At The Foot Of The Cross

John 18:1-19:42

This obituary appeared in the Jerusalem Post in the year 33 C.E.

“Jesus Christ, 33, of Nazareth, died Friday on Mount Calvary, also known as Golgotha, ‘the place of the skull.’ Betrayed by the apostle Judas and crucified by the order of ruler Pontius Pilate. The causes of death were asphyxiation by crucifixion, extreme exhaustion, severe torture, and blood loss.

“Jesus Christ, the descendant of Abraham, was a member of the house of David. He was the son of the late Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth, and Mary, his devoted mother. Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem, Judea, and survived by his mother, Mary, faithful Apostles, numerous disciples, and many followers.

“Jesus was self-educated and spent most of his adult life working as a teacher. Jesus occasionally worked as a medical doctor and healed many patients. Until his death, he shared the Good News by healing the sick, touching the lonely, feeding the hungry, and helping the poor.

“Jesus was most noted for recounting parables about his Father’s Kingdom, performing miracles, such as feeding more than five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish and healing a man born blind. The day before his death, he held a last supper celebrating the Passover feast at which he foretold his death.

Joseph of Arimathea, a family friend, buried His body in an unused grave. Pontius Pilate had a boulder rolled in front of the tomb, and Roman soldiers guarded the tomb.

“Instead of flowers, the family has requested that everyone live as Jesus did, donating to anyone in need. [1]

I am an empath and I remember the gut-wretching feeling I had every Friday morning at mass as I gazed up at the larger-than-life crucifix hanging from the ceiling:

Jesus with his head hung on his chest;

a crown of thorns on his head;

a prick of blood on his forehead from the crown;

arms extended and held on the cross with nails;

His feet on top of each other, secured by a nail.

What could I have done that was so bad that Jesus had to die for me. Religious education placed the blame on me.

What did I do?

What did He do to cause his crucifixion?

Nothing!

What did we do to put him there? Our selfish, fleshly desire to do the wrong things caused Him to suffer intolerably. Our shortcomings separated us from a relationship with God.

Why did it take this terrible sacrifice to ensure us a place in Heaven?

We have all sinned. We cannot ignore sin; we must atone for our shortcomings. A blood offering from a sacrificial lamb, an act of contrition acknowledging our errors and our desire to restore our relationship with God; was that the cost?

I recall a comment by someone who challenged calling the day of Jesus’ crucifixion a ‘good day.’ She told me there was enough betrayal, denial, violence, bloodshed, and death. Coming together in a church to hear of all this was too much for her. She could not hear it without crying or feeling a combination of outrage and depression.

But we do know that after the heinous events of Good Friday, ‘the light of the world’ is coming. Because of this ordeal, we are redeemed by Jesus’ blood and gain our rightful place in the Kingdom of Heaven.

But we must wait through the torture of Good Friday – the long walk to Golgotha, the nailing of hands and feet, and the final breath.

We must wait.

We commemorate the hours of Jesus’ suffering, and for three hours, we wait:

3 HOURS

3 hours, Lord,

Your disciples, the women who followed you, your mother,.

They waited for 3 hours

3 hours waiting at the foot of the cross

3 hours waiting at a distance

3 hours waiting for you to die

Helpless, powerless

Waiting for you to die.

Lord, this Good Friday we hold your world before you in prayer,

The world you created,

The world you care for,

The people you know by name,

The people you came to die for.

We wait, helpless and powerless, in shock and disbelief! We will wait, watching those close to us in pain and those who are dying. We remain distant from those we will never meet, dying because of lack of food, clean water, inadequate medical supplies and expertise, wars, and conflicts we can’t begin to understand.

We wait.

On this day, God of all tears,

you call us in the midst

of our busy lives

to look at the suffering and death

of the One who came to carry

the pain of the world into your heart.

Give us eyes to see your love

this day.

On this day

you would gather everyone

to your side,

Grace of Calvary,