Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion - Reflection

Almost forty years ago, when I was an undergraduate student, one of my professors, Dr. Stephen Levensohn, shared with our class an important idea that has stayed with me all these years. He told us: “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who living by faith, recognize an orderliness to the universe and so choose to live into its benevolent sway; then there are those who perceiving none, spend their entire lives imposing their own will on everything and everyone who would enter their sphere of influence.”

Which kind of person are you?

I think we can all appreciate Dr. Levensohn’s contrast between those who live by faith and those who chose not to do so. If you are reading this, you probably see the wisdom in his words while also recognizing the struggles of living by faith day in and day out. On our good days, we can sense the truth of the poet Dante's words at the end of his Divine Comedy, when he describes “the love which moves the sun and other stars.” This helps us see and know that God’s offer of divine love, is the only thing that can bring order, meaning, and purpose into our lives.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we have faith that creation itself is ordered by mercy; its galaxies, our planet, and the wonder of every living creature, great and small, fall under the sway of the Creator’s providential care. And while this gives us hope, we also know that even though we humans are the “crown of creation,” we are susceptible to sin, in its many forms.

Today is Good Friday. As an act of faith, we gather to behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the salvation of the world. Without faith, the commemoration of this holy day would mark the defeat of God’s love by sin. But instead, Christians the world over give praise and thanks to a God that loved us unto death.  As people of faith, we fall on our knees to kiss the cross as we pay homage to Jesus’ obedience to the will of his Father, which has saved us and offered us the gift of faith and eternal life.

We will soon turn to the sun rising on Easter morning, and through the eyes of faith, even if small as a mustard seed, we will joyfully celebrate death’s final defeat in Christ. Come then, let us adore the love which moves the sun and other stars; a love that will lead us out of the darkness and into the peace and light that can only be found in the kingdom of the beloved Son.