Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins...
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins...
Americans, with our deep convictions about individuality, wonder how one man might suffer for everyone who ever was or will be born. Where is the sense of that; and how does it work? How can a man who lived centuries ago in a distant country bear my infirmities or endure my suffering, or atone for my sins?
John the Evangelist recognized the prophetic quality of Caiaphas's blunt assessment of the Sanhedrin's predicament, when he berated his colleagues...
“You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.”
Caiaphas feared the Roman response if Jesus were to take control of Jerusalem as the long-awaited messiah. There would be havoc. Like the American Congress which hesitated to end slavery in the United States, the Sanhedrin refused to believe that God could deliver the Jewish nation from an ominous, overwhelming evil. Faith in Jesus seemed like a fatal illusion for mystics and poets; it was not realpolitik.
Nor did Caiaphas suppose that one man's right to life might trump the well-being of a nation. If saving Israel cost only the life of one innocent man, the solution was obvious. And given that Jesus had no army and that his popular support could evaporate overnight, his death would solve many problems! "You know nothing!" he said to his baffled confederates. You don't see the obvious!
But Saint John recognized the guiding hand of God in the ugly remark. He remarked about Caiaphas,
"He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
The hopes and fears of all the years would be fulfilled in Jesus. For centuries the Jews had longed for and prayed for the return of all God’s people to Israel and Judah. To this day, they sing "L'Shana Haba'ah B'Yerushalayim" (Next Year in Jerusalem) at the end of the Passover Seder and Yom Kippur.
Even as a child, Jesus heard his mission spelled out for him in the words of Isaiah the Prophet:
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,to raise up the tribes of Jacob,and restore the survivors of Israel;cI will make you a light to the nations,that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.*Thus says the LORD….
Christians recognize Jesus's authority far beyond the Jewish nation in his passionate love for every human being. We saw that love when he healed the sick and raised the dead of both Jews and Gentiles; we saw it when, after he died, gentiles insisted on hearing about the Jewish Messiah and then asking for Baptism into him.
His love is born of his human nature which embraces everyone's humanity and every living thing on earth. Because He is God and man he has within himself the bond which ties him to every human being, and the authority to save us from our sins. His flesh is our flesh and his blood is our blood; and he confirms these ties to us when he commands us to eat this – this is my body – and to drink this – this is my blood – and, “Do this in memory of me.”
Although this doctrine can be explained only with poetic analogies, it is more than poetry. It is a guiding principle for our lives and the motive for our action. We have watched him die in an apparently futile statement of his faith in God, and seen him raised and returned to us to show us that in Him the Father has conquered sin and death.
Convinced as we are that Jesus has made human life meaningful in what appears to be an endlessly empty universe; and sure that He has confirmed our right to live, breathe, and rejoice in his divine presence: we make sacrifices with him.
Even those actions that no one sees -- our prayers, fasting, and generosity -- make a difference far beyond any recognized sphere of influence because they are made in union with Him. The Father who sees in secret repays us. We also do penance with him who has not sinned for we know our sins: those that are publicly known, those that are committed in solitude, and those that seem to have no consequences whatsoever. They also have universal ramifications.
Our sins have been atoned by the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Our sins, our repentance, and our return to communion with the Lord mark the Way of the Cross for us. We know that, for we have read the history of sin, mercy, healing, and reconciliation in the Old and New Testaments.
Because Jesus has not sinned, he alone is worthy to offer himself in reparation for our sins. Because he is God’s Son he alone can bring us into God’s presence and present us healed and whole and happy as a gift to our Father.
We thank God for Good Friday and the faith God has given us to participate in these prayers.
