The Crucified Body of Christ:
A Good Friday reflection
"He had no majestic bearing to catch our eye, no beauty to draw us to him. He was spurned and avoided by men...like one from whom you turn your face, spurned, and we held him in no esteem." (Is 53:2b-3)
Are you familiar with Crucifixes with a pristine Corpus Christi made of some precious metal? The effort to embellish any representation of Our Lord Jesus is comprehensible (I myself enjoy many of them). There is, however, a certain cognitive dissonance: after all, any portrayal of the Crucified Christ should not indicate beauty (Is 53:2-3), but rather, evoke sorrow that leads to greater love.
There is absolutely nothing aesthetic about the Crucified Body of Jesus, quite the contrary. His appearance was such that people shuddered and spurned him. The Roman form of execution by crucifixion was particularly malicious, and his body would’ve evidenced the extent of such a ghastly and violent enterprise. The mere public display would’ve served to greatly discourage many a thought of insubordination. Our Lord would’ve experienced ineffable pain from the nails that would’ve rippled through every nerve ending, the slightest movement tearing at his flesh, all summed up by an all-too-slow death by suffocation.
Hanging on the Cross opened up a unique experience for Jesus. For the very 1st time, God Himself experiences the one sensation that would’ve been foreign to Him: the “experience” of sin. Sin is the experience of alienation from God – and while Jesus did not and could not sin – He could experience the effects of sin – the anguish and agony that is the lot of all those who experience it.
If there is anything beautiful about the Crucified Body of Christ, it would be its message: “by his wounds, we have been healed” and saved (cfr Is 53:5). As horrific as the events of Good Friday are, let us never forget that there is Easter Sunday morning. Not once did Our Lord mention His Passion & Death without immediately also referencing His Resurrection (cfr Fulton Sheen). This is the hope by which we are saved and that spurs along the way of Love.
Fr. Edward
Divine Mercy Novena starts on Good Friday
A Good Friday reflection
"He had no majestic bearing to catch our eye, no beauty to draw us to him. He was spurned and avoided by men...like one from whom you turn your face, spurned, and we held him in no esteem." (Is 53:2b-3)
Are you familiar with Crucifixes with a pristine Corpus Christi made of some precious metal? The effort to embellish any representation of Our Lord Jesus is comprehensible (I myself enjoy many of them). There is, however, a certain cognitive dissonance: after all, any portrayal of the Crucified Christ should not indicate beauty (Is 53:2-3), but rather, evoke sorrow that leads to greater love.
There is absolutely nothing aesthetic about the Crucified Body of Jesus, quite the contrary. His appearance was such that people shuddered and spurned him. The Roman form of execution by crucifixion was particularly malicious, and his body would’ve evidenced the extent of such a ghastly and violent enterprise. The mere public display would’ve served to greatly discourage many a thought of insubordination. Our Lord would’ve experienced ineffable pain from the nails that would’ve rippled through every nerve ending, the slightest movement tearing at his flesh, all summed up by an all-too-slow death by suffocation.
Hanging on the Cross opened up a unique experience for Jesus. For the very 1st time, God Himself experiences the one sensation that would’ve been foreign to Him: the “experience” of sin. Sin is the experience of alienation from God – and while Jesus did not and could not sin – He could experience the effects of sin – the anguish and agony that is the lot of all those who experience it.
If there is anything beautiful about the Crucified Body of Christ, it would be its message: “by his wounds, we have been healed” and saved (cfr Is 53:5). As horrific as the events of Good Friday are, let us never forget that there is Easter Sunday morning. Not once did Our Lord mention His Passion & Death without immediately also referencing His Resurrection (cfr Fulton Sheen). This is the hope by which we are saved and that spurs along the way of Love.
Fr. Edward
Divine Mercy Novena starts on Good Friday