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Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross

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I can think of no better way to finish Lent and prepare for Easter than to spend a few hours with Father Neuhaus's most recent book, Death on a Friday Afternoon. Nor does it matter if you don't have time to get it all read before Easter because, as Neuhaus writes at the beginning, "Good Friday is not just one day of the year. It is a day relived in every day of the world, and of our lives in the world....Every day of the year is a good day to think more deeply about Good Friday, for Good Friday is the drama of love by which our every day is sustained."

The scope and implicit aim of this book are formidable; even more remarkable, this extended meditation accomplishes everything it set out to do. Don't expect a soppy, mystical, pie-in-the-sky reflection on the death of Christ. Here is a keen examination of tough love in action, the love of a God who accepted trial at the hands of His creatures and took on Himself their impudent verdict: "Guilty."

Each chapter is devoted to one of the Seven Words from the Cross, and in each case, Fr. Neuhaus shows how these words, spoken nearly two millenia ago on a certain Friday afternoon in history, still pierce our lives today--if we will let them. One of the great strengths of the book is its application of the truth of the Cross to modern life. What practical effect does each of these words have on each of us? This question is amply answered in such a way that the reader comes to understand personally how he is obligated to be crucified with Christ if he professes himself a follower.

Another strength of this book is its stark presentation of the cost of being a Christian. Christianity is no feel-good religion; it's about following a God who was crucified and about bearing the burden of having encountered Truth. It is not, says Neuhaus, so much that Christians *have* the truth, but that they must faithfully insist that they have been encountered by the Truth, by What Is, by the great Reality of God and all His creation. This insistence, not only that there is such a thing as Truth, but also that man can be encountered by it, is yet another great strength of this book.

By no means is the material here limited to abstract theological discussion. It is simply and gently written, accessible to most people. I would think it would be especially valuable to those who might be curious as to why Christians believe that the Crucifixion is such a big deal. Neuhaus speaks of the suffering of specific people at specific times in history and shows how all suffering has been given meaning through the suffering of Christ.

This book is good for the mature Christian and the inquirer alike--something one can say about few books. Buy it for yourself and get a copy or two for your friends.

The Seven Last Words are not seven "words" but seven "utterances" and they are these:
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
"Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."
"Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother."
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
"I thirst."
"It is finished."
"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

These are the seven biblically recorded utterances of Christ on the cross, and Neuhaus has written, in my opinion, the superlative meditation of the significance of these final words of Jesus. Each chapter expounds upon one of these "words". The writing is so clear-headed... it will appeal to those who need to approach the ineffable mystery with at least one foot on the ground. Or even two! It is not spiritual platitude, it is gut-level and sobering. Have you ever wondered what happened when Jesus died on the cross? Or WHY it happened? Or IF it happened? This book speaks to those questions, with a rational approach that can only be likened to the writings of C.S. Lewis.
I was transfixed, and overwhelmed (in a good way) with the wealth of information in Neuhaus's book. Beautifully written.
He says in the preface, "If what Christians say about Good Friday is true, then it is, quite simply, the truth about everything. I have written this for people who are convinced of that truth, for people who are open to thinking about whether it may be true and for people who are just curious about why so much of the world thinks Good Friday is the key to understanding what Dante called 'the love that moves the sun and all the other stars.'"
The Convinced. The Cautious. The Curious. If you are any of these three types, this book will not disappoint you.
"We must not turn away from what we have done to God, lest we be found to have turned away from what He has done for us." (p.257).

I usually read books quickly. This book, however, is one to be read slowly and thoughtfully. If one is looking for a quick and easy guide to Christian belief, then don't buy it. If one is a thoughtful seeker into the question of pain and suffering and how suffering and death is seen in the life of a mature Christian, then one will find this book meaningful. Not for those comfortable with easy answers or a life of self satisfaction.

This is one of the most profoundly moving books I have ever read. I re-read it every year during lent, and it never fails to move me in the same was as before. Here is why.

In the final scene of "Saving Private Ryan," Ryan himself, now much older, is visiting the grave of the soldier who saved him. He recalls the final words of the dying soldier who rescued him, a plea to make his life worthy of the sacrifice being given. In tears, he asks his wife whether he has in fact lived his life in a way that justifies that sacrifice.

Although "Death on a Friday Afternoon" is far too complex and nuanced to be summarized succinctly, one of its objectives (which it fulfills admirably) is to look its reader directly in the face and ask, "Are you in fact living your life in a way that justifies the sacrifice that Jesus made to save it?"

Two brief excerpts provide a glimpse of this book's seriousness and importance:

"Our lives are measured not by the lives of others, not by our own ideals, not by what we think might reasonably be expected of us, although by each of those measures we acknowledge failings enough. Our lives are measured by who we are created and called to be, and the measuring is done by the One who creates and calls. . ."

"To belittle our sins is to belittle ourselves, to belittle who it is that God creates and calls us to be."

This book is a call to seriousness about living our lives in response to what God has done for us.

There is much more as well. Don't miss it.

For me, Neuhaus' book put the reality of the death of Christ into real terms with real significance. For many the life, death and resurrection of Christ have been distorted by centuries of rhetoric and sentimental drivel. Neuhaus reinforces the historical and painful truth of human crucifixion in Christ's death, as well as the monumental significance that this act and Christ's subsequent resurrection has for all men. Neuhaus also uses the opportunity to critique some of our modern society's greater flaws, such as the complete lack of understanding of the value of pain, suffering and death. In a society where the pleasure principle is an unrelenting task master, Neuhaus' insights into a life and death unburdened by such a master dazzle the reader with the brightness of their truth.

Whomever you are, if you ever tried to love Jesus as the Christ, and found yourself wanting to look harder at what really happened on Calvary in order to love Him better, you will enjoy this book. This book writes from a Catholic perspective in that it will reference the Catholic Sacraments, and recall them with love in the voice of the text, but it does not really try to convert anyone to this faith any more that anyone describing their wife wants to convince you to marry her. Perfect for Lent or similar need. I think that a grieving soul would also enjoy this book. Enjoy!

There are a number of books on the last words of Jesus from the cross; most of them are quite a bit shorter than this one. Neuhaus's meditations are the most profound I have read on the subject (I have read several other books on the same topic).

I find Neuhaus not only discusses the implications of Christ's words more deeply than most other authors, but that he also drives his analysis toward hard truths, refusing to deflect to warm and fuzzy aphorisms or easy answers. His discussion of the depth of our need for forgiveness, for example, is, I think, the most profound I have read.

One thing that some readers may find a little distracting (I'll admit I did) are some points of Catholic theology to which Neuhaus devotes a not insignificant portion of the book (particularly the centrality of Mary in Catholic theology). As a Methodist, these theological points didn't really resonate for me; they didn't really bother me, but they didn't add anything to the book for me, either.

Overall, however, I feel this is the best book I have read on this subject. A shorter but still strong book on the subject is "Cross-Shattered Christ," by Stanley Hauerwas.

This is a wonderful book, written with patience, love, and care--written, at times, prayerfully and poetically. In contemplating our Christian faith, Neuhaus urges us not to skip Good Friday and go right to Easter and the joy of the Resurrection (though it IS joyful). Rather, we must reflect on the Crucifixion, on His death, without which there could have been no Resurrection and without which there would be no redemption. Some outsiders and even many Christians find the Crucifixion morbid and shy away from pondering it, but it is meant to shock and disturb. (This was not lost on Dostoevsky, who has some excellent passages and descriptions of the crucified Christ in The Idiot.) It was a death and murder, one in which we all are complicit. We must understand this before we can hope to understand the meaning of His death.

Neuhaus uses the seven last "words" (utterances, really) of Christ to explore the nature of His life and death, as well as the nature of our own lives and deaths. Tangentially, he comments on our culture and society, on permissivity and the like--ideas that will be familiar to readers of First Things. But this is primarily a book on religion, not politics. Nor is it an exposition of theology. Neuhaus avoids the often complicated and difficult-to-understand theological matters (and debates) that surround Christ's life, death, and resurrection, as well as the implications for us. Certainly, Neuhaus adheres to his--which is to say, the Catholic Church's--interpretation, but here he seeks to get to the foundations of Christianity. The result is something all Christians--and, indeed, anyone desiring to understand the faith--can enjoy and appreciate.

It was amazing how Neuhaus was able to eek so much out of so sparse a conversation with humanity as issued from Jesus's lips before He died. Yet, Neuhaus did just that--not inventing as much as expounding, not adding words as much as pondering and clarifying. I found the text illuminating and well worth reading any afternoon (it makes a quick read because it's hard to put down).

It's so easy to listen to the Passion read on Palm Sunday and hear the same story that has been told each year, and fail to find the life in the Living Word. This book, for me, opened the Passion, asked the questions I've always asked, put forth thoughts I've never considered, brought me into the reality of that Friday afternoon and made me love Jesus and God the Father all the more. I've never been a Marian Catholic, but this book made me see her in a way that I'd never seen her.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a well-written (it really is in the style of C.S.Lewis), poignant and thought-provoking meditation. It's not leaden-philosophical, and yet it's an intelligent, learned view of a Mystery that is well beyond the intelligent and the learned.