On Good Friday, the Church often recalls the seven last words of Jesus from the cross. While there is much to meditate upon in what Jesus says from the cross, what about what is left unsaid? If we put ourselves in the place of Jesus -- the physical pain, the experience of betrayal and injustice -- we may find the rage boiling up in us to scream out words of condemnation, threat, and vengeance. And yet, Jesus says none of these things. What then does this tell us about the heart of who God is? Even when justified to call down God's mighty vengeance and condemnation, Jesus, the King of Kings, speaks only words of forgiveness, anguish, promise, and creation. Good Friday is a time for us to come face to face with our human love for vengeance and the all-too-prevalent perversion of Christianity that says Christians are supposed to punish and wage war on behalf of God. May our prayer this Good Friday be that our human hands, eager for vengeance, be crucified with Christ, the Prince of Peace.
