I recall a Jesuit homily at a Good Friday mass some 30 years ago.

Mission Santa Clara church, old Spanish motifs; sacred ground.

As you might imagine, it was a somber mass;

We pondered, reflected on the manner in which Jesus of Nazareth behaved and experienced his arrest, trial before the Sanhedrin, torture by the Roman guards, judgment before Pilate, crucifixión and death on the cross.

Pilate even tried to release Jesus, not finding anything of substance as to what others were saying about Jesus, anything to find him “guilty”, any reason to sentence him to death; an unruly and biased crowd against Jesus forced Pilate’s hand;

“Crucify him!”, they shouted repeatedly, so the story goes; and Pilate acquiesced.

Paraphrasing the Jesuit celebrant at that mass that day, some of what I remember, some I have come to on my own,

“Hate and fear met love head on that day, and in that moment hate and fear won that round, a man suffered incredibly and died hanging on a cross,

But in the end?

We would soon learn that love wins. Forever. Jesus shows us the path. And that’s why we call this Friday, Good.“