The victory of justice

In today's first reading, Is. 42: 1-7, Isaiah prophesizes that Jesus “shall bring forth justice to the nations, [shall] bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness….I, the Lord, have called you for the victory of justice.” 

 

As yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday, we read about the people loudly proclaiming Jesus as King, praising God for all the good that He had done in their midst. On Good Friday, we will hear those same people shouting for His death. He has disappointed them, as they were expecting a king who would restore their nation to greatness.  They felt betrayed and in their grief abandon Jesus to His executioners.

In today’s Gospel, Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with “a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard” and dries them with her hair” (Jn 12:1-11).  Amid Judas’ protests that that costly perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor—proclamations to cover up his hypocrisy and intent to steal the money later for personal use—Jesus tells Judas to leave the woman alone, that she is preparing his body for burial.  Jesus protects Mary, who, in her poverty and lowliness and out of great love expresses reverence and gratitude to the Lord for His forgiveness of her many sins.  That same reverence and love is shown to each of us by Jesus on Calvary, where “our feet” are washed in the blood and water that flows  from Jesus’ side. And as Jesus tells Peter when washing his feet that he is clean all over, so, too, He tells us that, "though our sins are scarlet, they will be white as snow" (Is 1: 16-18)!   On Calvary we will witness justice being done to the nations of the whole world, as we watch Jesus surrender His life to His Father.  In that act of obedience, we will be restored, not politically or according to worldly desires, but spiritually to friendship with the Father.  On Calvary we will witness  Jesus crush the head of Satan--the principalities and the powers of Satan that we will see at  work in Judas this week,  shall be destroyed for us forever.   We truly will witness “the victory of justice” as we commemorate Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection.

O, the humility, the poverty, the reverence, the love of our God for all of humankind!