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,
but we leave you
to carry the cross alone.
You came simply as love incarnate,
but hate and bitterness
were the gifts we offered to you.
You poured out your love
so our emptiness might be filled.
Give us ears to hear your pain
this day.
On this day,
you would pray for us,
for we cannot find the words
in our own,
Shattered Spirit.
Hear the cries of those in need.
Listen to the lament of the lonely.
Cradle the whispered hopes of children.
Set free the dreams of prisoners and captives.
Give us hearts to pray with you
this day.
God in Community, Holy in One,
we lift our prayers to you in the name of the One
who suffered and died for us
this day.
AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS
God of love,
at the foot of the cross
we confess our violence,
our desire to make others
carry our suffering.
Forgive us.
We confess our fear,
our illusion of our unworthiness,
our anxiety to justify ourselves
rather than to love.
Forgive us.
We confess our self-centeredness:
that other people become
means or obstacles to our ends
instead of people,
sacred and beloved.
We hurt and judge,
we exploit and dehumanize.
We think that we or others
are unworthy.
We betray your love in us
and we crucify.
Forgive us.
At the foot of the cross
we behold this mystery:
that broken as we are,
we are sacred and beloved,
and you cherish us.
In our darkest violence
you forgive us.
In our deepest shame
you give yourself to us.
In our most adamant betrayals
you are one with us.
At the foot of the cross
give us the gift of sorrow,
the wisdom of an unflinching gaze.
Bless us, that we may know our brokenness,
that we may receive your presence,
that we may accept your forgiveness,
that we may be transformed by your love.
We pray for those whom we have hurt,
and bless those who have hurt us.
We ask and receive forgiveness of all.
We seek only to trust, only to love,
only to heal and to be healed.
At the foot of the cross,
may we die to our fear,
our self-centeredness,
our separation from others.
Take our old, mean lives
and give us new ones,
tender as new green shoots,
lives of grace,
lives of love, mercy and tenderness.
At the foot of the cross,
O gentle God,
may we die with Christ,
that you may raise us up in love. [2]
Amen
Delivered at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Columbus, OH; 7 April 2023
[1] Ralph Barnett, Spiritual E-Soup: A Compilation of Inspirational Messages from the Internet (Kindle Edition
[2] Rev Steve Garnaas-Holmes, Unfolding Light
