Good Friday
Robyn Black • April 22, 2020
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As I begin our reflection today, I pause to be still and refocus my scattered thoughts upon the presence of God.
Light of the World You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You. (Michael W Smith)
Jesus, the One who created the world by his Word. The One who breathed life into creation. The One who created light in the darkness. In fact the One who IS a “light that thrives in the depths of darkness” (John 1:5, VOICE).
Jesus, the light of the world, stepped down into darkness.
Today, we remember the darkness, his suffering, his death.
We linger here for a moment to remember the Light that darkness thought it had overcome. And we remind ourselves, that darkness never, ever, ever overcomes the light of Jesus.
Prayer: (by Lt Col Terry Grey)
God of Universe,
God of Earth,
Our God …
This Friday morning there is a question that sits heavily, like a weight upon our soul.
It remains ill formed at the edges of our consciousness,
for we think people of faith may not ask it.
Where are you?
Where are you in the midst of a darkness so deep,
that it feels like we will never escape its life exhausting grasp?
We are mindful that the story of Good Friday is marked by darkness and even despair.
Despite our insatiable appetite for joy, our addiction to feeling good,
we refuse to move too quickly from the events of Good Friday. Because we recognise
that, as difficult as it is, it is good for us to sit with you
and ponder the cost and meaning of the cross.
[pause]
We recognise that we are somehow woven into the narrative of that day, such that it
becomes for us our story too.
We all like sheep have gone astray;
all of us have turned to going our own way,
and you Lord laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
God of Universe,
God of Earth,
Our God …
As we negotiate for ourselves the personal, cross-shaped, meanings of:
self-sacrifice, courage, grace and love,
may they be renewed in us today, and as a resource for the world in the days ahead.
In the name of the Christ,
through the Spirit we pray,
Amen.
The Death of Jesus, Luke 23:44-46 (NIV)
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
This was the end of a long week. Jesus had been betrayed by a friend and arrested, set up by his religious leaders, who handed him over to the Roman authorities. They wanted him dead.
For Jesus, there was a long night full of hate, ugliness, lies, condemnation and abuse. The next day the beating and mockery by cruel Roman soldiers; rejection from the crowds shouting, “crucify him!”; a crown of thorns shoved down on his head; a long walk to the hill known as Golgotha, carrying his cross on shoulders already cut by the soldier’s whip. All before he was nailed to the cross.
When he came to Golgotha, long nails were driven through his hands and feet. And then as his cross was raised, Jesus was held to that cross by just three nails, driven through his flesh. For six, long, excruciating hours, he suffered unspeakable agony, as life slowly drained from his body.
We read earlier that at about 12 noon, darkness covered the land. The Light of the World hovered momentarily in the thin place between life and death…and it seemed like all creation knew it. Darkness in the middle of the day must have been incredibly eerie. I imagine that people would have had a sense of foreboding, like something had gone terribly wrong in the world. The sun stropped shining and as Jesus was dying, the onlookers were in complete darkness. Light was extinguished.
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:26)
And yet, no-one took Jesus’ life from him. He determined when he gave up his life. Even at the point of death, Jesus was in control. He was the casualty of terrible human cruelty, yet Jesus was not a victim. Though he was dying in the darkness, nothing could extinguish his light. Dying because he chose to give his life for us, sacrificially. Satisfied, that he accomplished what he came to do.
Earlier in his ministry Jesus had said “I am Light that has come into the world so that all who believe in me won’t have to stay any longer in the dark.” (John 12:46, The Message)
On this terrible day, these words of Jesus are our comfort. You don’t have to live any longer in the dark, I don’t have to live any longer in the dark. Because of Jesus death, the darkness of our sin is extinguished. The darkness of our sorrow and grief is lifted. The darkness of our past is erased. The darkness of our mistakes are forgiven. The darkness of our lack of love is covered by all-encompassing love of Jesus. The darkness of our anxiety for the future is illuminated.
The people who had been living in darkness
have seen a great light.
The light of life has shined on those who dwelt
in the shadowy darkness of death. (Isaiah 9:2).
We live in the light because of his death. Light that brings hope, and flourishing and life.
Prayer:
In our hearts we humbly bow before you God. We see just a little of the pain and anguish that this Friday brought to you and all of heaven. We read of the darkness that covered the land. Sometimes, we’re overwhelmed by the darkness that covers our world. The selfishness we see, the greed that seems so easy for people. And yet, we remember Your light. Your light that extinguishes darkness. We pray for ourselves and our world, that You light will continue to dispel our darkness. In Jesus name, Amen.
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
And I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown.
Sermons For The Moment
New Year - Matthew 2:13-23
Do not be afraid - Matthew 1:18-21
Luke 2: 4- 15
Luke 1: 26-33
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Ruth Chapter 4
Ruth 3
Ruth 2
Commitment from Love, Ruth 1: 1-18
This is an interesting Psalm – another psalm of ascent. We spoke about these Psalms of Ascent a few weeks ago. They were songs the Jewish people sang as they made their way to Jerusalem to go to the temple, through the forest, along the tracks, camping by the roads. And I believe songs like this kept them focussed and kept their spirits up. I can imagine days of walking together, tiring, boring, hot and dusty. And singing some of these Psalms keep them focussed on the faithfulness of God. Much better then eye spy for the kids. Journeys are not all their cracked up to be even if the destination is worth it. As you know, when I was growing up we always holidayed at Bawley Point past Ulladulla, and in those days it was about a 4 hour drive from Sydney. We always left later than we meant to…and the last 20 mins was on a dirt road. One year when I was probably about 4 years old it was dark by the time we got to the dirt road, and half way along the dirt road, was a dodgy wooden bridge over a river. I think part of the bridge had been damaged and we had to wait a bit in the pitch black darkness before we could proceed. Dad was out with a torch ensuring the bridge was safe to drive on and mum and us 4 kids were sitting in the darkness – no street lights, no moonlight. Of course, you might be able to guess what I said to mum in that car, with fearful crying…you’ve probably heard it from kids before. I said ‘I want to go home’. Mum said to me, ‘we can’t go home Robyn, we’re almost there’. In truth, after the bridge we had the last 10 minutes of a 4 hours journey left. We safely crossed the bridge and we were OK. But I remember it. I remember the feeling of being scarred in the darkness. I remember not liking this journey at all. Even though I always loved the destination. Well this psalm celebrates the end of the journey and the arrival at the destination. Psalm 126:1-3, “When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.” Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!” Before we can understand the laughter and joy of the Israelites, we have to understand their journey. This Psalm looks back to when they arrived back in Jerusalem after 70 long years in Babylon. The captives had experienced great sorrow and mourning in exile. We read these heartbreaking words in Psalm 137: “Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” But how can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a pagan land?” (Psalm 137:1-4). Their tormentors demanded they sing joyfully, but they were like – that’s impossible, it doesn’t come from our heart. So they just sat by the waters of Babylon and wept. But now by an amazing work of God they were suddenly back in Jerusalem. And so their joy came from their heart. The wait was over, the journey was complete. “We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy.” The journey is the hard bit though isn’t it? I was reminded of this, this week. An Officer couple I was speaking to, said that their teenager said some very hurtful things to them. Stuff like, ‘you make my life worse’. As they spoke to me, I did very little but listen and pray with them. They do have other supports in their life as well, already seeing a psychologist. But what I was thinking in my head as they were speaking was ‘oh the teenage years, I’d forgotten them’. Though we have 2 wonderful young adults in P and K, they were times when it was more than tense. K wears her heart on her sleeve, and to this day apologises for some of the things she said to me. And P, you wouldn’t know what he was thinking, and then all of a sudden all his thoughts and feelings for the last 3 years would come out like molten lava everywhere. A few days later I checked in to see how the couple and their teenager were going. I mentioned in passing about teenage years and very briefly about our experiences. I didn’t want to make it all about me. But I said teenage years can be painful and those years can really hurt everyone in the family. Teenager included. They know that we have a good relationship with P and K and they said to me, you know, this is helpful. It gives us hope. I was like, yep, this too shall pass. Because when you’re in the midst of the journey of pain and sorrow, you sometimes wonder if there’s light at the end of the tunnel. If you’ll laugh again or experience joy again. You begin to wonder, “Is this all that God has for me? Will I ever be happy again?” And here’s the promise in Psalm 126:4-6, “Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.” When you are going through a time of deep sorrow, Psalm 126 is strong medicine for your soul. It carries a powerful message of hope. It tells you that times of trouble and sorrow do not last. It tells you that God will turn your sorrow to joy and your tears to laughter. If you are going through a challenging time right now, I pray that this psalm will speak to your heart this morning. Let me tell you right up front, whatever you’re going through, it will get better. God will change your tears to joy. This week I found something I wrote about 10 years ago. I had written it on a piece of paper and there was a whole reflection about my life. At the time we had my mum living with us, she had dementia, and mostly I remember the good times and the fun times with her. I was also the Corps Officer at Glebe and Bob was the manager at William Booth House. After a page of writing I had written something like this “I’m often anxious, I’m usually stressed, I have eczema on my eyelids and ulcers in my mouth. I always feel pressed.” I went out to Bob in the lounge room and I’m like, ‘oh my goodness, eczema on my eyelids and ulcers in my mouth’, often anxious, usually stressed. The thing is, my life feels a long way from that now, and I’d forgotten what that part of my journey felt like. I’m sure when I was there I couldn’t look ahead and see a time of joy…but the truth is that “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.” This too shall pass. ‘Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!’ says verse 3. God is faithful – he does the healing, the restoring, he brings the streams in the desert that renews and brings fruitfulness. I don’t need to tell you – it takes time. Today, I’m praying for a work of healing in your life, a gradual restoration of joy, of laughter. Like me as a kid, sometimes we don’t like parts of this journey at all. Even though we know our destination is good. And ultimately, we have a destination like no other and that’s the promise of God. A home in heaven made possible through Jesus. May God bless you this week as you look to Him, listen to Him, find your hope in Him and find courage and healing in your journey.