What happens to Jesus between the moment he dies at this time on the first Good Friday, and when he rises again early on the Sunday morning? You can see and hear me give this Homily on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifuGWzzrqic
The simple answer looked at from the world’s point of view is that nothing happens. He is dead, and that’s it. Now, in one sense that’s absolutely correct, until we think in a different way about what’s going on here. The point is that we believe that the death of Jesus is actually his defeat of death. We say or sing it often at Mass, as one of the ways of proclaiming the Mystery of Faith, “We proclaim your death O Lord.” But what do we actually mean by that?
The traditional way of depicting this is to say that Jesus, once dead, actually enters into the place of death. The impossible happens. God who is the source of life, in whom there is no darkness at all, dies, and enters into death and defeats it, and thus creates a Way from death to life, from darkness to light. As we heard in our 2nd Reading (Hebrews 4:14-16) “In Jesus.. we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven.” In another image, evil (the Devil) is depicted as the great dragon of death, swallowing those who die, and thus swallowing Jesus. But, in swallowing Jesus, the Devil swallows the one thing that can kill him. Death swallows Life and thus is destroyed.
These are ancient images of course, sometimes called “The harrowing of hell” to describe a truth that is impossible to describe, but they are worth remembering as we look at the cross today. Yes, we are sad, maybe we even weep, at the sight of this good and holy man suffering and dying in such a horrible way. But the cross is also a cross of glory. Jesus has said “When I am lifted up, I will draw all to myself”. (John 12:32) Part of him knows this even in the midst of his agony. We just heard him say to Pilate in St John’s account of the Passion (John 18:1-19:42) “Yes, I am a king. I was born for this. I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth.” and later “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above”. And as he dies, he makes clear that in the moment of his dying, his mission is completed. He says “It is accomplished.”
In a strange way therefore, at the moment Jesus dies, the Resurrection has happened. For although, in our world, time passes between the death and the resurrection, in the world of eternity there is no time. Both are eternal. They are God at work entering into death and defeating death for us, for ever “as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.” And so we do not just weep before the cross, but also praise our God for his victory over death and sin. It’s what we say at each Station during the Stations of the Cross, “We praise you O God and we bless you. Because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.”
That’s why we always have that wonderful 1st Reading from Isaiah today (52:13-53:12) which speaks in prophecy of a servant who will “be lifted up,” precisely because he has faced suffering for his people. “Ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried...he was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins.” But also “His soul’s anguish over he shall see the light and be content”
Yes, today is a strange victory, where tears and praise are mingled together and yet it is a true victory because victory without struggle, victory without suffering, would be shallow and incomplete. It is precisely because the suffering and death are the worst one can think of, that the victory is so complete. So as we kneel or stand before the cross today we might say the words from the Hymn
See from his head, his hands , his feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown.
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