The Scripture Readings for Good Friday this year are:
- Isaiah 52:13-53:12
- Matthew 26:47-27:56
- Matthew 27:57-61
The Reflection title is Consequences
Early Thoughts: Choices have consequences. How many times have you heard or said those words?
Rarely, though we may like to, can we escape the consequences of our actions. However, we do have the ability to decide if the likely consequences are worth doing it anyway.
Jesus knew the likely consequences of the path he was walking. He had told his closest friends that this path would end with his death -- more than once he had told them this. And yet he kept going. He spent the last week of his love in the Temple, the central point of Jewish life at the time, teaching and confronting the "way things are" with the promise of "what will be".
The people in charge did not like this. While the Gospel accounts tell us clearly that the Jewish leadership were the ones most upset about the challenge that Jesus presented to their authority I have little doubt that the Roman officials were equally disturbed by this threat to the peace. So they acted. They had Jesus arrested, tried, beaten, mocked, and executed.
Was it worth it?
The story we tell on Good Friday is often called the story of the Passion (think of Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ). This is drawn from the Latin word that means to suffer/suffering so the story of Christ's Passion is the story of Christ's suffering. And really that makes sense. The story we tell on Good Friday is a fairly horrific tale. But given that the English word passion has developed other meanings I wonder what else we might do with it...
In modern usage passion is a word used to describe something that is very important to us, or maybe something that gives us great pleasure, or maybe something that makes life more worthwhile. How do these meanings (well really the first and the third I suppose) tie in to our Good Friday narrative?
The proclamation of a changed world, of a world where God's priorities take precedence over human priorities is what Jesus was all about. I think it is fair to say that Jesus' passion was the Reign of God. I also think it is fair and accurate to say that his passion for this changed world, for a world where the established order is turned upside down, annoys those who benefit the most from the world as it was and leads directly to his arrest, trial, and execution. The cross was a direct consequence of him living out his calling and passion.
It is traditional to name that Jesus' death was a sacrificial act. Jesus died because of the sinfulness of the world (more traditionally stated as "died for our sins"). Some will say this in a "paying the price on our behalf" way. I tend to use that language differently. I see the sacrificial act as a statement of his passion, of his commitment to God's vision for the world. The cause is so important that he is willing to risk, or even embrace, death to get the message shared.
What is so important to us that we are willing to suffer harsh consequences? What makes us passionate enough to risk serious payment? Can we get that committed to a vision for the world? What are we willing to sacrifice?
--Gord
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