Christ the Cornerstone

Celebrating Christ’s wondrous love and sacrifice for all of us

Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name. (Gospel verse for Good Friday)

Today we celebrate Good Friday. This seems like a contradiction in terms—to “celebrate” what is, in fact, a day of intense sorrow, agony and mourning because of the painful death of someone we love. And yet, the Church insists that this holy day should be celebrated because it expresses the incomparable love of God and shows us how far Christ was willing to go to save us from the deadly consequences of sin.

“What wondrous love is this!” we exclaim in the words of a popular hymn  as we hear the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John proclaimed during the Good Friday liturgy. “What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul, to bear the dreadful curse for my soul?” Yes, the human race was cursed—not by an angry or vengeful God, but by the sinful choice of our first parents to turn away from God’s grace. This “dreadful curse” could not be lifted by human efforts. God alone was capable of bearing it away and, so, setting us free.

The readings for the Good Friday liturgy remind us of the enormous sacrifice that our Savior was required to make. As the prophet Isaiah foretold (Is 52:13-53:12):

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all. (Is 53:4-6)

He was “crushed” for our sins. And upon him was the “chastisement” (a strong verbal reprimand or severe criticism) that should rightly be leveled only against us.

“When I was sinking down,” the hymn “What Wondrous Love Is This” continues, “When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown, Christ laid aside his crown for my soul, for my soul.” Of course, the idea that God “frowns” is contradicted by the fact that he has sent his only Son not to condemn us, but to redeem us. Even as the world and all its people seemed to be “sinking” under the dead weight of sin and death, Christ “laid aside his crown” becoming a man, a lamb ready to be slaughtered for our sakes.

The second reading for the Good Friday liturgy is taken from the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9). It assures us that “Son though he was, [Jesus] learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb 5:8-9). Suffering, we are told, is the way to perfection. In fact, the lived experience of Jesus teaches us quite clearly that the only way to heaven is the Way of the Cross. The “wondrous love” that we celebrate on Good Friday is a self-sacrificing love.

The Gospel reading for the Good Friday liturgy is always the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John (Jn 18:1–19:42). St. John tells the story of Jesus’ Passion and death from his unique perspective as “the disciple Jesus loved” (Jn 19:26). Jesus loved all his disciples, of course, just as he loves all of us, but St. John alone among the evangelists refers to himself in this way.

As if to emphasize the “wondrous love” that was characteristic of Christ’s entire life, including his Passion and death, St. John’s Passion narrative makes it clear that this great act of self-sacrificing love was done, as the hymn insists, “for my soul.” Christ died to save the souls of each and every one of us. And in so doing, he has set us free from slavery to sin and death.

It’s most appropriate that the hymn “Wondrous Love” was used by the enslaved people of the southern United States to express both their pain and their profound hope. This is exactly why we celebrate Good Friday. Today, of all days, we are right to exclaim as we stand at the foot of the cross:

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
and when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing his love for me. …

Today, let’s “sing his love for me.” And let’s celebrate the depth of God’s love for each and every one of us, his children. †