When Good Friday is Just a Bus Stop, Easter Sunday is the Destination
Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9;John 18:1-19:42
For so long, fasting, sorrow and deprivation, these are the average Christian’s approach to Good Friday. We celebrate the present sadness of Good Friday and forget about the hope, the future that Good Friday opens up. Without hope, Good Friday spells doom and fatalism for Christians. However, when Good Friday is seen just as a bus stop, when Easter morning is seen as the destination to focus on, we find the courage to embrace our daily sorrows, disappointments and failures. The hope of Easter morning reminds us of the defeat of death and the bliss of the resurrection. Our readings today remind us of the transient story of Good Friday, in preparation for the lasting joy of Easter morning.
Our first reading starts out on a note of hope and optimism: “See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted” (Isaiah 52:13). Notice that it is not Good Friday that comes first, it is the assurance of victory that serves as a panacea for present woes. Imagine what the reconstruction of this human face would look like: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:3). In our age where beauty and handsomeness are celebrated, and good human shape adored, who will accept to be painted as Isaiah describes? Better still, hear what Isaiah says of the character of such a person bereft of beauty and handsomeness: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). This type of person is rare to find, when I complain about the heat of Nigeria with the lack of electricity that transforms air conditioners and fans into objects of decoration instead of technologies to make life more comfortable!
What is good about “Good Friday”? Our “Friday” is “Good” because there are lots of dividends accruing to human beings from Jesus’ Good Friday. Human beings receive both forgiveness of sins and a guarantee of eternal life. Our first reading puts it this way: “If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the Lord shall be accomplished through him. . . through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear” (Isaiah 53:10-11). Interestingly, all the woes of this servant of God are transformed into a force for good, not for himself, but others — you and me. In other words, the “Friday” is “Good” because someone else, besides the sufferer, is the beneficiary of his suffering. It comes across like the sacrifices of good parents to secure and guarantee a good future for their children. Although the future is uncertain, parents take a chance on it and invest in it because of their children. Like all workers, who take a chance to save for their retirements, whether they will live to see retirement is a different story but they invest in it all the same.
Since today is a memorial of that actual and faithful Good Friday, as Christians, the fruits of Good Friday are already evident today — the Resurrection. Our religion is historically verifiable, it is not a myth. Jesus was a historical human being, he did die and rise from the dead. Christians are not afraid of death because Jesus proves that the resurrection follows every death, even if it is not on the third day. Jesus teaches as well that life is only worth living when we live for him and for others, not just for ourselves. The meaning of life is to be found in dying for the other and not in killing the other. Besides the joy of the resurrection of Jesus, even here and now, Jesus is our intercessor in heaven: “Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help” (Hebrews 4:14-16).
The attitude of an authentic Christian towards the cross is joy and optimism. We see it in Jesus’ statement at the point of his arrest, according to our gospel, today: “Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?” (John 18:10) In human suffering, Christians must look beyond the cause of suffering to see the blessings that come from it. We must realize that “‘Good Friday’ is Just a Bus Stop, Easter Sunday is the Destination”. No sane person remains at the bus except to catch a bus. It is when our gaze remains indomitably fixed on Easter Sunday that every morning will be “good morning”, despite a rough night, and every “Good Friday” a bus stop on the path to Easter Sunday – the Resurrection Day!