Note: The crosses that are mentioned are visible in the video of Good Friday Worship at Facebook.com/stlukeszion

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of each heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer.  Amen.

            These crosses were made by some of our confirmation students and youth at our last gathering back on Shrove Tuesday.  Each cross is made out of puzzle pieces that are held together by the cross, and all of these crosses tell a story.  They tell about broken people and broken lives that are made whole again by the cross.  They tell about people who are separate individuals and who are all different shapes and sizes being brought together by the cross.  They also tell about people who are puzzled by the cross.

         The cross is described in 1 Corinthians as “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1:23).  It was a stumbling block to Jews because they believed that anybody who died on a cross was under God’s curse (Gal. 3:13).  Therefore, they reasoned, how could Jesus possibly be the Son of God?  At the same time, Gentiles (or Greeks) were asking, “What kind of a god would go and get himself crucified?”  They couldn’t imagine anything more foolish, as all of their gods were quite powerful and would have struck Jesus’ accusers with a lightning bolt in an instant!  And so, what are we to make of the cross?

         Jesus, even though he wished that it could have been otherwise, knew that he could only be Messiah and Son of God by enduring the cross, and not by saving himself as the religious leaders suggested.  In fact, Jesus endured the worst that human sinfulness could throw at him.

         In the relatively short Passion narrative that we have heard today from Mark’s gospel, there are two things that really stand out.  One thing is how utterly alone Jesus is during his darkest hours, and the other is how much he is mocked and taunted both before and after he is crucified.  In Mark’s gospel there are no faithful disciples standing near the cross, for all of them have fled.  There is also an entire cohort of soldiers that gathers in order to mock Jesus and beat him and spit on him.  And then, when he is nailed to the cross and vulnerable to every insult that people might throw his way, that’s exactly what they do – taunt him and mock him.

         As one who is cursed and condemned on our account and who experiences the full weight of human sinfulness and the judgment that it brings, Jesus suffers the anguish of being separated from God (workingpreacher.org).  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mk. 15:34).

         Jesus endures these things so that we do not have to.  Jesus experiences being utterly and painfully alone so that we do not have to.  Jesus endures all that hate and evil and death and sin could throw at him so that we do not have to.  “By his bruises we are healed” (Is. 53:5).  In many ways, what Jesus experienced on the cross is the exact opposite of what the cross means for us now.

         The shape of the cross reminds us of how we are connected with God and with other people through Christ.  It is a reminder that love for God (which is the vertical part of it) and love for one another (which is horizontal) are both part of believing in Jesus.  However, when Jesus was crucified, there was no love or connection with anybody.  The only love shown is still by Jesus when he does not return evil for evil.

         The cross opens the way for us to be connected with God, while Jesus experienced being separated from God.  The cross also connects us with all of those other people that Jesus loves and that he died for, while Jesus experienced being utterly alone.

         While many people these days are also feeling alone and cut off from other people, it is because Jesus endured the cross and the grave that we are never alone, even when we are feeling that way.  In fact, it is because Jesus lives that he continues to walk with us, and to live with us and in us through the power of the Holy Spirit.  At the same time, he has compassion for all those who suffer in any way, for he has also experienced suffering and loneliness and exhaustion.

         Today’s reading ended with a Roman centurion saying, “Truly this man was God’s Son” (Mk. 15:39).  We do not know whether he was being sarcastic or was expressing a sincere faith.  However, regardless of how he said it, this centurion is the only one in today’s gospel who speaks the truth.

         The curtain in the Temple is torn in two – from top to bottom so that we know it was initiated by God.  The barriers have been removed.  Jesus’ mission is accomplished.  Sin and death and evil will never have the same power again.  And all that has been broken will be made whole, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

Good Friday (NL 2)                                      Mark 15:16-39

April 10, 2020

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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