Why did he have to go through all that? The betrayal, and by a friend no less. The agony in the garden, the dread and the waiting, the trials, the humiliation, the denial by his own chosen one, the abandonment. And the suffering.

Why couldn’t he have just come here, offered a message of hope and love, performed miracles, gathered up some followers, and then lived to a ripe old age surrounded by those whom he loved?

Instead… why did he have to suffer?

Why?

The mysterious, incredible, and actually quite stunning thing about God sending his own son into the world is that that son came here as a human. Fully human. And that means… becoming a real person who we can relate to.

I believe that Jesus is the ultimate example of “I would not ask you to do anything I would not be willing to do myself.” 

In life, there is our way… and then there is his way. The Gospel story… the entire Gospel adventure… is in many ways about the mounting tension between his way and our way.

Sadly, our way often leads us toward being consumed, held prisoner by any number of things, things that eventually drive us away from God. His way points us from those things and then back toward God. His way is the way of freedom.

Jesus frees us.

Let’s take power. Remember when he said “give to Caesar what is his”? That’s what he thought of power. And then, as we just heard, to Pilate, “you would have no power over me at all if it was not given to you by my father”?

Or money. He told his disciples to just take what they were wearing and nothing else and to head out into ministry and that it would all be ok. He told the inquiring young man who was seeking redemption, “sell everything you own and just simply follow me.”

Or the desire for comfort. He said he came to set a blaze to the world, to disrupt the status quo. That’s not exactly a plug for comfort.

Or suffering. He gave it meaning, showed us that it can actually connect us to his father, and that he will accompany us through our own. He was willing to be our role model when it came to suffering.

Or even death itself. At the very end, he told his own disciples: “I will be with you always, until the end of time.” He taught that death does not have the final word and is not the very end of our story.

Jesus set us free from all these things. And he didn’t just tell us about it… he showed us… 

… even as he hung upon a cross.

As is our Catholic custom, we will soon reverence the cross. Often on Good Friday, we come to the cross and request something from it. Today, as we approach, let’s try giving something to it, leaving something behind. 

Let’s take stock of those things that have a hold over us and which could be keeping us from God. And then, let’s leave them behind… with Jesus… at the cross.