Good Friday
As a sense of humor, a young police officer was taking his final exam for the police academy. And he comes across this question: “You are on patrol in the outer city when an explosion occurs in a gas plant in a nearby street. You find that a large hole has been blown in the footpath and there is an overturned van nearby. Inside the van there is a strong smell of alcohol. Both occupants, a man and a woman, are injured. You recognize the woman as the wife of your Police Chief, who is at present away, attending a conference. A passing motorist stops to offer you assistance and you realize that he is a man who is wanted for armed robbery. Suddenly, a man runs out of a nearby house, shouting that his wife is expecting a baby and that the shock of the explosion has made the birth imminent.
Another man is crying for help, having been blown into the adjacent canal and he cannot swim. Describe in a few words what actions you would take?” The young man thought for a moment, picked up his pen and wrote, “I would take off my uniform and mingle with the crowd”. Well, now is the appointed time, Jesus would not slip away from his assailants as he did on previous occasions.
But, what would cause people to demand the death of a man they had followed, a man they had seen work miracles, a man that was innocent of any crime? We could come up with all kinds of speculations but at the end of the day, the answer to that question is, because through his death he will save the world. In the passion story according to John which we have just heard, the last words that Jesus said on the cross before he bowed his head and gave up the spirit is “It is finished” (John 19:30). Three words in English but in the original Greek it is just one word, tetelestai. What does tetelestai mean? It means is finished”.
Scholars got more insight into the meaning of this expression a few years ago after some archaeologists dug up in the Holy Land a tax collector’s office that was almost intact, with all the tax records and everything. There were two stacks of tax records and one of them had the word, tetelestai, on the top. In other words, it is “paid in full.” These people don’t owe anything anymore. So, when Jesus said “It is finished,” what is finished? It is the debt we owe God by our sins. It means that it has been paid in full?The Jews of Jesus’ time saw sin as a debt that we owe God, a debt that must somehow be repaid.
Jesus used that kind of language and often spoke of sin as debt and forgiveness as a cancellation of debt. He told the parable of the unforgiving servant whom his master forgave the debt that he had no way of repaying but who went out and insisted on getting back the small debt that his fellow servant owed him. This was a way of teaching us that when we are forgiven by God, we must in turn forgive our neighbors. He taught us to pray “Forgive us our debts as we forgive those who are indebted to us” which simply means “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Jesus clearly used this language of commerce to speak of the spiritual relationship between God and us and between us and our neighbors. So, on the cross, he says Tetelestai “It is paid in full.” Our sins have been completely forgiven. It is finished.
So, how do we respond to this last testament of Jesus? Remember, it is not a promise, “Your sins will be forgiven,” and it is not a conditional statement, “Your sins are forgiven if….” How do we respond to it? What do we do? All you have to do is to say “Amen … “So be it.” All you have to do is to believe that these words apply to you personally, no matter the gravity of the sin or sins that you have been involved in. Your debt has been paid to the full and cancelled no matter how huge the amount you owe. All you have to do is to say “Thank you, Jesus” and learn to be grateful to Jesus all your life. That is why we go to church every Sunday. We go to church to perform the Eucharist which means “thanksgiving”. That is why we try to be loving and kind to others. If Jesus has been so loving and kind to me in such a big way, why can’t I try to be loving and kind to others in the little things of everyday life? That is why we try to avoid sin. If Jesus has paid all the debt that I owe to God, I must see to it that I do not go about accumulating more debts.As we approach to venerate the victorious cross of Christ today, we need to surrender all that hurt us, both imposed and self-inflicted, to Jesus on the Cross. That is why he is there. He did not die in vain; he died to liberate us from their burden. That is why today is called GOOD FRIDAY. Unburden yourself of the guilt, the anger, the grudge. Don’t miss this unique opportunity for divine healing. There is no such thing as an angry God, only an unconditionally loving God who is saddened at how sin (our bad choices) has disfigured you and me, His beautiful creation. Like the father of the Prodigal Son, God is ever happy to have us back under the comfort of his protective wing. To respond to this unconditional full pardon from God, all we have to do as we heap all our burdens at the foot of the cross is to say: “Amen … So be it!” We are to claim the full pardon. Believe that these words apply to you personally, no matter the gravity of the sin that you have committed. Say: “Thank you, Jesus” and learn to be grateful to him all your life. Try to be loving and kind to others. That is why we pray, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us:’ And if Jesus has paid all the debt you owe to God, resolve in gratitude not to accumulate more, enjoy your freedom, and don’t enslave yourself anymore. Happy Good Friday!
+Ab Matthew AUDU Jos
