I. Introduction

As we come to this very last week of Lent, we begin this reflection with the sign of the Cross –
1 in the name of the Creator,
2 in the name of the Word made flesh, and
3 in the name of the Holy Spirit.

We have looked at the cross from many different angles. Its symbol is powerful; its meaning - the epitome of paradox.

This afternoon, I want to tell you a story and then, look at Matthew’s account which tells us of sin three times and of the impact of the Cross three times.

II. Though suffering to hope

This week we focus on Jesus facing suffering and moving gracefully through that suffering, not resisting its impact, not resisting the truth of God, of hope, of Resurrection as these gradually become reality in human life.

Joyce Rupp’s 1997 book entitled The Cup of Life contains a story told by another author (Jack Kornfield in A Path With Heart).

It goes like this….

A father, who was raising his only son by himself, was away from home one day on business. Robbers came, set fire to the house, and took his young son away with them. The father returns to the ashes of his house and believes that his son has died there.

He grieves uncontrollably for many, many months.

The son somehow manages to get free and finds his way home. He knocks on the door and cries, “Papa, Papa,” but the father refuses to open the door, thinking it is one of the neighborhood children taunting him again.

Eventually the son goes away, never to return.

In this story, the father, so ensconced in his own sorrow and pain, resists the truth of the situation and hangs on to the truth as he has seen and felt it since his son’s disappearance.

a. A theological reflection on the Cross, that (really) addresses the reality of suffering, prompts us to be open to new possibilities even in our darkest hours. The Cross offers us grounds for hope. (c. f. Paul Crowley, S.J. {C}, page 19)

b. The Christian cannot deny the sting of suffering and death in the name of hope. ( {C } p.138)

c. The Cross is the revelation of the abiding presence of God always radically present to and within human experience, even in what might seem like the absence of God in that experience. ({C } page 138).

d. The Cross is important, because on it, the sorrow of human suffering was fully embraced by God in Jesus. Jesus did not resist the truth that was emerging through that suffering and hope was mysteriously born anew. ( {C } page 133)

e. Human life would never be the same again!

III. In Matthew’s account of the Passion,

f. We heard this morning of the three denials Peter made – resisting the truth of the moment and clearly trying to protect his own life and avoid suffering.

i. Peter, as the father in the story, resisted the truth of the moment and allowed himself to be caught in the power of his own fear.
ii. Peter denied his true relationship with Jesus to protect himself.

g. Human sinfulness is one powerful theme of the CROSS. Many of the images of atonement, justification, ransom, redemption, sacrifice etc. focus on this theme.

i. Sin is an important theme in human life.
ii. The gospels do not emphasize it but Paul does and so does the letter of Peter.

h. Matthew’s gospel, which we use this year on Palm Sunday and also on Wednesday (with the story of Judas), tells the story of the passion and death of Jesus in much the way that Mark’s gospel, which came first, does.

i. One thing that is unique to Matthew’s account is the threefold mention of earthquakes. Earthquakes deeply affect the life of the earth itself and the people in the area that is touched. The message is that what is happening here is earth-shaking and that human life on this earth will never be the same. No other evangelist uses that image of earthquakes in the passion and resurrection account.

i. In chapter 27, immediately after he borrows from Mark, saying - “the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom”. Matthew tells us that “the earth quaked, the rocks were split, the tombs opened and the bodies of many holy people rose from the dead.”

ii. Later on in Chapter 27, Matthew comments – “Meanwhile the centurion, together with the others guarding Jesus, had seen the earthquake and all that was taking place, and they were terrified and said, “in truth this was the son of God.”

iii. Finally in chapter 28, when Mary of Magdala and the other Mary went to visit the sepulcher. “And all at once there was a violent earthquake….”

j. The seismic change that occurred in all humanity in the person of Jesus is the other theme that the Cross teaches us.

i. That change was about Hope.

ii. The Cross is important, because on it the sorrow of suffering was fully embraced by God in Jesus. Jesus did not resist the truth that was emerging through that suffering and hope was mysteriously born anew. ( {C } page 133)

iii. The mystery of the death of Jesus on the Cross is deeply intertwined with the mystery of the birth of Jesus and Matthew is the evangelist that speaks of the physical response in the heavens at the birth of Jesus and the physical response of the earth at the death of Jesus.

IV. Conclusion

As we enter into this holiest of weeks in our liturgical year, we remember that we are called:

1 to enter willingly, into our own suffering and into the suffering in our world, and

2 To not hang on to its all consuming reality like the father in the story, but rather even in the midst of suffering, to be open to the truth of the new moment that is emerging.

Finally, we recall that our lives are imbued with sinfulness and that in each moment they are also filled with hope. The cross is symbolic of sin as is the threefold denial of Peter. The cross is symbolic of the change in human life as is the threefold mention of the earth quaking at Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Paradox is often the language of religion and the paschal mystery is, of course, the ultimate paradox!

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