Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord
He . . . opened not open his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)
It has been a long-standing tradition to observe a kind of sacred silence between the hours of noon and three o’clock on Good Friday—the hours when darkness fell over Jesus as he hung on the cross. We join the spectators who were there on Calvary in a silence of sadness at the sight of Jesus suffering so deeply. We also join the silence of the “many nations” and “kings” in the first reading who are “startled” and left “speechless” (Isaiah 52:15). Like them, we are shocked at the cruelty that was visited upon this innocent man.
For the spectators on Calvary and the dignitaries in the first reading, the silence is dramatic enough. But for us there is another layer to this silence. Ours is the silence of a people who see their own sins in the sufferings of Christ. In the cruelty of his tormentors, we see a reflection of the way we can sometimes treat each other—maybe not as extreme, but still with a passion that we know is wrong. Every lash of the whip chills us. Every desperate gasp for air pierces us. We are left wordless with sadness over our sins and awe at his mercy.
But there’s someone else who is keeping a sacred silence today. In the first reading, it’s the servant himself. Isaiah describes him as “a sheep before the shearers” who “opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). No words of protest, denunciation, or complaint. He was innocent, but he submitted to his tormentors with a humility that we can only begin to comprehend.
Like this tormented servant, Jesus also maintained a humble, prayerful silence throughout his passion. His entire life up to that point had been one long march toward Calvary. Everything he said or did led up to this act of pure and selfless love. He had said all he needed to say; all that was left now were the “seven last words” that still ring in our ears.
Today, try to enter into this sacred silence. Gaze at the crucifix, and see the love that brought Jesus there. Imagine his silent testimony as he stood before his accusers. Let his silence wash over you and fill you with wonder, gratitude, and love. Remember, Jesus did all this for you.
“Jesus, let your love reduce me to silence today.”
Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-17, 25
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
John 18:1–19:42
Saint Augustine (354-430)
Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Sermons on Saint John's Gospel, no. 2
“When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last, he said: 'Truly, this man is the Son of God!' ” (Mk 15:39)
“In the beginning was the Word, the Utterance of God” (cf. Jn 1:1). He is one and the same with him; what he is, he is always; he is without change, he is being. This is the name he made known to his servant Moses: “I am who I am” and “You will say: I AM sent me to you” (Ex 3:14)... Who could understand this? Who could reach him – supposing he were to direct all the powers of his soul as best he may to reaching him who is? I will compare him to an exile who sees his homeland from afar: the sea is separating him from it; he knows where he has to go but has no means of getting there. In the same way we want to reach that final haven which will be our own, where is the One who Is, for he alone is always the same. But the ocean of this world blocks the way...
He who calls us came here below to give us the means of getting there. He chose the wood that would enable us to cross the sea: indeed, no one can cross the ocean of this world who is not borne by the cross of Christ. Even the blind can cling to this cross. If you can't see where you are going very well, don't let go of it: it will guide you by itself. So then, brethren, this is what I should like to impress on your hearts: if you want to live in a spirit of devotion, a christian spirit, cling to Christ just as he became for us so as to rejoin him as he is now and as he has always been. This is why he came down to us, for he became man that he might take up the weak, enabling them to cross the sea and disembark into the homeland where a ship is no longer needed because there is no more ocean to cross. In all events, it would be better for one's soul not to see him who is and to embrace Christ's cross than to see him spiritually but despise the cross. So, for our own happiness, may we both see where we are going and cling to the ship that is taking us there...! Some have succeeded and have seen what he is. It was because he had seen him that John said: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” They saw him and, to attain what they saw from afar, they clung to the cross of Christ. They did not despise the humility of Christ.