Good Friday: The Silent Triumph of Truth

 Good Friday of the Lord's Passion: 18 April 2025

Readings: Isaiah 52:13—53:12; Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; Philippians 2:8-9; John 18:1—19:42

Today, the Church stands still at the foot of the Cross. The wood that bore the body of a man executed like a criminal two thousand years ago still stirs hearts, challenges minds, and unsettles the world's fragile certainties. Good Friday is not just a memorial of Jesus' death; it is an unveiling of the human condition and the quiet, enduring power of truth. This day presents a paradox like no other in the Church year.  The power of profound injustice stemming from blind authority, in which a good and innocent man – indeed, the God-Man – is sentenced to crucifixion by a Roman governor named Pontius Pilate, who suppressed the truth.  It is a day of brutality, cruelty, and suffering.  Raw power is deployed in a way that is almost unthinkable, except we know that such power is still at work in this world.  And yet we call this day Good.

With the following words, we adore the suffering servant of Yaweh.

Behold, behold, the wood of the cross

On which is hung our salvation

O come, let us adore.

1. Power Speaks but not for Salvation and Truth

The liturgical readings for this day lay bare the paradox: the Just One, the Innocent One, is condemned, not for his guilt, but for the discomfort his truth caused. Isaiah’s prophecy (52:13—53:12) tells of the Suffering Servant, one who "had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him," yet he carried the weight of the world’s brokenness on his shoulders. The world’s ego, its addiction to control, and the schemes of jealous hearts could not tolerate such a man.

The drama that unfolds in John’s Gospel is a brutal lesson in power politics. Pilate, the Roman governor, knows Jesus is innocent. His own words betray him: “I find no case against him.” But politics rarely bows to truth. Pilate’s authority is under threat, his reputation vulnerable, his comfort tied to the approval of the mob. Fear of losing power silences his conscience. Religious leaders, consumed by jealousy and eager to protect their privilege, manipulate the masses. Even the people, swayed by collective emotion and the thirst for a scapegoat, shout, “Crucify him!”

2. Convenience of Power and the Inconvenient Truth

The Cross reveals this universal reality: when truth confronts entrenched ego, when love threatens selfish systems, when humility stands before arrogance, the world often chooses to crucify rather than to convert. It is easier to eliminate the inconvenient voice than to change one’s ways. This is the sad truth in our world of today, both in the secular and religious worlds. Often our superiors in our religious communities, our managers in the business world, look for the convenience of power and not the truth, which is obvious and sure. 

Yet the Cross also whispers a deeper truth: power speaks loudly, but only for a moment. Truth speaks quietly, but for eternity. The forces that condemned Jesus appeared victorious on Good Friday. The man who loved, taught, healed, fed with bread and wine, washed the feet of the disciples, cleansed the lepers, chased the devil, gave sight to the blind, raised the dead, consoled the sick and suffering, has now no voice before the evil forces of this world. But their triumph was as short-lived as the passing shadow. By Sunday, their lie stood exposed. The tomb was empty. 

3. Power Speaks, but Truth Endures

St. Paul, writing to the Philippians 2:8-9, captures this arc beautifully: “He humbled himself and became obedient unto death — even death on a Cross. Therefore God highly exalted him...” (Phil 2:8-9). The pattern is clear: first the world’s rejection, then God’s vindication. In the world we live in, this drama is repeated again and again. The innocent are silenced by corrupt systems, egos inflate at the expense of the weak, and truth is often inconvenient for those in power. But Good Friday assures us that this is not the end of the story. Power’s reign is temporary. Truth, however delayed, will always have the final word.

The Cross invites us to examine our own hearts. Where does ego blind us? Where does the need to control make us complicit in injustice? How often do we stay silent, like Pilate, washing our hands rather than standing for what is right? And when we find ourselves carrying the weight of false accusations or undeserved suffering, the Cross reminds us that we are not alone — the Truth who is Christ walks with us, and the final word belongs to God.  Today, as we venerate the Cross, may we remember: the world crucified Jesus, but it could not kill the truth. Power speaks, but truth endures. Amen!

- Olvin Veigas, SJ
April 18, 2025