Everything in the whole of the scriptures from Genesis to the Gospels has prophesied and led up to this penultimate act in the story of our salvation, the suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross. One final act will fulfill the whole of the covenant, the Resurrection. Holy Week at the end of Lent is that time each year when we are allowed to enter into the suffering passion of Jesus and to contemplate the true and powerful depths of the great mystery of God’s love for us. It is through Jesus’ willing and unimaginable suffering and death that the lingering consequences of sin and death, arising from all of the betrayals of God’s love from Adam and Eve, to the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, and our own betrayals, are finally conquered, once and for all. The Cross is the key that unlocks the ancient door to the bright light and the great Hallelujah of Easter.
Let us walk with Jesus through his passion. Enter the Garden of Gethsemane with him, pay attention to his deep emotional state, see and feel his anguish as he goes off alone to pray. Look at Peter, James, and John falling asleep rather than being focused and ‘watch’ for a while. They are so much like us, earnest in faith but not so much in action. “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt. 26: 41). Can we learn to take on the hard work of prayer, spending an hour with Jesus, just to be with him to contemplate the gift of his Passion on our behalf during this Holy Week?
After being betrayed by Judas in the garden, follow him, like Peter, as he is brought before the Sanhedrin. If you were pointed out by today’s scoffers, ‘scapegoated’ as an associate of Jesus, would you fear the possibility that you might suffer as Jesus would eventually suffer? Peter’s denials are not that foreign to us, are they? Watch as Jesus is handed over to Pilate by the chief priests and the elders, and when he is finally sentenced to death by Pilate. Then, place yourself in the praetorium, hear the Roman soldiers mocking Jesus with cruel sarcasm and derision. Wince as they scourge him with whips that tear into his flesh. Reflect on the fact that every lash he received, without resistance, was the result of the sins of humanity, yes, even mine. Say to yourself, “What love is this?”
Listen to the scornful laughter of the Roman soldiers as they fashion a crown of thorns and place it on his head and beat the thorns deeper into his flesh with reeds. They put a scarlet cloak over his shredded shoulders and back, causing Jesus even more suffering and pain, which he wordlessly endures. Say to yourself, “What love is this?” Exhausted, suffering beyond our imagination, he then has the cross placed on his shoulder to begin the long, painful walk up to the hill of Golgatha, the Place of Skulls. He falls three times. The burden he bears, not just externally, but internally, is beyond telling. Can we spend a little time praying here? Imagine yourself as Simon the Cyrenean, that regular guy from the boonies who came to Jerusalem just to celebrate the Passover and gets dragooned into carrying the cross for Jesus. Would it not be a privilege beyond the speaking of it?
Now, the crucifixion. Imagine that you are in the crowd (in a very real way, all of humanity is). Jesus is stripped of his cloak, which is torn and divided by the Roman soldiers who have been assigned to this horrible duty. Everything is happening just as it was prophesied through the prophets. He is laid out on the cross, and his hands, then his feet, are pierced with nails, and the cross is lifted before us. His agony is beyond our comprehension. Say to yourself, “What love is this?”
Now listen to some of his last words: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Lk. 23: 34). Spend a moment with these words, take them in. After all, he is offering that prayer to the Father for each one of us. For truly, we, along with all of humanity, are the reason for his suffering. Hear him in the depth of his human suffering, saying: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me” (Mt. 27: 46, and Mk 15: 34). Have you ever felt that way? What does it take for me to trust that God will never abandon me, even though I have abandoned him in my prideful foolishness in many ways and many times? Then, he says, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk. 23:46). These words express Jesus’ total trust in the Father, and he willingly gives up his life.
When I contemplate these final moments of Jesus, I often try to see them through the eyes of the “good thief.” In the midst of his own agony, he defends Jesus from the insults of his fellow thief hanging on the cross on the other side of Jesus. He knows that his guilt is real and his punishment justified. In his final moments, he comes to recognize who Jesus really is and says: “Remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Lk. 23:42). My whole being leans into that thief’s powerful prayer. He is me! I look into Jesus’ eyes and see in them a love that is beyond telling. Try it yourself, look into his eyes and see him looking into your eyes, saying to you: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk. 23: 43). Say to yourself, “What love is this that can so love a sinner like me?”
During this Holy Week, take time out of your busy life to spend a few moments with Jesus as he undergoes the final test, the unimaginable sacrifice of love for you and all of humanity. Be quiet with him in the Garden of Gethsemane, and be there with him at the cross. Thank him for his great love and mercy. Trust in him and pray that you might be given the graces to endure whatever comes your way for loving him in this world that still crucifies him in small and great ways. Commend your spirit into his hands and let him be your guide. Say to him: “Let not my will be done, but yours. Amen.
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