REPROACHES of THE PASSION Set 6: You opened my side with a lance

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me.

I opened the sea before you; you opened my side with a lance

Let’s consider the symbolism of opening the Red Sea. The people were sandwiched between the pursuing Egyptians and the sea. They had no way out. They needed a miracle to get them out, to deliver them. God provided that by the hand of Moses using the staff. The Lord didn’t have to bring them out of Egypt via that route, but he chose that route. Thus at the Red Sea, God claimed victory and glory over the Egyptians in the sight of the Israelites. He delivered them with a promise “The Egyptians you see before you, you will never see again” (Exodus 14:13). There will be other enemies, but not this group.

Standing beneath the cross of the Crucified Savior, we can’t help but be splashed with the water and the blood flowing from His wounded side. According to tradition, the Roman soldier who thrust that lance in the side of Jesus converted and became a Saint (St. Longinus). That is the power of the water flowing from the fountain of the Savior. Think of the Grace of Baptism, and the fact that through baptism we are born into the death and resurrection ot Christ. Torrents from the opened side of the Savior deliver us from the power of original sin. We still have to fight sins, due to the effects of that original sin, but we have the power to defeat Sin because we have been washed with the Blood and Water flowing from the side of the Savior.

Let us stand with Longinus at the foot of the Cross as we contemplate the One hanging on that Tree. Let us however, not continue to pierce the wounded heart of the Savior. Let us allow the Precious Blood of the Savior to flow over us and cleanse us. We can’t undo the piercing of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The question we can ask ourselves, however, and to which we can respond with love and gratitude is: “What about all His Blood? Will you waste all His Blood?”

REPROACHES of THE PASSION Set 4: You Handed me over to the Chief Priests and Pilate

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me.

1. I led you out of Egypt, overwhelming Pharaoh in the Red Sea; you have delivered me to your high priests. (Reproach #5)
2. I went before you in a pillar of cloud; you have led me to the judgment hall of Pilate. (Reproach #7)

What was the Sin of the chief priests? It is not that they were priests - that was a special calling to minister in the temple of the Lord. In a way, they were to mediate between God and the people. That was not a sin. The problem with the chief priests of Jesus’ time was that they were liars; they gave lip service to God, but did not really seek His will; they dictated the law to others without actually living it themselves; they were, as Jesus pointed out, “Hypocrites and Unmarked Tombs.” They replaced the Pillar of cloud with their own judgment. Like Pilate, they were after self preservation and self righteousness instead of seeking to listen to God’s voice and follow in his ways.

Before we start pointing fingers at the “ordained priests” of our time, let me just remind all of us that by virtue of our baptism, we have been incorporated into the Royal Priesthood of Jesus. We are priests too, so maybe we are guilty of the sin of the Chief Priests in our day: we sit in judgment over others, yet we are guilty of the same charges we bring against them; we look so pious, yet we are very poor Christians; we appear very devout, but we are divorced from Christ; we keep the commandments, but we are cold and unsympathetic towards others.

Therefore, from the Cross, the Savior says to us: I went before you because I wanted to be your leader. I want you to follow Me, not the other way round. I want to light up your way with the radiance of My cross. I want to teach you the truth which will set you free. I want you to live your life for Me. I want you to be true to your calling to share in My Royal Priesthood. I want you to lead others to Me, to be a light for those in darkness, a guide for the blind, encouragement to the faint-hearted. I am the Crucified Savior because I chose the Cross. I want you to accept me as such, and help others find Me.

REPROACHES of THE PASSION Set 3: You handed Me over to be scourged

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me. 

For your sake, I scourged your captors, and you have brought your scourges down upon Me.

The 10 plagues inflicted on the Egyptians before the Exodus was God's way of saying to Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and the Israelites: I AM THE LORD! Thanks to their hardness of heart, none of them really got the message. The Jewish people forgot the significance of those plagues. Hence the Crucified Savior complains about that:

The freed people became the persecutors; they held the Son of God in bondage and would not let Him go, even when Pilate (a pagan) tried to set Him free. They delivered their Savior to the scourges of the Romans (pagan people); like Pharaoh, they had hardened their hearts to the Voice of God in their midst. In Egypt, on the first Passover, God spared His people from the scourges he inflicted on the Egyptians; on this Passover, God did not spare His only Son from the Scourges. Jesus is the lamb without blemish, whose sacrificial blood saves us from captivity to sin.

From the Cross, the Savior says to us: See My broken flesh. I received these scourges for you; I didn't have to endure them, but I chose to for your sake. I did not lay aside My mission in order to appease the leaders and the elite of My time, and neither should you; I did not hide My identity just so I could get along with others and have a long life, and neither should you; I did not take the easy way out, and neither should you. I did not compromise my values and principles just so I don't offend others, and neither should you. Every time you fail to stand up for Me, you deal a fresh round of scourges on My already torn flesh.

REPROACHES of THE PASSION Set 2: You Gave Me Vinegar to Drink

O my People, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me. 

I planted you as my most fair vine, but you yielded only bitterness; when I was thirsty you gave me vinegar to drink, and you pierced your Savior’s side with a lance. 
I gave you the water of salvation to drink from the rock; you have given me gall and vinegar to drink. (Reproach #9)

The Prophet Isaiah vividly describes Israel as the vineyard of the Lord. God has done so much; he has done all he could for his vineyard. His complaint? He did not get the expected fruits: instead of choice wine, he got bitter vines. (See Isaiah 5:1-6). The people became complacent lovers, too sure of God’s love; they took so much for granted; they did not produce the expected fruits. What has this to do with the Passion of Christ?

We are the new Israel, the Lord’s vineyard. With the Passion of Christ, there is nothing that God could do for us that He hasn’t done. He practically gave his own life! “What more could I have done for my vineyard that I haven’t done?” is a very legitimate question. On the lips of the dying Savior the Church places this complaint against us who are lukewarm, indifferent and fickle: what more could I have done for you that I didn’t do? 

Love is meant to be reciprocated; love is only love when it is shared; a loving relationship is a give and take relationship. The Lord has lavished his unconditional love on us, his vineyard, but he comes looking for fruit. When he is thirsty, he hopes we will quench his longing; It is not enough for us to be branches on the Vine; we must do our part and bring forth good fruit. It is not easy to be a Christian, for like the Vine stretched out on the wood of the Cross, we must be willing to stretch ourselves out on the Vine; we must give of ourselves. 

There is no Christian without the Cross of Christ. And thus from the cross Christ says to us: You are my choicest vine; I have planted you, watered you, fenced you, nourished you; provided for all your needs. I come to you thirsty and hungry; would you quench my thirst with the best of your wine? will you feed me with the best of your fruit? You are not alone; you are part of me, and if you let me, I will make of you the best wine and the best fruit. I thirst, not for cheap wine or vinegar, but for you my best wine.

REPROACHES #1 & #2: You Prepared a Cross for your Savior

My People, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!

1. I led you out of Egypt, from slavery to freedom, but you led your Savior to the Cross.

2. Forty years I led you safely through the desert; I fed you manna from heaven, and led you into a land of plenty, but you led your Savior to the Cross.

The memory of the Exodus was never to be forgotten by the Chosen People; they were to pass it on to future generations; At the last supper, Jesus asks his apostles to preserve the memory of this particular Passover. As the new chosen people, we are to eternally remember the Paschal Mystery. From the cross, Jesus says to us:

Will you forget this moment? will you forget what I freely chose to do in order to redeem you for God; You prepared the cross for me, but I chose to accept it. I did it all for love. I did it for you, that generations to come might hear and remember. I freed you from slavery in Egypt, I provided for all your needs during the forty years in the desert; you did not lack anything, because I was your Savior. Yet you bound My hands and feet in shackles and led Me to be crucified.

In the desert, I kept you safe; I fed you and nourished you; I brought you into a bountiful land; I gave all this to you because you are my people. I had chosen you in love to be mine among all the peoples of the earth. How did you repay me?

You led Me to the cross, I your Savior who stood by you even when you turned away from Me. You rejected Me; you gave Me the cross, a symbol of slavery and shame. But I turned it into a symbol of victory and power, so that you will not forget. In your wanderings, remember to seek me. When you seek me you will find me where you put me - on the Cross.

GOOD FRIDAY REPROACHES - Introduction

Holy Week Reflections

The Mother Church places a lot of drama in the Liturgy of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday. You get all those symbols that remind us of the significance of the events of that first Good Friday: the bare altar, the empty tabernacle, covered crucifix and statues, silent entrance, absence of lights or incense, the clergy prostrating themselves before the altar, the veneration of the cross, and if you are lucky and if your church does this, you get to listen to the PLAINTS OF THE PASSION or the REPROACHES during the veneration of the Cross.

What are the REPROACHES? I love these versicles as they wrap up the connection between what happened to Christ during his passion and what the Lord did for his people in delivering them from Egypt and leading them into the Promised Land. These are the rebukes against mankind which the liturgy of Good Friday places on the lips of the Savior. Sung in plain chant, these reproaches call us to mind the deeper meaning of this "second" liberation.

Over the next 7 days we will be reflecting on these reproaches as one way of responding to Christ's plea: Watch and Pray With Me. 

The Text:

My People, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer Me

1. Because I led thee from Egypt, you have prepared a Cross for your Savior
2. Because I led thee for forty years through the desert, fed thee with manna, and brought thee into a land of plenty, you have prepared a Cross for your Savior. 
3. I planted you as my most fair vine, but you yielded only bitterness; when I was thirsty you gave me vinegar to drink and you pierced your Savior's side with a lance. 
4. For your sake I scourged Egypt and their firstborn sons; you gave me over to be scourged
5. I led you out of Egypt, overwhelming Pharaoh in the Red Sea; you have delivered me to the chief priests.
6. I opened the sea before you; you opened my side with a lance.
7. I went before you in a pillar of cloud; you have led me to the judgment hall of Pilate.
8. I fed you with manna in the desert; you have struck me with blows and scourges.
9. I gave you the water of salvation to drink from the rock; you have given me gall and vinegar to drink. 
10. For you I struck down the kings of Canaan; you have struck my head with a reed.
11. I gave you a royal scepter; you have given me a crown of thorns.
12. with great power I lifted you up; you have hung me on the Cross. 

My People, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me.

REPROACHES of THE PASSION #12: You Hung Me on the Cross

O my people, What Have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me.

With great power I lifted you up, but you have hung me on the Cross

This complaint is the summary of what God did for His Chosen People: He exalted them in the sight of other nations. He built them up from a no people to a great nation. He established them as a kingdom and they reward for that was the Passion of the Messiah. When He sent them the long awaited Messiah, they crucified Him. “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself,” Jesus says in John 12:32. To this prophetic declaration, the crowds respond with “Who is this Son of Man?” (John 12:34). That is the eternal question which remains as new today as it was 2000 years ago among the Jewish people.

Which identity of Jesus do I like? I am ready to accept the infant Jesus, the miracle Worker, or the transfigured Jesus. But how do I relate to the Crucified Jesus? How could the Christ suffer and die? It was the baffling question among the Jews and even Jesus’ disciples. It remains the mystery to us as well. That is why we call the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus “The Paschal Mystery.” Jesus will forever be the Crucified Lord. The Cross is the best explanation of what Jesus was all about. Jesus chose to embrace the Cross, so this complaint is more about where we are in relation to Jesus, than where Jesus is on the Cross.

From His Cross, the Savior says to us: You hung Me up there on the Cross, but you are still on the earth below; All I ever wanted was to exalt you, so that you would be where I am; I want you with Me, because you are the reason I embraced the Cross. Where I am there My servant will be also. By My death on that Cross, I have exalted you up too; I have won for you an eternal place in the house of My Father. I have lifted you up and set you apart; I have consecrated you to Myself, so that where I am you also may be. Therefore, take up your cross and follow Me. And remember, whenever you crucify yourself for My sake, I will be right there with you on the Cross.

O My People, What Have I Done to You? How Have I Offended You? Answer Me

Because I led you out of Egypt, from slavery to freedom, you led your Savior to the Cross.

REPROACHES of THE PASSION Set 7: You Gave Me a Crown of Thorns

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer Me. 

For you I struck down the kings of Canaan; you have struck My head with a reed.

I gave you a royal scepter; you have given Me a crown of thorns.

“We have no king but Ceasar!” was the cry of the bloodthirsty crowd on that Good Friday. That was definitely a lie, because they hated the Romans, hated being under the dominion of Ceasar, and they could not wait for the Messiah to come soon enough to liberate them from the Roman rule. By this cry, they were rejecting God as their King, they were rejecting their place as the Chosen People. Recall in 1 Samuel, the people asked for a king so that they could be like the other nations around them, and while Samuel was distressed, God assured him that it was not Samuel they had rejected but God Himself as their King.

God established the Kings in Israel. He established them as a sovereign nation having an exclusive relationship with God as their King. He gave them a royal scepter, both as a historical symbol of power and the spiritual symbol of the Messianic reign. Just as to them, God has given us a royal scepter: a free intellect and free will. Unfortunately, we have taken the scepter and turned it into an instrument of destroying the Kingdom of God. We have turned our royal scepter into a reed with which to strike the head of Christ.

Forming a crown of thorns is not an easy feat. It took skill and thought to twist those thorns right. It was meant to hurt, especially considering the thorns were pressed onto the head of Christ. That was not an accidental thought. Let us think of all our willful, premeditated wrongdoings and sins. They are thorns piercing the Sacred Head of Jesus. Let us consider times we have encouraged others to sin; moments we have refrained from doing the right thing due to fear; moments we have flattered others instead of helping them by telling them the truth; moments we have been bad influence on others. At all those moments, we have offered a crown of thorns to Christ. 

A crown of thorns and striking the Lord on the head  with a reed were all acts of mockery, meant to hurt and humiliate Him. Think of how Christians are persecuted because of their faith; think of instances when the civil state dictates what the Church can or cannot do. Those are thorns pressed into the head of Jesus. From the Cross, the Savior asks us to remember His pain and humiliation.