how strong our love for Jesus is, it is always weaker than we realize. But no matter how weak our love for Christ is, the Lord is willing and able to take us as we are and lead us to where he alone can bring us. Peter’s profession of love for Jesus at the Sea of Tiberias was a weaker and natural love, but he eventually responded and accepted the kind of love Jesus was demanding from him. Peter was crucified in Rome for his unyielding faith and love (agape) for Jesus. Today, Jesus asks you and me, “Do you love me more than these?” Do you love me more than power, more than pleasure, more than wealth, and more than honor? Do you love Jesus more than your job, your career, your politics, your social group, your sports, your entertainment, your religion, your culture, your beliefs, notions and views? Do you love Jesus more than your life itself? Here’s the good news: there will be eternal and incomparable reward for those who love Jesus more than the highest goods in life. 

Prayer: How Long O Lord?

Our Father and our great God, how long will the flood of innocent blood rise and roar in your ears and pound in our hearts? Please Lord, forgive our rebellion, our stubbornness, our dysfunction, our moral, spiritual and religious collapse. Forgive us for making wealth, bodily pleasure, power, honor, our God. Forgive us for not listening to you. Forgive us for ignoring you and your Son, Jesus Christ. Over two thousand years ago, your Son came to save us and lift us from the level we have fallen. But today, we have made the goods of this world our savior. We have defiantly claim that we do not need a Savior, that nothing is wrong with us. Today, we delude ourselves by insisting that we are okay. But the truth is that we are not okay. No one is okay. Our world is sicker, more divided, less godly, less human and less humane. True love is fading. Technologically, the world has never been more advanced than it is today, but in the depth, we have retrogressed and suffered a deep malfunction. Lord of heaven and earth, we desperately need you. 

The One who alone is good, we are utterly bewildered by the reckless killing that goes on around the globe. Around the world, terrorists and Islamic extremists kill innocent people with ease. Those who survive their attack are constantly attacked, harassed, and maimed by the corruption and wickedness of the political elites. In Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Nigeria, Cameroon and elsewhere innocent lives are wasted due to the power drunkenness of the political class. Please Lord, we are mad with the "madness of a mobbed and mocked and murdered people." As we raise our hands and voices in prayer to you, we pray that the flood of human blood will cease. By the very Blood of the Crucified and Risen One, Jesus Christ our Savior, bring peace to the world. And do not allow men and women with ulterior motives of selfishness, of greed, of inflation of ego, of dominating and enslaving your children to ascend positions of power. Before we say Amen, we ask, Are you saying something to us, Lord? Give us clear signs of what you are saying to us. Just when we think we are coming out of COVID-19 pandemic, we are now being threatened with a nuclear war. Our good and merciful God, protect us. Whatever that happens, keep us close to you and never be tired of pouring your ocean of mercy upon us. In Jesus most powerful and holy Name we pray. Amen. 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Homily for the Feast of Divine Mercy, 2022

Divine Mercy: We Get What Jesus Deserves    

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Feast of Divine Mercy (Second Sunday of Easter)

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Today is the Feast of Divine Mercy. One great manifestation of Divine Mercy is the forgiveness of sin. We know we are sinners in need of God’s mercy. Like Peter and his fellow Apostles, we have also betrayed the Lord. Our betrayal of him happens often in both words or deeds. As a result, we are doomed and marked for punishment. But here now is the greatest good news— Divine Mercy has taken our punishment away. Through Jesus of Nazareth, God has forgiven and justified us. Jesus has exchanged places with us: we get what he deserves, and he gets what we deserve. It is this great exchange, his very life for ours that we celebrate particularly today. 

Our today’s beautiful Gospel taken from John 20:19-31 lays this truth clearly. Hiding in the Upper Room were the disciples of Jesus, who at the moment of truth had denied, betrayed and abandoned their Master. Seized by fear of the Jews and I will add, by shame and remorse for what they did, Jesus came and stood in their midst. When they saw him, their fear intensified. He may have come back for some kind of revenge. He may have returned to rebuke and punish them, to take his pound of flesh. But what does Jesus do and say? He speaks the simple word, Shalom! which means “Peace!” After the greeting of peace, he shows the wounds on his hands and side. Why is the showing of his wounds so important? By showing his wounds, Jesus reminds them and everyone not to forget what we did to him. The Author of life came, and we killed him. So, the next time you hear people brag and say, “I am okay!” “You are okay!” do not believe them. The wounds of Jesus are signs of our spiritual and moral dysfunction. When the Risen Lord showed his wounds he is asking us not to forget that. After he has shown his wounds, what follows? Not vengeance! Not excoriation! Not rebuke! Not punishment! If you are watching a Hollywood movie of a poor and just man who was betrayed, denied, and abandoned by everyone at the moment of truth, later he was put to death, and after a few days he rises from dead, would you not expect that he is going to unleash more vengeance on those who betrayed him and put him to death? I guess you would. As for Jesus, what he does after showing his wounds is astonishingly breathtaking. He utters the word of healing and mercy— Shalom! Peace! Shalom sums up what God intended for the human race from the very beginning. What sin interrupted is Shalom. What sin disrupted is Shalom. Shalom is wellbeing at every level— physical, spiritual and emotional. Rather than unleash vengeance on those who denied, betrayed and abandoned him, he offers forgiveness and peace. The terrible disorder of the cross, of the crucifixion of Jesus is addressed not through more disorder, not through more violence, not through more aggression, not through an explosion of divine vengeance but through a radiation of Divine Love and Redeeming Mercy. 

Now, what does this mean to us? It means that there is no sin that God in principle cannot forgive. There is finally nothing that can separate us from the love of God. St. Paul says in his Letter to the Romans that he is certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither heights nor depths or any other power can separate us from the love of God. How does St. Paul know that? Because we killed God and God returns with forgiving and redeeming love. After greeting his Apostles  Shalom for the second time, Jesus breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” In other words, after offering mercy to his disciples, Jesus commissions and sends them to communicate the same mercy to the world. This is the foundation of the sacrament of Penance, and it has existed in the Church from that very moment till this day as the privilege vehicle of Divine Mercy. When the English philosopher and theologian, G. K. Chesterton was asked why he converted from the Anglican Church (The Church of England) to the Catholic Church, his simple answer was, “To have my sins forgiven.” Chesterton recognized the sacrament of Penance as the privilege vehicle of Divine Mercy. This sacrament is not a burden but the grace of reconciliation, the restoration of divine friendship, and the forgiveness of our sins. I believe that the greatest damage caused by secularism and secularist ideology is the insistence that each of us is okay without God. Going to confession is not a burden but precisely as a privilege expression of Divine Mercy. On this Feast Day of Divine Mercy, I enjoin you to feast in Divine Mercy but don’t just feast in it and entertain it intellectually, I strongly recommend you use the sacrament of Penance. For it is the best way to bask in the Divine Mercy. 

Easter Sunday Bulletin Message, 2022

The Resurrection of Jesus is not a hoax. It is not a figment of imagination the first disciples. It is not a creation of the Early Church. It is not a fairytale or a parable. It did happen! The crucified Savior of humanity indeed rose from the grave. He conquered death with his death. For sometime now, a growing number of modern people have been trying to explain away the resurrection of Jesus. They claim it is a myth, a legend, a symbol and a sign that prolongs Jesus’ cause. But no first century Christian would have found any of that convincing. If St. Paul had said in his sermon “I am proclaiming an inspiring dead man,” no one would have taken him seriously. What he said over and over again was “Anastasis!” “Anastasis!” — Resurrection! Resurrection! And that was the first great Christian message. 

Our Easter Gospel taken from John 20:1-9 contains magnificent account of the Resurrection. John said Mary of Magdala went to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark. It was still dark— just the way it was at the beginning of time before God said, “Let there be light!” In the Resurrection of Jesus a light is about to shine, and a new creation is about to appear. What else do we notice in the Gospel? John said the stone which blocks entrance to the tomb of Jesus had been rolled away. That stone stands for the finality of death. When a beloved person dies, it is as though a great stone has been rolled across them, and permanently blocks our access to them. That’s why we mourn and grief at death. But in the case of Jesus, the stone had been rolled away. When the first disciples saw the empty tomb, they thought a grave robber had stolen the Lord’s body. Guess what? Their suspicion was not utterly wrong. Jesus’ body was indeed stolen but not by his enemies— the chief priests, the scribes, the Pharisees etc. The greatest of grave robbers was at work. His action caused Mary Magdalene to exclaim, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” Who is the greatest grave robber? The only true and living God! Centuries ago, the Lord said to prophet Ezekiel, Look! I am going to open your graves and have you rise from them” (Ezekiel 37:12)

Sisters and brothers, on this day, and throughout the season of Easter, we particularly celebrate the realization of what was dreamed about. What endured as a hope against hope has become a reality. God has opened the grave of his Son. God has shattered the bonds of death forever. Death is no longer the final word. The final word is Easter. Death is no longer the final day, the final day is Easter. This is the greatest and most powerful good news of Easter! 

Happy Easter, everybody!

Fr. Marcel E. Okwara, CSsR

Homily on Easter Sunday, Year C, 2022

The Resurrection Of Jesus Actually Happened

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily on Easter Sunday, Year C

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, April 17, 2022

The Resurrection day, famously called Easter Sunday is the most important day in the Church Calendar. It’s the victory day. The day when the Old Enemy is finally defeated and put to his place. As you know, religion and the practice of religion is under serious attack today. Books like “God is not great” by Christopher Hitchens, “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins, “Letter to a Christian Nation” by Sam Harris are all published just to undermine the very idea of God and the practice of religion. On TV, people like Bill Maher say religion is stupid and superstitious. On the internet, Christianity is accused of being just another retelling of old mythic story of the dying and rising god found in many ancient cultures. These naysayers insist that the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord is an edifying story, a myth that represent the wishful thinking of the human race. But according to the great teacher of mythology, C.S. Lewis, “Those who claim that the Gospel account are mythic in form haven’t read many myths.” The truth is that there is something qualitatively different between the Gospel stories and the myths. Mythic stories often begin with phrases like “once upon a time…” or  “in that time,” or “in a galaxy far away.” They speak about general truths, about the rhythms of life and how they affected, for instance, the Egyptians in such a fundamental way. It is about the rhythms of growth and development in agriculture. It is about the emergence of the Pharaohs as the governors of Egypt. The Dionysus myth simply speaking is about the growth of the vine, grapes and formation of wine, which is a key element in the life of the ancient Greeks. 

A distant and casual look at the texts of the Gospels reveals that Jesus is not a mythic figure like Dionysus or Hare Krishna. How come? Because he exists at a very particular time in history. In Luke’s Gospel we hear that he came into the world when Quirinius was the governor of Syria, and Augustus the emperor of Rome. Those are specific  people whose existence can independently be verified. In addition, Jesus came of age during the reign of Herod and Herod son, Antipas. These figures can also be verified historically. More to it, Jesus was, as we recite in the creed week after week, crucified under a very particular Roman official, named Pontius Pilate, whose existence can independently be verified. There are coins that bear the inscription of Pontius Pilate. In order words, there is no attempt to place Jesus in some vague and indefinite period. As a matter of fact, there is every attempt to identify him specifically. 

With this mind, let’s turn to the account of his Resurrection. Those who say that his Resurrection is one of the ancient stories of the death and rising of ancient gods should read the account carefully in the Gospel. We hear of a very particular individual, Mary Magdalene, that’s Mary of Magdala, a little town on the sea of Galilee. We hear of Mary the wife of Joses. These women came to the tomb. We also hear of another particular individuals, Peter and John who ran to the tomb, one out-pacing the other. Why would the author of John pay particular attention to this detail? It must have vividly been remembered. Mythic stories will not bother to know who got to the tomb first and who out-ran the other. When you listen to someone tell a story about what happened to them, they will include little details like that. Our Gospel today even tell us of the peculiar arrangement of the burial cloths. If this were a generic mythic tale of the death and rising god, the writer wouldn’t bother including such little details. They won’t fuss with how the burial cloths were arranged. So, the detailed account of what was seen at the tomb is an indication of what was historically experienced and what was vividly remembered. 

Furthermore, in our second reading taken from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter speaks of Jesus ministry’s in Galilee, of his eating and drinking with the Apostles after his resurrection from the dead. A mythic composer would not bother to include such details. Now, what is most convincing about Jesus’ Resurrection is this: The risen Jesus had witnesses— Peter, Paul, James, Matthew, Thomas, and the rest, who went to the end of the world and to their death declaring the truth of Jesus’ Resurrection. Here is the question for you: why are there no missionaries for Horace? Why didn’t anyone go around the world and to their death declaring the truth of Horace? How come there were no missionaries of Dionysus? How come nobody went to the ends of the world and to their death declaring the truth of Dionysus? The answer is easy! And it is not a judgement on anybody at all. The answer is because they were not real figures. People who told their stories knew it. They were not trying to deceive anybody; they knew they were trading in mythic language that were evocative of the natural necessities of the rhythm of nature. But this Jesus, risen from the dead had witness who vividly remembered him, who vividly remembered his terrible death and who vividly remembered his unnerving Resurrection. That’s the difference of Easter. That’s what debunks the lie being told by these haters of Christianity. That’s what convinces us that we are not dealing with one more account of the ancient story of the dying and rising of mythic gods. And it is because of these witnesses, their experiences and the stories they told that we gather here today to celebrate that God has done something unrepeatable, remarkable, distinctive, and unique. God interrupted the rhythm of nature in raising his Son from the dead. Victory is forever won. That makes all the difference and that’s why we gather to celebrate. 

Happy Easter, everybody!

Good Friday Homily

What Did The First Christians See In The Cross?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for Good Friday

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, April 10, 2022

If someone from Jesus’ time were to enter our church today and saw the symbol of a crucified man hanging up above the altar where everyone can see it, they would conclusively say we have all lost our minds. Why? Because in Jesus’ time, the cross was the most terrifying and horrifying thing you could ever imagine. The cross was seen as the crowning point, the zenith and highest degree of suffering. The cross stands for excruciating pain, “excruciatus” in Latin which means “from the cross.” The great Roman orator and one of the masters of the Latin language, Cicero, while describing a crucifixion in a letter used all sorts of indirect expressions and circumlocutions because describing a crucifixion directly was considered too petrifying. This explains why for the first many centuries of Christianity, nobody depicted Jesus on the cross. It was too fresh  and too horrifying in the cultural memory of people to do so. Seeing the image of the cross displayed above the altar would be like seeing an image of a man hanging from a noose for any ancient person.  

But what did the Early Church see in the image of the cross? They saw all human dysfunction placed on Jesus. When we go through the Passion reading, what do we hear? We hear of stupidity. We hear of hatred. We hear of cruelty. We hear of violence. We hear of institutional injustice. And when all the darkness of the world comes upon him, he swallows it up with the phrase, “Father forgive them they know not what they do.” What else did the first Christians see on the cross? They saw that everything the world can throw at us has been conquered and consumed in the ever-greater Divine Mercy. That’s why our brother St. Paul was able to say, “We proclaim Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23b). Believe me, when people first heard Paul utter those words, they must have expressed wonder and amazement: ‘Is that what you are preaching? A crucified criminal? Are you crazy?’ But Paul had met the risen Christ and had known that the love of God was powerful than anything that is in the world. In addition, when the first Christians held up the cross, they were doing it as a kind of taunt. The Roman authorities said if you cross us, we will cross you out by nailing you on the cross. If you disobey us, you will be nailed to the cross. The cross was a sign of Roman power. It was a sign of the power of the sinful world. But in the light of the Resurrection, the first Christians knew that God’s love had definitively shattered that power. So, the first Christians taunted the world with the cross. 

Today, when we read Paul’s declaration in all his writings— Iesous Kyrios (Jesus the Lord), we sentimentalize it as a proper spiritual thing to say about Jesus. But in Paul’s time, “Jesus is Lord” declaration were fighting words. One way a Roman citizen might greet another citizen was, “Kaizer kyrios,” which means, “Caesar is Lord.” That’s how people might greet each other at that time. But in all his letters, Paul insists that Caesar is not the Lord, rather the Lord is someone whom Caesar put to death and whom God has raised from the dead. That someone is Jesus. He is the true Lord; he is the true Lord of life; he is the true Lord of everything on earth and in heaven. When Pontius Pilate, Caesar’s local representative placed over the cross an inscription meant to be a taunt of his own, “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews,” he was without knowing it stating an obvious truth. Although his inscription was meant to be a joke, but the joke was on him because Pilate becomes the first great evangelist.

As we celebrate the Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, what do you think the world wants us to do with the cross of Jesus? I will give you a few answers. They want us to make it a little private symbol. They want us to make it a sign of our little pastime activity called Christianity. But doing so would be extremely distasteful to the Bible because that sign is meant to be held up to all the world announcing that there is in fact a new Lord and a new King. Jesus himself says “When I am lifted up from the earth (that is, on the cross), I will draw everyone to myself” (Jn. 12:32). Holding up the cross of Jesus, lifting it up for all to see, helping to draw all people to Jesus is the work of the Church. It is called evangelization. The good news, “euaggelion,” in Greek is also a taunt when the first Christians first used it. In ancient times, an evangelist was someone who went ahead with the good news that Caesar had won a victory. By adopting the same word, the first Christians were saying, no, no no, no. It’s just the opposite. God has won the great victory. So, today and every day of our lives, let us hold up the cross of the crucified Jesus and use it to challenge the cruelty, the violence, the injustice and the hatred of the world. And may the cross of our Lord Jesus always remind us that the victory is won; that there is a new King and Lord whose name is Jesus Christ.

Homily for Palm Sunday Of The Passion Of The Lord, Year C

 

Why On Earth Did Jesus End Up On The Cross?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for Palm Sunday Of The Passion Of The Lord, Year C

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, April 10, 2022

Today, we heard in its entirety St. Luke’s account of the Passion. Passion Sunday can be called “the enthusiastic or zealous Sunday.” Jesus’s friends and foes are zealous and on fire about him and his entrance into Jerusalem. Both sides are energized! For his friends, it’s a famous and glorious ride that will ultimately show everyone that Jesus is the Messiah, i.e. God’s anointed One. It’s a happy and wonderful ride to Kingship. And for his foes, it’s rather a ride into their trap- the death trap. For them, Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem will mark the beginning of his end.

But how is it that a man like Jesus- a very good man, so kind, exceedingly merciful, deeply generous and  profoundly compassionate ended up on the cross? Why was Jesus condemned to death? Historical and biblical studies propose that he was condemned for religious and political reasons. The charge: “We found this man misleading our people; he opposes the payment of taxes to Caesar and maintains that he is the Christ, the king,” was leveled against him. But those are false accusations. When the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders asked Jesus “Is it right to pay tax to Caesar or not?” (Mark 12:14b), his response was “Give to Caesar what is Caesars, and to God what is God’s” (Mark 12:17). Furthermore, throughout his earthly life and ministry, when people attempted making him their king, Jesus never yielded to their pressure. In the end, it was what he avoided that decided his fate. The title he avoided became the title of his condemnation affixed to the cross: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” 

Historical considerations tell us that religious authorities, political authorities, the heads of the Sanhedrin and the Roman procurator, for different reasons participated in the condemnation and the death of Jesus. Then, each of us, by faith are all responsible for his death with our sins. Anytime we engage in any wrongdoing, we crucify Jesus anew. Any hatred towards any child of God is a hatred towards God. Lack of pity, mercy and compassion towards those who suffer is a lack of pity, mercy and compassion to Jesus. Refusing to love the other is refusing to love Jesus. To the religious and political authorities of his time, Jesus was the other. But before we judge and bluster against those who put Jesus to death, let us remember the various ways we too are crucifying him. Those evil thoughts and wishes against someone, those hateful and scornful looks, those private and public uncharitable judgments, those racial and discriminatory slurs, those deliberate lies against others- remember, they also crucify the Lord again. 

But how did our Savior conduct himself during the Passion? Did he undermine the pain of human suffering? Did he allow a grave injustice be done on him simply to show off his superhuman dimension? Was he overly impatient, intolerant, mean and cruel to those around him? In his suffering, did he curse or reject his Father? There is no word or gesture that nullified what Jesus preached in his Gospel, especially the Beatitudes. Jesus profoundly felt the pain- physical pain and psychological pain. He really felt the brutal torture in the hands of the soldiers. He felt the weight of the cross he carried after being badly broken and wounded. He also felt the psychological pain of abandonment. He deeply experienced the pain of suffering unspeakably for his goodness. It is one thing to suffer for wrongdoing and another thing to suffer for goodness. No one wants to suffer for wrongdoing let alone for goodness. Jesus was not immune to human pain and suffering. His pain and suffering was real. He felt it in his body, soul and mind. Yet, his reaction to extreme cruelty and wrenching pain was human: he cried and trembled; the sweats on his face was as thick as blood; he wished the suffering is taken away from him; he asked his disciples to pray for him and with him. His pain was so deep that he cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Nevertheless, he died asking for the forgiveness of those who crucified him. He deserved to be apologized to, but he was the one who tendered apology on behalf of his executioners. 

One very fascinating thing is this: during his trial, he was silent (Matthew 26:63). Before Caiaphas, he was silent; before Pilate, he was silent; before Herod, he was silent. When he was attacked, he was silent, he did not revile in return. But his silence does not demonstrate his aloofness or inability or immunity to feel pain. His silence is not stoicism. His silence was finally broken by the silence of death shortly before he died: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” It was this cry that prompted the centurion who witnessed his death to say, “Surely, this man was innocent beyond doubt.” 

How come an exceptionally good and upright man like Jesus ended up on the cross? Scripture tells us “He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10:38b) Right? Then, why on earth did he end up on the cross? You know, when we live according to the moral principles of our faith, there are three possible ways that the people around us can respond. First, they may be impressed by our exemplary lives and may want to be like us. When people see God in us, they may likely love to worship the God they saw in us. Second, they may be cold and indifferent to our way of life because they are so blind to notice us and so trapped by the cares of this world. Third, they may react against us because our very lives is a threat to theirs. The third response is what Jesus got. The exemplary life of love and compassion he lived and the good news of liberation he preached made the religious and political leaders feel threatened. His lifestyle of simplicity was a challenge to their firm cling on material possessions; and his humility was a threat to their selfish ambitions. So, they unjustifiably condemned and killed him- an Innocent Man. But then, evil never wins. Darkness never wins. Easter tells us they never win.