Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv DD STL, Bishop of Parramatta
Homily for the Good Friday 2026 at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta.
Readings: Is 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16,5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42
God’s preferential love for the rejected
Dear brothers and sisters,
We have just listened to a very sombre account of the passion, crucifixion and death of our Lord. This account contains all the element of human nature at its worst: denial, betrayal, cruelty, hatred, scapegoating, violence, killing etc. But it also gives us a glimpse into the depths of God’s love – love that prevails against all the evil that we are capable of.
However, with the eye of faith, we can recognise the true meaning of Good Friday. For this was the hour of glory that Jesus had spoken about; this was the climax to the life of a humble Messiah who rode on a donkey, mingled with the social outcasts and washed the feet of others. He was not a conqueror through domination and violence but a suffering servant who lay down his life for the world. He became the seed of a new humanity, founded on a new law of love, people who succeed, not by their own power, but by power of the love of God.
On this day, we come to venerate the cross because it is a symbol of God’s love for us. It is not an act of appeasement of the God who demanded a human sacrifice. Rather, it was an act of total self-giving; it was a love that gave itself away. It was love that truly triumphed against all odds.
Jesus’ death on a cross, is truly the expression of the “wisdom of God”. God breaks the grip of scapegoating by stepping into the place of a victim. God is willing to die for us, to bear our sin because we desperately need deliverance from our propensity to violence. Jesus’ persecutors intend his death to be sacrificial business as usual. In other words, one can use violence in order to counter violence; one can resort to scapegoating mechanism to drive out the opponents. But God means it to be the opposite. God has reset the cycle of human behaviour. He has enabled us to build a new future in which no one is deemed unworthy.
Dear friends,
As we gather on this Good Friday, we are challenged to follow the example of Christ even at the cost of our own comfort, privilege and power. Jesus did not follow the script of the empire. He came as a poor and humble servant in order to minister at the thresholds of human vulnerability. He exposed what was short of God’s vision for a human society. We therefore must examine our own attitudes and the conventions of the day in relation to the treatment of the poor, the powerless and the marginalized of our time in order to see if it falls short of God’s vision for us. As Jesus often did, we too are called to be the companions and advocates of those who are deemed strangers, outsiders and even threats to our sense of security. This is what costly, powerless and authentic discipleship is all about.
Today, we do not simply grieve for what happened to Jesus 2000 years ago. For he continues to suffer in his brothers and sisters. He suffers with the victims of conflict in Ukraine, Gaza, the Middle East and elsewhere. He is one with those who cry out for justice, redress and reconciliation in our world. In our own country, we must break cycles of generational trauma and restore cultural pride and connection for our indigenous youth. We must have courage to address our own complicity in perpetuating systemic injustices against people who are scapegoated as a threat. Why? Because the Church hosts God’s preferential love for these. We notice the plight of the oppressed and defend their cause. We raise the human questions of justice, human rights, sufferings and reparations on their behalf.
As Christians we are called to recognize the face of Christ in the least of his brothers and sisters. Good Friday gives rise to Easter Sunday. Despite the menacing power of sin and darkness, God’s yes in Jesus triumphs for all eternity. May we have the courage to be our best even in the worst possible scenarios, following the God of reversals and surprises, one whose love nothing can destroy. May our discipleship and witness to his self-giving love be brought to fulfilment in accordance with God’s vision of the fullness of life for all humanity.
