Good Friday

April 22, 2011

Isaiah 52.13-53.12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 4.14-16; 5;7-9; John 18.1-19.42

+ And now we are here. We have reached the lowest point in this long, dark week. Everything seems to have led to this moment. To this moment—this moment of the cross, the nails, the thorns. To this of blood and pain and death. To this moment of violence and utter destruction.

Throughout Lent I preached about we, the broken people finding our identity in the broken Body of Christ. Well, here it is. Here is the broken Body of Christ. Here it is, broken by the whips. Here it is, broken under the weight of the Cross. Here it is, broken by the thugs and the soldiers and those who turned away from him and betrayed him. Here it is, broken upon the cross on which it is nailed.

And here is our identity. We remember it every time we gather at the altar to celebrate the Eucharist. We remember it every time, in the Eucharist, the priest raised the broken Bread and shows it to us.

In this dark moment, our own brokenness seems more profound, more real. We can feel this brokenness now in a way we never have before. Our brokenness is shown back to us like the reflection in a dark mirror as we look upon that broken Body on the cross.

But, as horrendous as this moment is, as horrendous as this next 24 hours might seem, with that broken Body taken down from the cross and laid, broken, in the tomb, the next 24 hours after that will be as different from this moment as we can imagine. What seems like a bleak, black moment will be replaced by the blinding Light of the Resurrection. What seems like a moment of unrelenting despair will soon be replaced by an unleashing of unrestrained joy.

This present despair will be turned completely around. This present darkness will be vanquished. This present pain will be replaced with a comfort that brings about peace. This present brokenness will be healed fully and completely, leaving not even a scar.

This is what today is about. This is what our journey in following Jesus brings to us.

All we need to do is go where the journey leads us and trust in the One who leads.