Good Friday – Year A
Fr. Joonbin Lim
Preached: April 3, 2026
Today is Good Friday, the holy day on which we meditate on the Passion and Death of Jesus. Following the long tradition of the Church, today is the only day in the year when the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not celebrated. The Church also observes fasting and abstinence today, and in silence and self-denial we meditate deeply on the Lord’s Cross.
Today I reflected once again on what the Cross means to me. Ever since I was very young, there was always a crucifix in my room. At that time, I was too young to understand the meaning of the Cross or what the death of Jesus meant. But one thing is certain: the Cross was always close to my life.
Jesus on the Cross quietly watched over the years of my growth. He was always beside me, whether I was joyful or discouraged and in tears. One thing I have come to know clearly is this: Jesus was always with me. That is His love. There were times when I distanced myself from Jesus, but there was never a time when He distanced Himself from me.
Moreover, Jesus became man, went before us through suffering and death, and at last rose again. If there were no Resurrection in our faith, there would be no reason for us to be here. But what we must clearly understand is that the Resurrection was not glory given without cost. That glory came through the path of Jesus’ tears, suffering, obedience, and love. Therefore, we must look not only at the Resurrection, but also at the journey of suffering that led to it.
Then did Jesus fail by dying on the Cross? Was goodness defeated and evil victorious? What is the way for good to triumph over evil? How can the endless chain of evil be broken?
The answer is love. And the highest expression of that love is this: God became man to save us, and He died on the Cross. Yet that love did not end in death. Jesus died on the Cross, was laid in the tomb, and rose again, thereby conquering our sin and death and winning the final victory.
Therefore, the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus can never be separated. Through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, Jesus passed over into the glory of God, that is, into eternal life. We call this holy passage the Pascha.
Pascha means “to pass over” or “to go across.”
The death of Jesus was not simply a tragedy. It was the fruit of a life of love poured out for humanity. Through the death of the Cross, the truth that “God is love” was revealed most clearly. Even in the midst of intense suffering, Jesus did not give up love. Rather, in order to save us, He accepted that suffering to the very end. The reason was our salvation, my salvation.
Therefore, the Cross we look upon today is not simply a symbol of pain and sorrow. The Cross is the heart of God who loved us to the end, and the gate of salvation through which we pass beyond sin and death into life. Today we must remain before that Cross and deeply meditate on the love of Jesus, who gave Himself completely for me.
Amen.
