Homily: Good Friday

April 3, 2026

My dear brothers and sisters, in John 12:32, Jesus while speaking about His death said, “when I am lifted up, I will draw all men to myself.” Today our Lord Jesus Christ is lifted up. Today the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ hangs before us with His hands extended, with blood and water gushing forth from His side, with blood gushing forth from different wounds in His body. Today, the mercy of God has conquered and triumphed over the justice due to us for our sins and failings.

Listening to the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and beholding Jesus hanging on the cross, the messages and lessons for us are indeed many. One such lesson that comes to mind is the power that Jesus has. We need not forget that while Jesus suffered at Calvary, He was not stripped at all of His divinity. He remained the son of God and possessed the fullness of powers in heaven and on earth and under the earth. He remained the same Jesus who scolded the waves at the sea and the waves kept quiet. He remained the same Jesus who cursed the fig tree and the fig tree withered to the roots. He remained the same Jesus who warned the evil spirit and the demonic spirits ran away and entered a herd of swine and perished at the river. He remained the same Jesus who blessed five loaves of bread and two fish and these fed five thousand men. He remained the same Jesus who called a dead and decaying Lazarus by name, and he came back to life.

The same Jesus today is being flogged, slapped and insulted by these worthless and powerless soldiers. The same Jesus is being taunted by the crowd, mocked and spat on. We must not forget that if Jesus wished this crowd and soldier and Pilate and the chief priests, all to perish in a twinkle of an eye, He does not need to perform any action for them all to cease to be in existence. Jesus does not need to throw a bunker burster bomb on them or block the Straight of Hormuz for them to feel His impact. Jesus simply needs to will or consider it in His heart, and the deed would be done immediately. However, here stood Jesus accepting all the insult like a suffering servant, a sacrificial lamb, why? He was paying the prize for the salvation of humanity. Something of eternal value is at stake, the precious soul of God’s children. Jesus was ready to do any sacrifice to redeem and save us.

This example that Jesus left for us on the cross of Calvary shines forever. In our own little way, God has given us human freedom and human powers. Like Jesus, we should know when to use our freedom and power for good. Like Jesus, we should also know when to control our freedom and power for a higher good even when it pains and hurts. Had Jesus used His divine powers to scare aware His tormentors at the scene of crucifixion, our salvation would have been jeopardized. Similarly, when we do not struggle to exercise self-control to our powers, our freedom, our instincts, our cravings even when it hurts, we may be on the pathway to jeopardizing our salvation.

Another deep lesson we learn from Jesus who hung on the cross was his attitude to human betrayal. From this Calvary narrative, it seemed that apart from the Mother of Jesus, that every human friend Jesus had deserted Him at this most crucial time that He needed support. It was his friend, an insider, a member of His cabinet who betrayed Him. All his ministers-the apostles did not show up at His crucifixion, they ran away. Their head man, Prime minister Peter denied Him three times. The crowd He taught, fed, worked miracles for sentenced Him to death with their shout of crucify Him crucify Him. In all these, Jesus spread His hand and asked for forgiveness for them all. After His resurrection, He breathed the Holy Spirit on the same disciples who ran away and sent them off on mission. He made Peter who denied Him the head of His Church.

We are called to follow the example of Jesus, like Jesus, we should not highlight and stretch human failings to an unforgivable point. If Jesus made Peter who denied Him three times, the head of His Church or Paul who massacred Christians, His beloved apostles, we too can do same. A friend or neighbor who insulted me, a partner who cheated on me mistakenly, can be forgiven and a path to reconciliation, forgiveness, healing and love pursued sincerely. As we venerate the cross of Jesus today, let us always remember that the hands of Jesus are extended on His cross to draw all men and women to Himself. We can become one with Him when we look unto Him the way He lived and died and follow in His footsteps.