Good Friday
SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON April 2nd, 2010
St. John 19:34 “One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once, there came out blood and water.”
At first, this seems a minor detail to the story of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. The soldier wants to make sure that Jesus is dead. So he thrusts his spear into Jesus’ side. It must have been an awful mess as the blood and water flowed out freely. If Jesus was not already dead, He certainly was now.
However, there is more to this than meets the eye. Every little thing in St. John’s gospel has a meaning. The ultimate meaning is found at the end of chapter 20 of St. John’s gospel where he says, “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” How can a physical demonstration that Jesus had actually died give us life in His name? We have to consider that, for St. John, the picture of the pierced side of Jesus forms the climax, not only of the crucifixion, but of the whole story of Jesus.
After the lance burst open the side of Jesus, everything about Jesus life and His existence is now completely open and revealed. The opening of His side is symbolic that all is now revealed – who this Person is and all He’s accomplished.
Jesus is no longer a single individual, Jesus of Nazareth. He is now the Son of Man that the prophets of the Old Testament spoke of – the One who would undergo suffering for the sake of Israel. Jesus, at this moment on the cross, is now revealed as the second Adam – the One who will make up for the transgressions of the first Adam.
We all remember the first Adam; the one through whom sin entered the world. From the side of the first Adam a helpmate, part of his flesh, was taken to form a new creation, Eve. In Genesis 2:21 the Greek word for side is translated for us as Adam’s rib – but the word really means the side of Adam. The same word is used for the side of Jesus where the spear pierces. This is a deliberate reference by St. John to the side to remind us that Jesus is the second Adam, who is making up for the sin of the first Adam.
Of course, the side of Adam conjures up images of unity and mutual dependence on each other between Adam and Eve. “Flesh of my flesh,” says Adam of Eve. Now in the open side of Jesus on the cross, we see the pattern of the Garden of Eden repeated. For here we see the beginning of something new also – a new community, the Church, the Body of Christ – Flesh of His Flesh, just as Eve was flesh of his flesh. So as the side of Jesus is pierced, the society of those saved by the death of the second Adam is formed. This community, to which we all belong, is formed by the blood and water of Christ.
But these are also images of a greater reality. The water of baptism and the blood of the Eucharist are symbolized by the mingling of the blood and water in Christ’s side. All through his gospel, St. John presents images to teach us about Jesus: I am the Good Shepherd, I am the Bread of Life, I am the Resurrection and the Life. Now at this pivotal moment, St. John gives a powerful image of the Church being formed from the wounded side of Christ.
The cross is not a sign to scare us, or push us into being good, or to make us guilty. No – the cross is a sign of God’s love, which seeks to draw us into His church, so that we may become signs of God’s love.
This is the ultimate meaning of this moment when the soldier wants to prove that Christ is dead. The water and the blood are those two great sacraments by which we are made members of the church. They are part of the crucifixion because the Church is part of the crucifixion.
This is particularly illustrated by our Lord’s words from the cross to His mother and to St. John. “Woman behold thy son,” He says to Mary; and to St. John, “Behold thy mother.” These are not just words of concern by Jesus that His mother should be cared for. We would expect nothing less than that. But at this moment on the cross, Mary and John are given to each other in love as a sign of what the Church is to be as it is formed from the wounded side of Christ. That is – you and I are given to each other in love.
Most significantly, on the cross we see love as more than a feeling; it is a decision, a decision by Christ. In referring to Jesus as the Son of Man, we do not suggest that He felt like suffering or that He wanted to suffer. On the contrary. No matter how much He saw the necessity to offer His life as a ransom for many, His feelings would surely have shrunk from it. But love brought Him from heaven for this purpose. So it is a decision to love.
Love is often precarious. A mother suffers with and for her sick child, a soldier suffers for his country, and love carries a burden for others. Thus the Son of God became the Son of Man, because He is love. Today Jesus suffered because Jesus loved, as He always had, ever since the world was made. Jesus’ suffering only has value because He has something to offer on our behalf on that cross.
As the Son of God, Jesus was able to offer an eternal and perfect sacrifice. In doing so, His outstretched arms will embrace us, and take us up into that perfect sacrifice – that sacrifice, which we celebrate tonight. In all the pain and all the agony of the cross, tonight is a celebration of love.