What is Good on Good Friday?

April 7, Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
Is 52:13 - 53:12; Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9; Jn 18:1—19:42

Life is full of hellos and goodbyes. Life comprises a series of transitions, or passing overs.

As we reflect today on the very message of the cross and the crucifixion, we come to remember that on the very cross of Jesus Christ, he fulfilled the will of the Father, which is attuned to the grand design of the salvation of humanity. The crucifixion event tells us a story of the greatest transition in the life of Jesus—the ultimate passing over.  When Jesus expired from the cross, it was a goodbye.

However, it is a “hello” for a new face of creation and a new phase for that new creation to journey towards the completion of the “already but not yet” promise of eternity. Hence, what is good about Good Friday is that the death of Christ on the cross opens the gate to a new life for a new creation. It is the glorification of the Son of Man that ushers in the upliftment of man as the crown of creation. We, as believers in Christ, bear the qualities of a new creation. Jesus exemplified to us the life that we may imitate if we long to enter the kingdom of the Father.

In everyday life, we long for a better version of ourselves. And in aspiring for a new version of ourselves, we must first be ready to take our crosses and savor the different challenges of the little crucifixions in our life. In walking into our own calvaries, we must not neglect to focus our gaze on the crucified Christ as the exemplar of goodness.      

Second, in every decision we make in our lives, the good is always the option, follow the beat of your conscience – the voice of God in our hearts. 

In this life, we are called to reinvent ourselves towards a better version of ourselves, and we can only do that if we follow the ways of Christ as the paragon of goodness and newness.