Good Friday

When Jesus declared to Pilate that "everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice", Pilate responded, "What is truth?" It was actually the most profound question he could have asked.

The ultimate truth for us human beings is the truth of our mortality, vulnerability... and ultimately accountability to God. Pilate is so caught-up in his own importance that he cannot deal with life at this kind of depth. Power and position blinded and paralysed him ~ out of fear and timidity, he clings to what he thinks he has.

With great dignity and integrity, Jesus stretched out his arms on the cross, inviting all people to himself and to a life and truth beyond anything Pilate could have imagined. The reading of the Passion and Veneration of the Cross are at the centre of today's solemn liturgy.

It remains a challenge for us, to see and hear the truth as Jesus triumphantly embraces death.

The tragedy is not in asking "What is truth?" but in walking away before hearing the answer—for truth demands not just our curiosity, but our courage to be changed by it.