Homily for Good Friday, Year A

The Meaning of Christ’s Suffering

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for Good Friday, Year A

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, March 29, 2026

The importance of Jesus’ death on the cross has resonated through the ages. When Mel Gibson released his widely watched film “The Passion of the Christ,” the meaning of Christ’s suffering and death on the cross reappeared in the minds of many. I remember watching that movie on a sunny Christmas day in Nigeria and feeling emotional about the Lord's pain. I recall asking myself, “Why did Jesus have to go through this ordeal?” Does God not have a simpler way to redeem the human race? 

Now, Jesus enters the world as a warrior. In the words of C.S. Lewis, he came the way he did — a little baby born in a remote corner of the Roman Empire — because he was being secretly moved behind enemy lines. Jesus came as God’s own Son, but he entered a dysfunctional, sinful world. As he stepped into public life—preaching, teaching, performing miracles, and radiating divine presence—he sparked opposition. Throughout the Gospels, this reality is clear. Right from the start, he faces opposition. As a baby, Herod tries to kill him. His parents, Mary and Joseph, had to flee with him into exile. From the moment he appears in public, some cheer him, while others oppose him. This opposition reaches its peak in the Passion. 

When you read the powerful accounts of His Passion in the Gospels, you’ll see how all kinds of human sin, dysfunction, and corruption come together to meet Him. For example, we hear about Judas Iscariot's explicit betrayal, where he turned his back on his friend and mentor. But that’s not all. You will also notice a more subtle form of resistance and denial. For instance, when Simon Peter was confronted three times as a disciple of Jesus, he denied ever knowing Him. Additionally, when the other disciples fell asleep during His moment of truth—despite Him asking them to stay awake and pray with Him—they failed Him. You will also witness the shocking disorder and injustice of the Sanhedrin. Even after Nicodemus, one of their members, pointed out their law, which says a man cannot be condemned without a hearing of his case, they still insisted on executing Jesus. You will also see Pontius Pilate, who knows the truth but lacks the courage to act on it. Moreover, you will observe the brutal treatment by the temple guards and Roman soldiers as they torture Him and lead Him to crucifixion. Finally, you will see something most terrible: those mocking Him as He hangs on the cross, writhing in pain and dying. I tell you, all those who mocked Him are dead—emotionally and spiritually. To a great extent, their humanity has left them. 

On that cross, all human darkness and sin are exposed. Jesus reveals it through his own goodness and perfection. Eventually, he is overwhelmed by it. Then Jesus dies. He truly dies, not just apparently, not just as a play act. He dies. He was crushed by the world's evil. But then, in the Resurrection, God’s love overcomes that evil. After his Resurrection, Jesus appears to his frightened Apostles, who had abandoned him at the moment of truth, and he says, “Shalom.” He offers “Peace” to those who had forsaken him and fallen asleep when he wanted them to stay awake and pray with him. When he says, “Shalom!” it signifies that God’s love and forgiveness can swallow up all the sin of the world. What we see in the cross of Jesus is the sin of the world. In Jesus’ wounds, we see the world's dysfunction. St. Peter says that the “Author of life came and you killed him!” That means that all is not well with us. But all that sin has been swallowed up, conquered by the ever-greater forgiveness of God. That’s why in Romans, St. Paul can say: “I am certain that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor height nor depth nor any other power can separate us from the love of God.” How does Paul know that? Because we killed God, we threw all the dysfunction of the world at God, and God still loves us. God can swallow that up in his forgiveness. That is Christianity. And that is why the cross of Jesus was necessary. That is why the cross of Jesus saves us. That is why we hold it up on Good Friday and say, “Behold the wood of the Cross on which hung the salvation of the world.” We know we are saved precisely through that terrible Cross.