B J Syiemlieh
Good Friday is a special day for Christians to commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross. Of all the events in the Church calendar, it is without doubt the most important event since it serves as the basis of Christian faith and practice. However, it would not be wrong to say that despite its importance and centrality, the commemoration of this event is least understood by most Christians because it can only be heard from the lips but seldom be seen in practice. Therefore, a more serious reflection on what is Good Friday all about would be helpful for all to understand the interrelation between faith and practice.
In the Bible, the gospels narrate the stories about the life and ministry of Jesus which culminated with his death on the cross at mount Calvary. In his letters, Paul gives special attention to the death of Jesus of Jesus and in the letter to the Phillippians 2:3-8, he gives an interpretation which has strong implications on day to day human behaviour. This text says:
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you not look to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on the cross.
In this text, Paul says that even though Jesus is divine yet he did not exploit that position and status. Rather, he “emptied himself” by becoming human, and that too a slave, who humbled himself till death on the cross. Therefore, Paul interprets the death of Jesus as an act of self emptying where divine status is forfeited in exchange for a slavish and shameful life marked by suffering as exemplified by death on the cross.
Here, it may be noted that the focus of Paul’s interpretation is on the words “emptied himself” which points to the act of self emptying. Since empty is a simple word meaning to have nothing or to have no value, self emptying would mean to voluntarily forfeit honour and status and to make oneself a nobody. Therefore, when Paul says that Jesus “emptied himself,” it is implied that voluntarily Jesus forfeited his divine honour and status for the life of a slave who died a shameful death on the cross. This point is powerfully marked by those words which say that “Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on the cross.
Jesus’ act of self emptying is indeed very powerful because it points to the supreme act of stepping down from an honourable position of being divine to an ordinary position of being human. In fact, it is not only a descent to the ordinary but into a disgraceful position of a slave who ultimately suffered a shameful death on the cross.
In the gospels, there are many stories about the deeds of Jesus to substantiate the idea of self emptying. For example, there are numerous stories where Jesus is depicted as showing mercy to people like the blind, the lame, the paralytics, the lepers and the demon possessed. Women, widows, and prostitutes are included in the wider circle of his disciples. Foreigners, beggars and tax collectors are shown as socializing with him at the dining table. Here, it may be noted that these people belong to the group of the oppressed, the marginalized and the exploited who are without honour or status. In fact, majority of them will not be in a position to repay Jesus for what he had done to them. However, the gospels would also narrate that instead of praising and appreciating Jesus for his acts of mercy, Jewish leaders were always prowling around with the accusation that Jesus befriends sinners and tax collectors. Indeed, such accusations would culminate till his crucifixion.
In light of these stories and examples from the gospels, the meaning of Jesus’ act of self emptying becomes evident in that it points to his deeds of mercy for the nobodies. Apart from not expecting anything in return, these acts led him to death on the cross. Therefore, Jesus’ act of self emptying brings in life and hope to the nobodies at the expense of suffering, shame and death.
If Jesus’ act of self emptying is reflected vis-a-vis human behaviour in social relationship, it can be noted that it questions and subverts popular human behaviour. According to the laws of reciprocity, there are three ways in which humans behave in the process of giving and taking. First, majority of humans are ready to give to others but with the expectation of a reward. Second, some are ready to give but with the expectation that the favour will be returned in equal measure. But the third says that it can seldom be found where people give but without any expectation of a return. The point to ponder from these laws is that even though the third is the most valuable mode in social relationship, yet it is the rarest of the rare. However, Jesus’ deeds of mercy and his death on the cross which exemplify his act of self emptying is a reflection of giving without any expectation of return.
Therefore, Jesus’ death on the cross which is commemorated on Good Friday is a celebration of his act of self emptying to be a blessing to others without any expectation of a reward or a pay back. This is what made Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Church leader in Germany who opposed Hitler and who was executed three weeks before the Germans surrendered to the allied forces, to call Jesus a “man for others.” By implication, this means that Good Friday is not only a commemoration of the death of Jesus on the cross at mount Calvary. Rather Good Friday is also a celebration of a life lived by emptying oneself as exemplified by Jesus.
A blessed Good Friday to one and all.