We have listened to the story of Jesus giving His life for us. St. John tells us that the reason for this was love: love of the Father and love of His disciples. In St. John’s Gospel Jesus has no need of help: there is no Simon of Cyrene to assist Him with carrying the cross. He takes up His own cross and marches to Calvary which is the scene of His fulfilling His mission and revealing God to the world. His last words are not a cry for reproach, accusing God of abandoning Him, but a shout of triumph: It is accomplished. In the final scene of today’s passion reading, we meet once more the character called Nicodemus: he is no longer the shadowy figure who comes to Jesus under the cover of darkness. Now he appears boldly in broad daylight to assist in the solemn burial of Jesus, which involves a royal and extravagant amount of spices and oils. The mention of Nicodemus might remind us that he was the one to whom Jesus summed up the message of the Fourth Gospel, which reaches its climax in the paschal event which are celebrating today. Jesus told Nicodemus: God loved the world so much that He have His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not be lost but may have eternal life.
Is it too good to be true? Could someone love us enough to give their life so that we might live? Jesus’ mission was to reveal God’s love for human beings and invite us into a relationship with God is best described as friendship. Throughout St. John’s version of the Gospel story we are given examples of people coming to believe in Jesus, growing in their appreciation of who He is and what He means to them. Today we are invited to consider that the cross is more about love than it is about justice.