Friday

The Twenty-second Song from the Book of Psalms (v.1,7-9,14-18)
My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from saving Me, from the words of My groaning?
All who see Me mock Me; they make mouths at Me; they wag their heads;
"He trusts in the LORD; let Him deliver Him; let Him rescue Him, for He delights in Him!"
Yet You are He who took Me from the womb; You made Me trust You at My mother's breasts.
I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is melted within My breast; My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue sticks to My jaws; you lay Me in the dust of death.
For dogs encompass Me; a company of evildoers encircles Me; they have pierced My hands and feet-- I can count all My bones-- they stare and gloat over Me; they divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.

The Gospel according to Matthew (27:33-36,41,43,46) and John (19:19,28-30)
And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when He tasted it, He would not drink it. And when they had crucified Him, they divided His garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over Him there.
So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked Him, saying, "He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now, if He desires Him. For He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst."
A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth.
When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished," and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

The Letter of Paul to the Galatians (3:13)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"--

Homily
The physical agony that Christ endured is important to note and consider, but there seems to be another element involved that goes beyond the fleshly torture that He suffered. He became cursed by God on our behalf. The terror in Gethsemane and the anguished cry of the forsaken while nailed to the tree bear testimony to the burden He bore for us of having been cursed by the beloved Father temporarily for eternity's sake. For us.

Prayer ...

Postscript
The Revelation of Jesus Christ given to John (5:5-7)
And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals."
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
And He went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne.