Good Friday Reflection

This is the reflection I am using at Hamilton:St John's Church this afternoon as part of their three hour vigil.  If you are going, I suggest you wait til later to read this! 

 A word of distress:  ‘I thirst’.

^…So that the Scripture would come true, he said, “I am thirsty.” There was a jar full of vinegar there, so the soldiers soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a branch of a hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ mouth.

We live in a world where we don’t like to be uncomfortable.  We moan about the weather being too cold or too hot, or too lukewarm.  We are never truly happy.  We complain about the children never playing outside, then moan about them hanging out in gangs or making too much noise in the park.  We complain about the shortcomings of the NHS or education or even the Church but when they are not available we miss them.  We seek compensation for potholes, where previously our parents would have told us off for not looking where we are going.  Our media constantly pushes us to seek compensation for everything from delayed trains and flights, to mis-sold PPIs to being a passenger in a car accident.  And yes, there are times when it is appropriate, but no one ever shares the statistics of businesses that fold because of living in such a compensation driven environment.  For everyone praying for a hot summer, there are those praying for rain for the crops.  Those who are seeking compensation for a delayed train, know nothing of the one who thanked God for the delay so they could make that interview, that meeting, that important moment in their life. 

Sometimes there is more than what we see or know.  The author of Hebrews reminds us…

Hebrews 5:7-9 NCV

While Jesus lived on earth, he prayed to God and asked God for help. He prayed with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him from death, and his prayer was heard because he trusted God. Even though Jesus was the Son of God, he learned obedience by what he suffered. And because his obedience was perfect, he was able to give eternal salvation to all who obey him.

 Good Friday is a day where, at face value, it seems to be a failure. Everything rests on a person, who currently is hanging, crucified on a cross. But sometimes not everything is what it seems…what seems to be failure isn’t.  There is, at times, purpose, even in distress and suffering, but only if we know why.  In Matthew we read Jesus’ understanding of what will be. 

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone to death those who are sent to you. Many times I wanted to gather your people as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you did not let me. ³⁸ Now your house will be left completely empty. ³⁹ I tell you, you will not see me again until that time when you will say, ‘God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord.’”^[b]

As Jesus left the Temple and was walking away, his followers came up to show him the Temple’s buildings. ² Jesus asked, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, not one stone will be left on another. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground.”

³ Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his followers came to be alone with him. They said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that it is time for you to come again and for this age to end?”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Be careful that no one fools you. ⁵ Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will fool many people. ⁶ You will hear about wars and stories of wars that are coming, but don’t be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. ⁷ Nations will fight against other nations; kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat, and there will be earthquakes in different places. ⁸ These things are like the first pains when something new is about to be born.

⁹ “Then people will arrest you, hand you over to be hurt, and kill you. They will hate you because you believe in me. ¹⁰ At that time, many will lose their faith, and they will turn against each other and hate each other. ¹¹ Many false prophets will come and cause many people to believe lies. ¹² There will be more and more evil in the world, so most people will stop showing their love for each other. ¹³ But those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved. ¹⁴ The Good News about God’s kingdom will be preached in all the world, to every nation. Then the end will come.

We know that Jesus went to the cross willingly but it hurt. It was the hardest thing that Jesus ever did.  Jesus was fully human.  He needed rest, he needed sleep, he needed food, he needed friendship and he felt pain – pain of the heart as well as physical pain.  As we gaze upon the cross, we find in those words – I am thirsty – a painful reminder of his humanness and suffering.  His mouth dry, his lungs burning, his muscles aching from the pain of trying to lift himself to breathe.  Our hearts break at the pain of those words, as he draws strength to say his final words with his final breath.  Let us hold on to the cost and sacrifice, that we might value the purpose of his distress and allow it to change us for the better.

As we hang our heads in sorrow,

We come with heavy hearts,

Broken hope for the morrow

The beginning of the end.

As those words pass his lips

‘I am thirsty’  - we offer

Vinegar which he sips

Seeing the end beginning.

Can we ever truly know?

Can we truly understand?

Our regret and guilt we show

For ending the beginning.

Yet he gave his all that we might

have hope, faith and eternal life

That all may have the right  

To a new beginning that knows no end.