Reflection for Good Friday

Who And What Do You See?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Reflection for Good Friday

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Friday, April 7, 2023

When you look at the Cross, who do you see? A man to be pitied? A man to feel sorry for and after that ignore him and move on with your life? When you look at the Cross, who do you see? A Man who triumphed or a man who was conquered? Do you see a failed revolutioner or a Revolutioner of love, life and human history? When you look at the Cross, who do you see? A man who claimed to be who he was not or a Man who made the marriage of heaven and earth possible? When you look at the Cross, who do you see? A legend, a liar, a lunatic or Lord and God? When you look at the Cross, who do you see? A deceiver or the Truth himself? A Wasteful life or Life himself? A shut and impeded way or the Way himself?  

When you look at the Cross, what do you see? Defeat or victory? Curse or favor? Enslavement or freedom? When you look at the Cross, what do you see? Total rejection or total acceptance? Do you see the greatest unleashment of hatred or the greatest demonstration of love? When you look at the Cross, what do you see? The triumph of injustice or the fulfillment of God’s salvific intent displayed throughout the Old Testament? When you look at the Cross, what do you see? A display of wickedness or the restoration of the justice of the world? When you look at the Cross, what do you see? A triumph of hatred, violence and death or a victory of love, a story of love, and a history of love? 

When I look at the Cross, I see a sorrowful Man whose grief has offered me relief, whose anguish has brought me mercy, whose rejection has brought me acceptance. I see a Man worthy to be adored and worshipped by every generation. When I look at the Cross, I see a Man wrapped up in love and compassion for me. When I look at the Cross, I see a triumphant Man who conquered death with his own death, trumped hatred with his love for me. When I look at the Cross, I see the Revolutioner of love, life and human history. I see a Man who brought about the marriage of heaven and earth. When I look at the Cross, I see my Lord, my Redeemer and my God. He is the very incarnation of Yahweh. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

When I look at the Cross, I see historic victory, not defeat. I see and find favor, not curse; I find my freedom not chains. His rejection by the Jewish crowd is my acceptance by heaven and heavenly realm. His acceptance of the hatred unleashed upon him is also the greatest display of love he has for me. When I look at the Cross, I see the triumph of the Cross, the realization of God’s plan of salvation for me and humanity. When I look at the Cross, I find the healing and restoration of the world order. When I look at the Cross, I see love and find love. The Cross has changed my story and destination. Glory be to Jesus! Behold the Wood of Cross, on which hung my salvation and the salvation of the world. Thank you Jesus!