Good Friday
A reaffirmation of the central meaning of Jesus' crucifixion and death.
Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay
Good Friday is the day that Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus. A few years ago, I was invited to deliver the homily on this occasion at the Trinity College Chapel. The text is reproduced below unedited.
In response to the authoritarianism of Christian Nationalists when many distort or deny the central message of the Christian faith, I thought it was time to repeat the core commitment of the Jesus tradition to caring for those who are poor or marginalized.
Good Friday
March 29, 2013
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today, we confront the end of our journey, symbolized for Christians at the time of our death in our final procession down the main aisle toward the altar. We all take this journey in that we all die—alone. In the words of the Psalmist,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Words that early Christian tradition placed on the lips of Jesus at the time of his death. But how we live our lives as we complete this journey matters, to us and to others. On Ash Wednesday, I suggested that we are called to acknowledge our complicity in perpetuating injustice, to turn our lives around, and to follow our Lord. But to this horrible end? Is crucifixion where Jesus leads us?
To face such a question we must reflect upon the reasons for Jesus’ death. This requires great care, for no one—certainly no Christian—can naïvely hold “the Jews” responsible for the death of Jesus, certainly not after centuries of Christian persecution and murder of Jews culminating in the Shoah merely seventy years ago. The often conflicting accounts of Jesus’ death found in the Gospels must not be accepted at face value.
At the risk of summarizing historical scholarship too glibly, two things must be said:
(1) Jesus was executed by Roman authorities. We know this because of the manner of his death by crucifixion.
(2) Jesus’ teachings and actions (e.g., consorting with prostitutes, tax collectors, the sick, and the poor—all of whom were regarded as violators of Jewish law) would certainly have disturbed different groups within Judaism. But the hostility between Jesus and his followers, on the one hand, and Jewish authorities, on the other, as depicted in the Christian scriptures, most certainly reflects later conflicts between Christians and Jews rather than events at the time of Jesus’ death.
During Holy Week, and especially on Good Friday, the historical record—the received tradition for Christians—must be corrected. But that cannot be the whole story. We have more work to do.
The principal issue, bluntly, is whether Jesus’ death has any meaning at all and, if so, what it might be. The history of Christian thought offers two major answers to that question.
The first alternative stems from the writings of the Apostle Paul and was developed into the majority view by St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Anselm of Canterbury. In this view, Jesus as the Son of God died on the cross for our sins, thereby ensuring eternal salvation for those who accept him as Savior. As St. Anselm put it, Jesus as the God-Man paid the debt that all human sinners owe to God but can never, themselves, repay. That this classical view has comforted the souls of many and has helped them live a new life I readily acknowledge. But on this Good Friday, I invite you to reflect upon the other alternative, the minority report as it were.
This alternative is rooted in the Hebrew prophets, the gospel accounts of Jesus, early theologians such as Origen, and the medieval theologian, Pierre Abélard (roughly a contemporary of Anselm). In this view, the life and death of Jesus—a death that occurred precisely because of the manner of his living—provides an empowering example for us, an example that gives us courage to do likewise.
All too often, those who side with the poor, the disadvantaged, the wretched of the earth lose status, wealth, even life itself as they challenge and disturb the powers that be. Usually, those so emboldened by Jesus’ example also realistically foresee the consequences of their actions, as did Martin Luther King, Jr., the night before he was murdered in Memphis as he struggled for economic human rights and against war. Nevertheless, they push on in the hope that by one deed, one life, and if necessary, one death at a time, the kingdom of God’s justice is brought nearer. This is the example of utter, unquenchable, unflinching love that survives even death. That is what we are called to embody for others.
Because Jesus and countless others have gone before us, we, too, can persevere on this our pilgrimage. Here is the meaning of Jesus’ death and, therefore, our hope.