**The Way of the Cross is the Way to Life.**

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5 

Good Friday,  the day we remember the death of Jesus Christ for mankind two over thousand years ago. In short,  we try to picture/replay the Stations of the Cross, we try to place ourselves amidst the actual crowd that saw Jesus beaten, insulted, mocked, nailed to the cross and die.

Why do we do this? Why do we recall a memory that was painful in all ramification? Why do we go back to see how Jesus was crucified? The answer is simple: the death of Jesus is good; very good – so good that it is actually the best thing that has ever happened since the beginning of the world. Yes.

As at on that very day that Jesus died, it appeared like a bad day, Mary cried, John the Beloved cried, the other disciples fled, Veronica and all the women of Jerusalem wept for Jesus. Everything seemed painful at that money, it was as though evil triumphed over good, it was like darkness overcoming light.

Satan himself must have laughed though the lips of the many who mocked and scorned Jesus. He felt like a winner that day not knowing that by dying, Jesus had a plan. Little did Satan realize that by dying Jesus was basically throwing the final blow to him, taking away from him the keys of death and freeing mankind completely from his grasp. By dying, Jesus undid the mistake of Adam and Eve who were deceived by Satan. Jesus would forever change the human story for good.

In celebrating the death of Jesus, we are celebrating the Life we have today; the fact that we now have access to heaven. In celebrating his death, we are celebrating our ultimate Power as Christians over the kingdom of darkness and all the forces of evil that prevail in our world today. The very cross that appeared as a source of shame is actually our passport, our ticket, our legal tender, our mark of authority against all principalities and powers. Satan can never stand the cross; never! Even merely making the sign of the cross on ourselves is enough to pursue Satan run far away from us.

In celebrating the death of Jesus Christ, we are celebrating our healing. As Isaiah says: “By his stripes, we are healed.” Healed from what? Healed from the wound inflicted upon mankind as a whole when Adam and Eve sinned. Healed from the battered image sustained over the years by man’s inability to keep God’s law. The effects of this healing is our conscience. Even without reading the bible, even without going to church, we know what is right and what is wrong. It is like God has written his laws into our hearts. (Jeremiah 31:33). This is the healing Christ’s death has brought.

In celebrating the death of Jesus Christ, we are celebrating the closeness of God to us. We are celebrating the fact that the God we serve is so close to us, such that, having taken our human flesh, Jesus perfectly understands our situation. Because Jesus once took our flesh, Jesus knows exactly what it means to be betrayed, insulted, made to suffer injustice, seriously grieved, lied to, treated with ingratitude and so on; Jesus has gone through every possible emotion that we go through. This makes Jesus the perfect High Priest as the book of Hebrews explain. Only a person who has suffered can understand with people who are suffering – Jesus suffered; so when we suffer, let us approach Jesus with full confidence and trust in his power to save.

Dear friends, I hope that at this point, you can now see how Good it is. The way of the cross is the narrow path; it is the road least followed; it is the part of what always seem like momentary pain; the cross entails that we make sacrifices for the sake of God, the cross is what Adam and Eve failed to embrace. The way of the cross is the way to life. All of life’s best pieces of advice are along the way of the cross. The way of the Cross is the Way of Life. Searching for prosperity and abundance? Embrace the Cross today! No wonder we are even going to kiss the cross today.

Remember that kissing the cross is a symbol of what our life should be afterwards. If we agree to kiss the cross, we are telling God that we would rather make ourselves uncomfortable than commit sin in search of pleasure. By kissing the cross, we are not just doing it for fun, we are telling God that henceforth our life would be all about doing his will, suffering shame, letting go of money, denying the flesh so long as such will bring us to heaven.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, may my acceptance of your cross bring me everlasting joy. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Happy Easter Celebration) . Bible Study: Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Hebrews 4:14-5:9 and John 18:1-19:42).*

Fr. Abu.