God’s grace, peace and mercy be with
you. … My focus is John 19, where we read: “[Jesus] said, “It is finished,” and he
bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the
psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the
Lord.’”[1]
Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we
listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply
as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.
Death always comes as a surprise.
Even when we expect it, the moment one dies always catches us unaware. “I didn’t expect it to come so soon.” … “I
thought there would be more time.”
When I recall the death of my
parents, I remember my shock when my father died unexpectedly. April 16, 2003.
My mother called and told me to come home. She then put my Uncle Ted on the
phone who told me the reason. My dad died of a heart attack as he prepared for
bed. Because he had no prior history of heart trouble, death came as a surprise,
a shock.
Three and a half years later, I
leaned over my mother, reading Scripture and reciting prayers for the dying.
Moments later, a woman from our church, who had volunteered to watch her on
that day, said, “I think she’s gone.”
Mom took several more breaths. “Not yet,”
I replied, and then a moment later when she breathed her last, “Now she’s gone.” Multiple myeloma and
amyloidosis, her death sentence, worked its last. November 1, 2006. All Saints
Day. Although I waited for death for more than a week, its inevitable arrival
still surprised me.
Scripture reminds us that the death
of Jesus seemed to come as a surprise for those around him. Even to the end,
those who loved and accompanied Jesus, must have been surprised, even shocked
that he was dead, dead on a cross.
Scripture also tells us that his
closest friends and family members gave Jesus a proper burial. Given the
circumstances of the Passover, they anointed his body, wrapped it in a clean
linen shroud, and laid him in a new tomb. His community of believers
accompanied him to the end.
As a faith community, we accompany
our deceased family members and friends to the end. They ask us for the Prayer
of the Church and the Lord’s Supper in order to be strong and absolved of sin.
We oblige. For their mourning friends and family, they ask for a proper, public
viewing and a Christian burial. We oblige. We gather at funeral homes, churches,
cemeteries and social halls. We accompany them to the end and remember them. On
their birthdays and anniversaries, at the next Christmas and Easter, at family
gatherings and on the Day of the Dead, we remember the dead.
Externally, the death and burial of
our parents, siblings and friends resembles Jesus’. Yet, his death was
different. Jesus did not simply die of a heart attack or a lingering disease. Scripture
reminds us, “He was delivered up to
death; He was delivered for the sins of the people.” Because of his
death, “We have an advocate with
the Father; Jesus is the propitiation for our sins.”
He was the propitiation for our sins,
and he was the propitiator. He was our paid debt, and he paid our debt. A debt we
could never pay.
Because our Advocate was delivered
for our sins, we should, as one hymn reminds us, ponder his passion. When we
meditate on Jesus’ last moments, we know our God is compassionate. Verse Five of
the hymn, Jesus, I Will Now Ponder, closes with these words: “Help me see forgiveness won By your holy
passion. If for me He slays His Son, God must have compassion!”[2]
Jesus’ death, which in John’s Gospel,
is his moment of glory, reveals God’s infinite compassion for me, a poor,
miserable sinner. Because God is compassionate to me, should I not be
compassionate as Jesus taught? We read in Luke, chapter six: “Be
compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. Don’t judge, and you won’t
be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Forgive, and you will be
forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good portion—packed down, firmly
shaken, and overflowing—will fall into your lap. The portion you give will
determine the portion you receive in return.”[3]
With that hymn and passage in mind,
find time today to meditate on Jesus’ passion. Reflect upon the depth of His
Father’s compassion. Reflect upon the compassion our Father has for you and
yours, and how He is the Author of all life – eternal life and human life.
May God bless you in your prayer this
Good Friday, and may the Holy Spirit make you a believer in the power of God’s
love poured forth from the Cross into your heart. In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.
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