Friday, April 3, 2026

 

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16.5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42)

Every Good Friday we read the Passion according to John.  This account of the death of Jesus differs dramatically from the others.  Unlike those of Matthew and Mark Jesus does not suffer the worse of deaths imaginable – cruelly tortured and completely isolated.  Nor does Jesus continue performing acts of kindness until his dying breath as in the Passion of Luke.  In John, Jesus dies triumphant having outclassed his adversaries and transcending any pain.

We see this victory in the garden where the Roman soldiers fall to the ground when Jesus identifies himself as the great “I AM.”  He shows his authority again before the high priest Annas.  When Annas questions him about his orthodoxy, Jesus tells him truly that he has always talked openly and no one has faulted his doctrine.  With Pilate Jesus is absolutely masterful.  When he is threatened by the governor, Jesus tells him that the only power that Pilate has over him was given to him by his Father.  God granted Pilate this power so that the Father’s love might be shown when His Son is crucified to justify sinners.  As he dies, Jesus declares that his mission is complete.

This is not the time for sorrow as if we have lost a loved one.  Rather it is a moment of awe and gratitude.  Jesus Christ, the Lord, who became our brother, has won for us the promise of eternal life.  We were doomed to sin and damnation, now we can live in righteousness and hope.

Friday, April 18, 2025

 

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16.5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42)

At the beginning of John’s gospel, John the Baptist refers to Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  The description sounded strange then.  It was a prophecy that is fulfilled in the Lord’s Passion.

Jesus died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice offered to the Father for the world’s sins.  It is no accident then that his death sentence comes at noon on Preparation Day of the Passover.  At that moment the lambs are being slaughtered in the Temple precincts for the forgiveness of the people’s sins.  Nor is it coincidental that he is offered a sponge soaked in wine on “a sprig of hyssop.” Hyssop could hardly support a soaked sponge.  But it was the reed used to splash the blood of the Passover lamb on the Hebrew doorposts that made them immune to the pestilence killing the first-born.  John the Evangelist is saying that Jesus’ Passion likewise saves the world from punishment for their sins.

Why then are we so reluctant to admit our sins?  Relatively few people come to confession more than two or three times a year.  Often they come more needing to share with someone about how they have been offended than how they responded to the offenses badly.  Many also overlook the command to keep holy the Lord’s Day.  Even sexual sins – pornography, masturbation, fornication, to say nothing of contraceptives – are sometimes ignored.  We forget that Jesus died on the cross precisely as a sin offering.  Our sins are not forgiven if we do not acknowledge and ask pardon for them.  It is the forgiveness of our sins that makes this Friday “Good.”

Friday, March 29, 2024

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42)

The Gospel of John has three of Jesus’ “last words”.”  Each gives us some insight into John’s understanding of Jesus.  The first of Jesus’ “last words” in John create a family of his mother and his Beloved Disciple.  This act should be seen as more than Jesus’ securing his mother's welfare.  More importantly, it establishes his Church.  When Jesus expires, he will send his Spirit their way.

Those familiar with convents of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity will recognize the second of Jesus’ “last words.”  They see a poster with “I thirst” connected to the crucifix in the chapel.  The missionaries mean to say that Jesus himself begs relief for all suffering from lack of drink and food.  John probably meant the words to emphasize that what happened during Jesus’ passion fulfills the Scripture.  All four gospels have Jesus referring to Psalm 22 during his passion.  “I thirst” corresponds to verse 16 of the Psalm: “As dry as a potsherd is my throat.”

Jesus’ final “last word” -- “It is finished” -- refers to his mission completed on the cross.  Jesus has died as a salvific sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins.  As John the Baptist said at the beginning of the gospel, he is “’the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.’” As Jesus’ “last words” express the completion of his work of our redemption, may ours one day express trust in him.

Friday, April 15, 2022

 Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42)

Only the Gospel of John pictures Jesus’ beloved disciple and his mother at the cross.  Jesus tells his mother that the disciple is her son.  He likewise tells his disciple that Mary is his mother.  This action assures that Jesus’ (presumably) widowed mother will be cared for.  More than that, by the dual presentation Jesus makes the church – the community of his disciples -- into a family.  At the same time he turns his family into a church.

The Church is a family in the sense that its members deeply love and support one another.  For this reason, “going to mass on television” – as we did during the height of the pandemic -- could never be the norm.  By sharing of faith and cooperating on mutual concerns, church relations become more supportive than blood relatives.

Once a professor asked his students how many of them said grace before family meals.  He was surprised to hear that few of the students ate regularly with their families.  When families become church, they do more than pray together at meals.  They share deeply and often about how the Lord affects their lives.  They also support one another in living the values Jesus taught. 

In the passion Pilate asks Jesus, “What is truth?”  This is ironic because he is looking truth in the face.  Jesus -- the way, the truth, and the life – shows us how we are to sacrifice ourselves for the good of others.  For our families we forsake independence so that children, parents and siblings may become more caring and responsible.  For our church community we give support and encouragement so that it might reflect Christ’s love for the world.

Friday, April 2, 2021

 Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42)

In our age of plenty some people have taken to collecting crucifixes.  They mount them on a wall in their homes.  Some of the crucifixes present Jesus as bloody and beaten.  Others show him with the muscles of an athlete capable of ripping out the nails in his hands if he so wanted.  Sometimes Jesus is pictured in priestly robes or kingly dress.  None of the crucifixes ridicule Jesus despite their differences.  All show him respect even though they assign different meanings to his death.

We should think of the four gospels like the different kinds of crucifixes.  Except for Matthew’s almost duplicating Mark’s account, each gospel describes Jesus’ death in a unique way.  The Gospel of Mark, which we proclaimed last Sunday, portrays Jesus as dying in misery.  Everyone at hand taunts him.  Even nature offers no comfort as the sky turns dark.  Today’s passion from the Gospel of John leaves a very different impression.  No one mocks Jesus on the cross or at any other time in John’s gospel.  Nor does he die alone but with family and friends at his side.  The sign on the cross is written in three languages so that the whole world may honor him. 

In the Gospel of John, Pilate condemns Jesus at noon on the day of preparation for the Passover feast.  It is the appointed moment for the paschal lambs to be slaughtered.  John is telling his readers that Jesus is the Lamb of God whose sacrifice takes away their sins.  This has been Jesus’ mission given by God, his Father.  Early in the gospel Jesus said  to Nicodemus that God loved the world.  Indeed, he loved it so much that he gave his only begotten son so that those who believed in him might have eternal life.  His last words on the cross, “It is finished,” indicate that he has accomplished what he was sent to do. 

We are to respond to Jesus’ sacrifice for us by believing in him.  The act of faith is more than saying, “I believe.”  It is incorporating the life of the Holy Trinity within us.  As Father, Son, and Spirit love each other so that they lose themselves in one another so must we.  We are to give ourselves in love for others, certainly God above all and then our families and communities.  But our love must extend to the world as well.

Friday, April 19, 2019

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42)

In some places on Good Friday preachers give a long sermon on the Seven Last Words of Jesus.  Actually these are not single words but seven statements taken from the four gospels.  If the preachers’ remarks are perceptive, they show how the statements conform to each evangelist’s vision of Jesus.  In the Passion according to John, which we just read, Jesus’ last words portray him as the royal Son of God.

In John Jesus does not so much suffer on the cross as reign from it.  He indirectly told Pilate that he is a king; now he gathers all people to himself on Calvary as a king his subjects (John 12:32).  Close to him, as if it were his royal court, stand his mother and best loved disciple.  Also, a sign proclaiming him king in three languages is tacked to the cross.  No one mocks Jesus on the cross; rather, all listen to his royal decrees.

The first words Jesus utters present his mother to his disciple and his disciple to his mother.  The purpose of this exchange goes beyond a dutiful son providing for an aged parent.  Jesus is establishing his church with the two people who have shown the greatest faith in him.  Then Jesus says, “I thirst.”  The narrator has pointed out that he speaks these words to fulfill the Scripture.  References may be found to Jesus’ thirst in both Psalms 22 and 69.  More importantly, however, Jesus is showing kingly control over all that happens.  He thirsts because his Father ordained it.  Finally, Jesus pronounces his last words, “It is finished.”  He dies when he is ready and his work is done. No one or nothing has power over him. Jesus shows himself here as king not only of the Jews or of the world but of time and all creation as well. 

John’s consistent perspective of Jesus as king serves us well.  Some days things seem to fall apart.  We may be suffering great pain or feeling under pressure to do something very wrong.  We can look at Jesus reigning from the cross to find support.  Like him we know that worldly powers do not have control over us.  Because we stand with him, we have power to resist evil.  We know as well that we are destined to reign with him in glory.

Friday, March 30, 2018

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42)

During Holy Week we always hear the story of Jesus’ death twice.  On Palm Sunday we listen to the passion according to Matthew, Mark or Luke depending on the year.  Last Sunday, of course, we heard Mark’s account.  Today, Good Friday, we always hear the passion according to John.  If we listen carefully, we will realize that the passion accounts read on Palm Sunday and the one of Good Friday have very different tones.  They have many of the same elements for sure, but they present Jesus’ suffering in very different perspectives.  Let us take a close look at a few of the differences from Mark’s and John’s passion accounts to see what they say to us.

In Mark Jesus is anxious in the garden of Getsemaní.  He actually prostrates himself on the ground begging deliverance from the coming punishment.  In John, on the other hand, Roman soldiers fall to the ground as they face Jesus.  They are powerless before the great “I AM” that Jesus uses to identify himself.

We all remember how Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross.  In Mark’s gospel Jesus is so weary from the scourging that he can barely get himself to Calvary.  John’s gospel, however, makes no mention of Simon.  Rather, it states that Jesus carries the cross himself.  He is demonstrating the power of which he spoke earlier: “I have the power to lay (my life) down, and power to take it up again” (10:18). 

Mark and John also describe the crucifixion in very different ways.  In John darkness does not cover the earth as in Mark.  Jesus, after all, is the light of the world; where he is, lightness streams.  Jesus’ last words in the two accounts differ significantly.  In Mark he cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  In John Jesus calmly says at the end, “It is finished.”  He has accomplished what his Father sent him to do and now returns to Him.

Sometimes we become unsettled when we hear of differences in the gospels like the ones we just noted.  We ask, what really happened when Jesus died?  This question, however, is not likely what the evangelists had first in mind when they wrote their passion accounts.  Rather, weaving together the stories they heard of Jesus’ death a generation or two earlier, they composed their accounts to testify to the faith of their respective communities in Jesus.  Their different perspectives help us at different moments in our lives. Sometimes we feel quite alone in our suffering and wonder where God is.  Then we can turn to Jesus on the cross in Mark’s passion crying out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” and feel assured that he understands our anxiety.  Sometimes, however, we can face the trials life confident that we will overcome them.  Then, the solidity of our faith resembles that of Jesus hanging from the cross in John’s gospel.  The different passion accounts show us that Jesus is always there for us no matter our need.  We can always turn to him, the light of the world, to clear up any difficulty. 

Friday, April 14, 2017

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42)

The Gospel according to John portrays Jesus as fond of personal encounters.  At the beginning of his ministry Jesus engages Nicodemus and then the Samaritan woman in one-on-ones.  These encounters lead to the salvation of both although it is not apparent in Nicodemus’ case until today’s gospel reading.  Jesus also encounters the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda, the man born blind in Jerusalem, and Martha and Mary individually in Bethany -- all with positive outcomes.  However, in today’s account of Jesus’ passion his face-off with Pontius Pilate ends regrettably.

Pilate meets Jesus with objectivity.  He seems interested in determining the veracity of the Jews’ claim that Jesus makes himself out to be a rival to the Roman emperor.  He asks him, “’Are you the King of the Jews?’”  Jesus answers him obliquely which precipitates a conversation on the nature of kingly power.  As the conversation continues, Pilate becomes satisfied that Jesus does not threaten Roman sovereignty.  Pilate quickly maneuvers to release Jesus by first claiming him as the beneficiary of the annual Passover pardon and then by having him scourged so that the normal person would say that he has suffered enough.  But the Jews are portrayed as implacable as they bully Pilate into betraying his judgment of the case.

Each of us should see Jesus as personally confronting her or him today.  He is asking, “Carmen, do you believe that I died on the cross to win your salvation?  Or is this service only a ritual to mark time, no more significant than Halloween?”  Hopefully, we can answer honestly, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Savior of the world.”  That said, we will want to give him homage.

Friday, March 25, 2016

Good Friday: Celebration of the Lord’s Passion

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16.5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42)

In 1804 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led a select group of men across the western half of the American continent.  They explored for the United States government the territory newly purchased from France.  They also established relations with the indigenous peoples of the Northwest.  And they contributed to scientific knowledge by obtaining specimens of the flora and fauna of the vast region.  The Lewis and Clark Expedition, as it has since been called, was one of the most successful missions in American history.  The Passion according to John, which we read every Good Friday, completes the story of an even greater mission.

Hanging on the cross, Jesus’ final words are, “It is finished.”  He is referring to the mission on which his Father sent him.  He brought light to a world of darkness by revealing the depth of God’s love.  His teaching enlightened the peoples’ minds.  His cures reinforced their fledging faith.  In the end he allowed himself to be slaughtered as a sacrifice for their sins.  His mission reestablished the cosmic order that was so disoriented by human pride and covetousness.

Today we can only marvel at God’s love. Tomorrow we will go forth to imitate that love in every aspect of our lives.  But today we cry in repentance, utter prayers of thankfulness, and pledge ourselves unreservedly.  God has set us free.  We owe Him everything we have and are.

Friday, April 18, 2014

Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42)

We tend to think of lambs as vulnerable animals.  Do you remember watching cartoons in which the wolf seeing a lamb imagines lamb chops?  But there is at least one instance when the lamb is strong enough to protect all his subjects from harm.  In the Book of Revelation the Lamb of God sits on the throne surrounded by those he has saved.  The Passion of St. John which we just heard features this same lamb in a subtle but telling way.

At the beginning of the Gospel John the Baptist calls Jesus the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (1:29).”  He has in mind, of course, Jesus sacrificing himself on the cross to atone for human sin.  The Passion account does not speak directly of Jesus as the lamb but gives at least three hints that he is the Passover lamb of the Old Testament tradition that needed to be sacrificed for human freedom from the bondage of sin.  In the first place, Jesus is said to be crucified at noon on the preparation day for the Passover, the exact time when the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the Temple (19:14).  Then while Jesus is hanging on the cross, the people “put a sponge soaked in wine on a spring of hyssop…up to (Jesus’) mouth (19:29).”  The hyssop is a slender plant that could not possibly bear the weight of a soaked sponge.  It is used here to remind the reader of the hyssop that the Israelites used to sprinkle their doorposts with the blood of the Passover lamb.  The blood saved them from the Angel of Death who destroyed the first-born of the Egyptians when the Israelites were fleeing captivity (Ex 12:22).  The last hint of Jesus as the Lamb of God comes as Jesus dies on the cross.  A soldier comes to break his legs so that he can no longer support breathing.  The text says that the soldier, seeing that Jesus had died, sticks a lance in his side perhaps to save himself the trouble of breaking a large bone (19:36).  In any case, no bone of the Passover lamb was to be broken (Ex 12:46). 

Was it necessary for Jesus to be sacrificed as a lamb to free us from sin? we may want to ask.  And, could God have forgiven us our sins without the cross?  No, it was not absolutely necessary and, yes, God might have forgiven our sins without Jesus’ bloody death.  However, without knowing the terrible price that Jesus had to pay for our salvation, we would be less inclined to follow his ways.  Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice on the cross gives us both courage and example to give of ourselves for the love of God and the good of others.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Good Friday

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16.5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42)

The Gospel of John features encounters with Jesus.  It tells of characters like Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, and Mary Magdalena revealing to Jesus the depths of their hearts and receiving from him unconditional acceptance.  But not everyone who encounters Jesus responds with faith.  The paralytic whom Jesus heals at the pool of Bethesda, for example, never enters into a relationship with him.  In the passage we just read it is Pilate’s turn to encounter Jesus.  The drama of their meeting is intense.  First-time listeners to this passion account may be asking themselves whether Pilate will say “yes” to him.

The scene opens as a typical day in the life of a Roman governor.  Jesus is escorted within Pilate’s residence for a judicial hearing.  Meanwhile Pilate steps outside for the Jews’ accusation against Jesus.  He comes back to ask Jesus whether it is true: “Are you,” he says, “the king of the Jews?” Jesus' reply, “Do you say this on your own…” gives Pilate opportunity to declare himself for Jesus, but Pilate sneers at it.  Then Jesus explains that indeed he is a king whose dominion is over those who recognize the truth of his being sent from God. Pilate cynically responds, “What is truth?”  Aware that Jesus is innocent, Pilate goes outside to negotiate with the Jews, but they demand his crucifixion.  Their comment that Jesus “made himself Son of God” frightens Pilate thinking that Jesus may be who he says he is.  Jesus wins Pilate’s admiration, but when he repeats to the Jews his intention to release Jesus, they bully him by saying that such an act would make him no friend of the emperor.  Pilate capitulates to expediency and decides to have Jesus crucified.

God calls everyone to a personal relationship with Him through Jesus.  Contemporary times incline many to cynically reject the possibility.  They bully others into fearing that having such a relationship will deprive them of pleasure, prestige, or power.  We must rise up against these prejudices with the realization that a positive relationship with Jesus enables us to be all that we can be.  His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead give us an insight into eternal life.  That life – which the Greek of John’s describes as zoe, not the ordinary bios, is the love of the Trinity, a community of radical self-giving and receiving.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Good Friday: Celebration of the Lord’s Passion

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16.5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42)

Gloria was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She is a middle-aged wife and mother and deeply committed to God. Because the first kind of chemo-therapy did not halt her disease, she has begun another, more powerful regimen. She has started to lose hair and feels tired. Yet Gloria’s faith remains strong. She knows that there is no need to worry. The gracious Lord, who has blessed her abundantly so far in life, will not leave her side. She can count on him as much as a runner on the track beneath his feet.

Gloria’s faith derives its strength from the vision of Jesus undergoing death in the Gospel according to John. He is entirely in control of what happens. The cohort of soldiers does not surprise him in the garden; rather, he goes out to meet it. When Jesus identifies himself, the soldiers fall to the ground as if they were worshipping him. When Pilate tries to intimidate Jesus, Jesus calmly tells him that any power he has comes “from above” where he is from. On the cross Jesus gives consolation to both his mother and beloved friend and dies only when his mission “is finished.” Finally, Jesus is buried like the king that he is and that the world has recognized by the sign on his cross in three languages.

Earlier in the gospel Jesus said that when he is lifted up, he will draw all people to himself. He meant that at his crucifixion the world would have the opportunity to reject or accept him. Rejecting him means fulfilling our own desires without regard to his commands. If we follow that road, we have to fret when death threatens because it will take away all that we hold dear. Accepting him, we stretch our concern to do his will despite what it may cost us. Then when death comes calling, we have nothing to fear. As the tomb could not contain Jesus, he will make it a temporary residence for us.

Homilette for Friday, April 10, 2009

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16; John 18:1-19:42)

A woman confides that she cherishes her Catholic faith but cannot marry in the Church the man she is living with. His refusal to rid himself of vices has convinced her that he does not care about her very much. An elderly gentleman cannot confide anything because Alzheimer’s has deteriorated his mind. At one time he was a ready conversationalist. Now he sits mumbling his name, mostly passive to every question asked of him.

These two as well as the soldier who pierced Jesus’ side, the eyewitness who testifies to the blood and water flowing from Jesus’ side, and the rest of us “’look upon him whom they have pierced.’” All hopefully see more than a man who has suffered a cruel death and more than a martyr who has given his life in testimony to what he believed. All hopefully recognize the son of God Himself completely innocent of wrong-doing yet suffering in obedience to his Father so that the world may have access to eternal life.

Robert Frost wrote, “As long on earth/ As our comparisons were stoutly upward/ With gods and angels, we were men at least,/ But little lower than the gods and angels.” When we fix our eyes on Jesus crucified, we keep our comparison upward. As worthy as we may consider ourselves and as good as others may think of us, we know that in truth we are nowhere near as innocent as he. We even have to acknowledge that our sins, like the soldier’s lance, have contributed to his ordeal. Confessing our sinfulness and admitting our complicity, we become beneficiaries of the grace which the blood and water signify. This grace assures the woman that she can do what is necessary to live with integrity. It strengthens the caregivers of the gentleman with Alzheimer’s to respect his human dignity. And it provides us the spiritual strength to bear our own crosses. This grace finally leads all who accept it to eternal life.

Homily for March 21, 2008

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

(John 18:1-19:42)

During Holy Week we always hear the story of Jesus’ passion and death twice. On Palm Sunday we listen to the passion according to Matthew, Mark or Luke depending on the year. Last Sunday, of course, we heard Matthew’s passion account. Today, Good Friday, we always hear the passion according to John. If we listen carefully, we will realize that the passion accounts read Palm Sunday and Good Friday have very different tones. They have many of the same elements, for sure, but they present Jesus’ suffering in very different perspectives. Let us take a close look at a few of the differences from Matthew’s and John’s passion accounts to see what they are saying to us.

In Matthew’s passion account Jesus is somewhat anxious in the garden of Getsemaní. He actually prays to God lying on the ground that his Father deliver him from the trial that is coming. In John, on the other hand, Roman soldiers lie in the ground as they face Jesus. They are powerless before the great “I AM” that Jesus uses to identify himself.

We all remember how Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross. In Matthew’s gospel Jesus is so weary from the scourging and abuse that he can barely get himself to Calvary. John’s gospel, however, makes no mention of Simon. Rather, it states that Jesus carries the cross himself. Jesus said earlier in this gospel, “I have the power to lay (my life) down, and power to take it up again” (10:18). Here he demonstrates that power.

Once again Matthew and John describe the crucifixion in very different ways. In John darkness does not cover the earth as in Matthew. Jesus, after all, is the light of the world; where he is, lightness reigns. Jesus’ last words in either account differ significantly. In Matthew, of course, we hear the anguished cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” In John Jesus can calmly say at the end, “It is finished.” He has accomplished what his Father commissioned him to do and may now return to Him.

Sometimes we become unsettled when we hear of differences in the gospels like the ones we just reviewed. We ask, what really happened when Jesus died? This question, however, is not likely what the evangelists had first in mind when they wrote their accounts. Rather, weaving together the stories they heard of Jesus’ death a generation or two earlier, they composed their accounts to testify to the faith of their distinct faith communities in Jesus. Their different perspectives help us at different moments in our lives. Sometimes we feel quite alone in our suffering. Then we can turn to Jesus on the cross in Matthew’s passion account, crying out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” and feel assured that he knows our situation. Sometimes, however, we confidently face the trials life hurls at us. Then, in the solidarity of faith we look to the triumphant Jesus on the cross in the John’s passion. The different passion accounts show us that Jesus is always there for us no matter our need. We can always turn to him, the light of the world, to clear up any difficulty.