Holy Week Reflection: Suffering and Death

Before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, all four Gospel accounts of the Passion of Christ were proclaimed during Holy Week: Matthew on Palm Sunday; Mark on Tuesday; Luke on Wednesday; and John on Good Friday. Catholic school children of the era went to Mass every day during Lent, and Holy Week was a real challenge because we remained standing during the whole Gospel; none of this “please be seated” comfort that many parishes today utilize for the Passion’s proclamation. And remember, back then the Passion was proclaimed in Latin! 

After ten-plus minutes of standing at attention while hearing nothing but the holy drone of the ancient ritual language, it was blessed relief to kneel down for meditation after Jesus died. As Sister sternly explained in the classroom after Mass, “Our discomfort is nothing compared to the suffering that Jesus endured for us on the cross.” Ah, Catholic school education!* 

The suffering of Jesus. We Christians hear all our lives that “Jesus died just for you.” But what exactly does that mean? I don’t think that soteriology (the theology of salvation) can be reduced to a quick slogan. The redemption brought about by Jesus’ horrific death by crucifixion is rooted in rich and complex theology and biblical history. The ancient world’s concept of “sacrificial offering” as a way to win favor with God is an expression of humanity’s natural yearning for union with the divine, of a search to attain something that is beyond our material experience. 

It all comes down to death. We’re born. We live. We die. Is that it? That is the mystery that various faith traditions have wrestled with ever since those early humans looked up into the starry night sky and pondered the meaning of life. Christians believe in eternal life but, ironically, the doorway to eternal life is death. As a little kid might say to a parent who is trying to make him do something he would rather not, “Do I have to?” 

Over the years, I watched helplessly as my beloved parents and my brother Tops approached death’s door and eventually walked through it. Heart failure; cancer; the shutting down of the body because of old age – did they have to die THAT way? I have lost several friends and classmates because of accidents, unexpected illness, or suicide. Did they have to die THAT way? 

The Gospel of John teaches us that the Word became flesh: God became human. The Creator became creature. The unseeable Transcendence became visible and grounded. We know this Incarnate God by the name of Jesus Christ, who walked in our shoes, experienced the simple joys of childhood, and mourned the death of loved ones. He achieved success as a preacher and miracle worker and was warmed by the companionship of close friends, but eventually was betrayed and abandoned by them. Jesus would die, as we all must die, but did he have to die THAT way, on that horrible and bloody cross? 

I don’t have an answer to the question of suffering and death. I do know that every year, when I hear again the moving story of Jesus’ Passion, I am inspired by his silence. He endured his suffering without complaint. And when he did say something on that via dolorosa, it was all about compassion and mercy. 

“Weep not for me, but for yourselves and your children.” 

(Luke 23:28)

“This day you will be with me in paradise.” 

(Luke 23:43)

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” 

(Luke 23:34)

The pathway toward death that we all must walk is fraught with unexplainable suffering. But, as Jesus has shown us, death and dying can be a holy time of mercy and forgiveness. Somehow, in some mysterious and wonderful way, the cross was transformed from an instrument of terror into a symbol of hope. 

He humbled himself, 

becoming 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 name, 

that at the name of Jesus 

every knee should bend, 

in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 

and every tongue confess to the glory of God the Father, 

Jesus Christ is Lord. 

-Philippians 2:8-11 

It is that hope in eternal life that I cling to. Ultimately, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ defines who I am and what I believe in. 

 

The Cross shines through the aftermath of the tragic fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. 

* Disclaimer: I was a CCD kid and did not have a Catholic grade school education. However, I certainly heard enough parochial school stories from friends, and I attended Catholic schools from high school onward. And I did go to daily Mass at my parish during Lent when I was in 6th, 7th and 8th grade.