How can anyone love such an ugly and disfigured person? Perhaps, only a father or a mother who remembers and believes in the original innocence and beauty of their child. Only God can love us in our disfigured nature lost in sin. As St. Paul tells the Romans: “But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life.” (Rom 5,8ff) Disfigured and unlovable due to sin we are in dire need of salvation. We don’t need cosmetic applications or spa treatments to make us appear to be more lovable because God does not judge by appearances, God judges the heart. If we are to be saved we need a new heart. We need the heart of Jesus. We need to learn how to love. We need a heart that knows and believes in the love that God has for us. St. John tells us: “The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (1Jn 3,16) We learn love through sacrifice. We learn love by laying down our lives. John tells us: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (Jn 15,13)
Behold the Man! The suffering Christ is for us an image of Christ’s greater love, his love unto the end. John tells us in his gospel: “He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” (Jn 13,1) The image of the suffering servant is an example of a love unto the end. Jesus shows us the love of the Father for all of his children lost in sin. Our salvation is won for us by the cross of Jesus. Jesus dies for our sins that we might live anew in his love. Disfigured by sin we must now be configured to Christ in his sacrificial love. Jesus shows us the depth of God’s love by his sacrifice on the cross. Jesus pours out his life and dies for our sins. St. John tells us: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.” (1Jn 4,11) To be configured to Christ in sacrificial love we must also love one another with a greater love, a faithful love, a love that loves to the end. We must be willing to take up the cross and follow Jesus. Jesus tells his disciples: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mt 16,24f) We find salvation, we find the fullness of life in the cross of Christ. St. Paul tells the Corinthians: “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1Cor 2,2) The cross configures us to Christ and allows us to love as he has loved us. Without this love, we are nothing.
As Holy Thursday configures us to Christ in humble service, Good Friday configures us to Christ in sacrificial love. Calvary is our school of love and the sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist makes present this love and gives us the grace to be configured to Christ in sacrificial love. From the pierced heart of Jesus the graces of the Eucharist flow out to create the sacramental font of love. In this river of love and grace we are washed clean of our sins, reconciled to God, the Father, and given the strength to love one another as Jesus has loved us. So today we venerate the cross of Christ which has become for us the new tree of life. “Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the salvation of the world.” Salvation hangs on the cross of Christ and through the cross we are configured to Christ in his sacrificial love. - “Come, let us adore.”