(Jn 18:1-19:42)
The core of the Gospels do not dwell on the horror and sadism of the torments, because they were not written with the aim of impressing, but to introduce us into an understanding of the boundless intensity of divine Love.
The Father does not neglect or retreat, for there is no inclusive purpose in making us suffer; rather, in welcoming and sharing. Neither are we in the world for scars, but for fulfilment.
In Jn there is no hint of the mysticism of suffering and abandonment: the evangelist wants to accompany us on the same journey as the Son towards the Father's Glory.
And the Eternal One does not delay in incorporating him into Himself: it is the Crucified One who delivers the Spirit (19:30).
Jesus, master of himself, does not allow himself to be overwhelmed by events.
He steps forward; he is still able to protect his own and is the protagonist of the conversation with Pilate, a figure of the power of this world [who seems to be the accused].
Neither is he finished by soldiers.
He is Alive, despite the gendarmes placed to protect the ancient world that remains hostile to the Lord, in order to perpetuate itself. Twilight zone - still and where you do not expect it.
The beloved disciple [each of us, genuine in Christ] is present to his own fate as a complete Gift: he reflects a single indestructible life, albeit humiliated.
It flows as essential and vital lymph into the authentic Church portrayed in Mary adoring in every event; standing upright (19:25) and well present to herself.
Able to unfold the meaning of Jesus' proposal through brand new rays of light - in a spirit of condescension and tenderness, but subversive.
Arrest (vv.1-19). In the Passion according to John, the voluntary offering of life by the Lord Jesus stands for the divine condition and the authentic prospect - of freedom and success - for us: the vocation, the call of the Father.
Judas' kiss is missing, for the Master presents himself directly, identifying himself in the revelation 'I Am'.
By coming forward, she asks that the disciples be left at liberty. It means: He does not lose any of us; he does not leave us as hostages.
But his arrest is attended by the leaders of official religion - and he is immediately seized at the home of the occult leader, Ananus [Hannas], although already deposed, but still the political puppeteer of the situation.
Renegade, together with Peter.
The memory of the prophecy of the high priest who acts as his screen (v.14) projects us into the drama of the Passion of love of the Forsaken One.
Rejected by the religious people. Betrayed, disowned, killed by all.
Peter's triple "I am not" contrasts with the dignity of Christ, who calls the 'head' of the church to another kind of testimony than the one he had in mind, desired, dreamed of.
While in the Synoptics He is shown as the Lamb led to slaughter without opening His mouth, the Fourth Gospel emphasises His Kingship.
Before Pilate, it becomes clear that Jesus' solemnity has no political character, so his disciples could not be considered disloyal citizens.
Facing Rome, Jn highlights the innocence of Jesus and of the Christians accused in the courts of the Empire.
The figure of the Roman governor is interesting, caught between instances of conscience and external pressures - while repeatedly seeking intermediate positions.
The Fourth Gospel frees 'diplomats' from direct responsibility, but admonishes them about respecting the Truth.
Those who do not accept him as he is and do not declare themselves in his favour by exposing themselves, remain caught in his own trap.
The 'Judge' looks like Jesus.
And its paradoxes question: who is the king of the Jews? Caesar or Christ?
The Jews deny themselves by claiming they have no king but the emperor; the officials acclaim him as king.
Third section (19:17-42). The executed had to be seen by as many people as possible, so they were displayed in a place near the city.
But here and in the episode of the inscription [in the three ecumenical languages of the time, like the one on the first inner wall of the Temple, which forbade on pain of death further entry to the pagans] the theological theme of kingship comes in again: the result was a reminder to the Jews that they had a defeated king.
Jn distinguishes between the partitioning of the clothes and the drawing of the robe, because he understands the latter as the sacred robe of the true high priest, whose mantle could not be torn (Lev 21:10).
Without dwelling on the two condemned men at the side of the Crucified One, the evangelist notes that Jesus' legs were not broken.
This alludes to the Paschal Lamb, whose bones were not to be broken.
The short passage in Joh 19:25-27 is perhaps the artistic apex of the Passion narrative.
In the fourth Gospel the Mother appears twice, at the wedding feast of Cana and at the foot of the Cross - both episodes present only in Jn.Both at Cana and beneath the Cross, the Mother is a figure of the 'Remnant of Israel', that is, of the authentically sensitive and faithful people.
The 'bride-nation' of the First Testament is as if waiting for the genuine Revelation: it perceives all the limitation of the ancient idea of God, which has reduced the joy of the wedding feast between the Father and his children.
The Israel vibrant with truth originated the Passage from religiosity to spousal Faith, from the Old Law to the New Testament.
In the presence of the Cross, an alternative kingdom is generated.
The fathers and mothers of a different, non-belligerent humanity are formed; they proclaim the Good News of God this time in favour exclusively of every man - in whatever condition he finds himself.
In the theological intentions of John, the Words of Jesus "Woman, behold your son" and "Behold, your mother" were intended to help settle and harmonise the strong tensions that at the end of the first century were already opposing the different currents of thought on Christ [Judaizers; supporters of the primacy of faith over works; laxists who now considered Jesus anathema - intending to supplant him with a generic freedom of spirit without history].
At the beginning of the second century (e.g.) Marcion rejected the entire First Testament and seems to have appreciated only part of the New.
To those who wanted to disregard the teaching of the "fathers", Jesus proposes to make the past and the new walk together.
The beloved disciple is the icon of the authentic son of God, the Word-event spread, and the New Covenant.
The son himself must receive the Mother - the presence and culture of the covenant people - at home, i.e. in the nascent Community.
Even if it is in the Christian assembly that the full meaning of the whole of Scripture is discovered, the Person, the story and the Word itself cannot be grasped nor will it bear fruit with forward dreams alone, without the ancient root that generated it.
Thus new family relationships flourish: then the Church is born.
"I thirst": he quotes Psalm 69 - "They put poison in my food and when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar".
It is the disappointment and the giddy sense of emptiness for a humanity still in dire need of being wrenched out of the wilderness...
And the intense desire to make, of that pre-human abyss, people who tend to recover the divine Gold in themselves.
But disciples, crowd, soldiers, still do not understand.
It is clarified with recourse to the other psalm [63: "O God, you are my God, from dawn I seek you, my soul thirsts for you"] which in Hebrew begins with the invocation "Elohim, Eli [...]".
So Jesus pours out his Spirit without any delay (v.30).
And just as from the side of the man God drew forth the woman, so from the side of the pierced Son comes forth the 'community-bride', related to the two signs of the first Sacraments.
Precisely, our essential and vital lymph: because immersed and assimilated in such familiar gestures, we overcome the discomfort of feeling like objects, things.
We become Sons.
Sons, not things
God placed on the Cross of Jesus all the weight of our sins, all the injustice perpetrated by every Cain against his brother, all the bitterness of the betrayal of Judas and Peter, all the vanity of bullies, all the arrogance of false friends. It was a heavy Cross, like the night of the abandoned, heavy like the death of loved ones, heavy because it sums up all the ugliness of evil. However, it is also a glorious Cross like the dawn of a long night, because it depicts in all things the love of God that is greater than our iniquities and betrayals. In the Cross we see the monstrosity of man, when he allows himself to be led by evil; but we also see the immensity of God's mercy, who does not treat us according to our sins, but according to his mercy.
In front of the Cross of Jesus, we see almost to the point of touching with our hands how much we are eternally loved; in front of the Cross, we feel like "children" and not "things" or "objects", as St Gregory of Nazianzus said when addressing Christ with this prayer: "If I were not You, O my Christ, I would feel like a finite creature. I am born and I am dissolved. I eat, I sleep, I rest and walk, I fall ill and heal. Cravings and torments assail me without number, I enjoy the sun and all that the earth bears fruit. Then, I die and the flesh becomes dust like that of animals, which have no sins. But I, what more do I have than they? Nothing but God. If I were not You, O my Christ, I would feel like a finite creature. O our Jesus, lead us from the cross to the resurrection and teach us that evil will not have the last word, but love, mercy and forgiveness. O Christ, help us to exclaim again: "Yesterday I was crucified with Christ; today I am glorified with Him. Yesterday I was dead with Him, today I am alive with Him. Yesterday I was buried with Him, today I am risen with Him'".Finally, all together, let us remember the sick, let us remember all those abandoned under the weight of the Cross, that they may find in the trial of the Cross the strength of hope, of the hope of the resurrection and of God's love.
[Pope Francis, Way of the Cross at the Colosseum 18 April 2014].
