Good Friday - April 15, 2022

Isaiah 52:13—53:12     Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9     John 18:1—19:42

As I read John’s version of the Passion of our Lord, I am astonished at the narrative detail he offers me. He paints vivid pictures of the torchlit scene of Judas’ betrayal; the sharp-edged interrogation of Jesus by the high priests; the blatant and repeated betrayal by Peter; the frustration Pilate’s probing questions reveal; the brutality of the flogging and the mockery of the crown of thorns; the agonized plea in Jesus’ last words; and the rushed but respectful preparation of Jesus’ body for entombment. John offers his audience so much detail when he evokes these scenes that it has always surprised me to read this description of the ultimate scene so central to our faith: “So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.”

Such starkness leaves me hungering for a richer, more poignant depiction of a scene that marks such a supreme sacrifice. So I turn to the one source I can predictably rely on for exquisite renderings. I find those in poetry, and in this case, the craft of Sr. Irene Zimmerman, a School Sister of Saint Francis for over fifty years and a woman blessed with the gift of word-weaving. This is her version of “The Crucifixion.”

Stripped of godliness,

hands hammered open,

arms yanked wide,

the cross-beamed Christ

pours himself out

till rivers run red with

wine enough to satisfy

century-cries of thirst.

 

Sr. Irene’s words conjure up for me not only the pain of Jesus’ final act of sacrifice but also the self-emptying gift of His love poured out for me, still to this day. Having read this poem, I now feel my meditation of Jesus’ passion is more stirring and complete.

Q: What resources do I have at my disposal to make His Passion a profound and deeply personal experience so I can truly appreciate His sacrifice?