Archbishop of Sydney

Good Friday

St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney
and at the annual Italian procession of the Crucified Christ and The Mother of Sorrows, at St. Brigid’s Church Marrickville
Is 52:13-53:12; Heb 4:14-16, 5:7-9; Jn 18:1-19:42

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
21/3/2008

O Cross of Christ, immortal tree
On which our Saviour died,
The world is sheltered by your arms
That bore the Crucified.

From bitter death and barren wood
The tree of life is made;
Its branches bear unfailing fruit
And leaves that never fade.

O faithful Cross, you stand unmoved
While ages run their course:
Foundation of the universe,
Creation’s binding force.

Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal

While this is not great poetry, the words beautifully express the meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross.

Good Friday is not the end of Jesus' story and not even the end of his time on earth, because the Resurrection was an event in history, even though the Risen Lord was no longer constrained by space and time as we are.

But Jesus' suffering and death are an essential and central part of Christian teaching as we acknowledge the reality of suffering and evil and wrestle with them. The Cross is our tree of life, but this comes after the reality of "bitter death and barren wood".

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah with his description of the suffering servant captures Jesus’ situation as he approached his death.

The crowds were appalled to see him, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering, despised and rejected, ugly and without majesty.

The other side of this terrible coin is also spelt out by Isaiah. "On him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through his wounds we are healed." We need faith to believe that this process of converting evil into goodness, suffering into grace is occurring under the surface, a supernatural miracle achieved by Christ like the extraordinary natural production of nuclear energy, when mass is turned into energy; or even the simpler chemical reactions when fuel, such as wood or coal, is changed into heat and light.

As our religious understanding develops we inevitably start to puzzle over the Easter mysteries.

Recently I came down to the reception desk at Cathedral House, where I live, to speak to our receptionists.

All was quiet on this occasion as a year eleven student from Cathedral College had come for information.  He was not a member of the choir. Seeing me unexpectedly, he exclaimed, "You’ll do. Can I ask you a religious question?"

I could hardly say no, so I quickly assented. "Why did Our Lord have to be crucified in order to redeem and save us?"

"That", I replied, "is the million dollar question".

Why do people, and good people, suffer? How do we cope with this? Why is there so much evil (although goodness is greater)? What is Jesus’ role in all this? No other great religion confronts suffering as systematically as Christianity or preaches that victory comes through redemptive suffering.

I began my reply to the lad by explaining that people who are suffering derive some comfort from knowing that the Son of God also suffered. I discovered this during my first Easter as a priest in a small Italian parish more than forty years ago.

My next step was to explain that everyone has to suffer at some stage and that suffering properly borne and resisted can help to make us better people. Jesus is an example of this.

The lad was not sure why everyone had to suffer and I am not sure either, but I stressed that this was the way life is. We cannot escape for ever. He reluctantly conceded this to be true.

Jesus himself also tied up his suffering with the forgiveness of our wrongdoing. At the institution of the Eucharist Jesus spoke of his blood, the blood which sealed the new agreement between God and His Chosen people, being poured out "for many for the forgiveness of sins".

We should never take for granted the Godly forgiveness obtained for us by Christ the supreme high priest with his all powerful and unique sacrifice. Human forgiveness is not universal and sometimes refused. In some cases, such as murder, there is no victim remaining to grant pardon.

But from his throne of grace, Christ the Victim who returned from the dead, offers grace and mercy to all those who approach, acknowledging their guilt and need without exception.

This is a development of the ancient Jewish ritual sacrifices, where Jesus’ once and for all death replaces the many animals then sacrificed to God, and replaces the Yom Kippur scapegoat driven from the Temple into the wilderness with the sins of the people on his back.

It is difficult to spell out too far what this means, but it does not mean that a price had to be paid to the spirit of evil (the devil); neither does it mean that God the Father was vengeful, angry, hostile and had to be talked around, placated by his Son.

One way of thinking is to see Jesus' sacrifice as balancing out the scales of justice in eternity. The theology is difficult, but the result is certain. Our sins are forgiven, if we repent and ask forgiveness.

Good Friday is the means to a glorious Easter ending.

Give glory to the risen Christ
And to his Cross give praise,
The sign of God’s unfathomed love,
The hope of all our days.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.