Good Friday 2020 – Pastor Ellen Mills
I am offering you two ways to receive this. In print, you will need to read the scriptures for yourself, and then the prayer and reflection that follow in this post. If you click on the audio link below (below), you can hear all of it, including the scriptures.
Good Friday 2020
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray,
Merciful God, your Son was lifted up on the cross to draw all people to himself. Grant that we who have been born out of his wounded side may at all times find mercy in him, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
The Seven Last Words
1. “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:32-38
Jesus is taunted as he hangs on the cross. He is challenged to show his power by saving himself. This is a crowd that has come to watch a spectacle. But Jesus knows there is so much more going on. Those around him, those taunting him, all of those who delivered him up and condemned him, not only have they not believed him, they have no idea that he came for love. He came for them. He came for all of us. He has mercy on them, and he also has compassion. They do not know what he is doing for them. They do not know that there is something more than his physical life at stake. They do not know a love so wide and so deep that it goes beyond the death he will die.
2. “Today you shall be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:39-43
What an odd scene. Jesus hangs between two men who have been sentenced to death for actions that broke the Roman law. Their death is the expected result of what they did, and they knew it. One scoffs at Jesus, not willing to believe him unless he saves their physical lives. The other sees farther. He knows Jesus is not there for the same reason they are. And he reaches out in simple faith. Jesus has a kingdom, and he wants to be included. And Jesus immediately responds to these words of faith. “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” What shocking words from a man who appears to be dying as a failure, who has been deserted and mocked, and who still reaches out in love. There is more than what appears here. And the more is a faithful and loving God.
3. “Woman, behold your Son. Behold your mother.” John 19:25b-27
There are two things going on here. One is about the customs of the times. If Mary is a widow, and if she has lost her son, she will be destitute. Jesus, in his last moments, is taking care of the woman who not only bore him, but also followed him as a faithful disciple. But Jesus is also starting a new pattern. In a culture where family was everything, and Christians would be thrown out of their Jewish families, Jesus is creating a new family for his followers. They will come together and will be related to each other because they follow him, and they will care for each other. The way they had lived with Jesus has ended, but there will be a new way.
4. “My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:45-50
From noon until 3pm, darkness covered the land. And then Jesus cries out the beginning of the lament of Psalm 22. He has experienced that deep human pain – the pain of being abandoned and separated. But he cries out in the words of faith. Yes, all this has happened. And the end is near. But even though it cannot be seen in this moment, God is faithful because that is who God is. Jesus breathes his last.
5. “I thirst.” John 19:28-29
Again, a reference to Psalm 22, “my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws….” This also shows that Jesus was not spared from the human experiences that we all face. Jesus was the Son of God, but he did not hold onto his privilege. He felt pain, he felt thirst. He died for us, and he died in solidarity with our humanness. Some sour wine, or vinegar, is offered to him.
6. “It is finished.” John 19:30
John shows a Jesus who is in control until the end. He has accomplished what he set out to do: to reveal the true nature of God’s love. He says, “It is finished,” or it is accomplished. He bows his head and hands over his spirit.
7. “Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit.” Luke 23:44-46
Luke also shows Jesus entrusting himself to God. Jesus has accomplished what he came to do. He has been faithful to God’s will, refusing all of the ways he could have used his power for himself, and choosing to allow himself to be put to death and to trust in God despite all appearances that this is failure.