Good Friday

John 19:25 NRSV

25 And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

It is hard to imagine.

Not really that hard - because we’ve walked this way quite often.

But still quite hard.

To imagine what it is like to be there. With Jesus’ mother, his aunt and Mary Magdalene.

Near the cross of Jesus.

As life slowly drained from his body.

To see your son suffer.

To see your friend suffer.

Not just from disease - or as the result of a horrible accident. But through torture inflicted by a whole community - not being allowed to scream out, step in - take him down from the cross.

It is hard to imagine the emotion of that day.

Anguish.

To look upon your son.

His head pierced with thorns.

His back - whipped raw.

HIs hands - helplessly pinned by nails to a beam of wood.

His face - battered and bruised by soldiers who beat him.

As a mother I’d want to put a stop to everything.

That is what I struggle to imagine.

What Mary felt as she stood near the cross.

I’d want to put a stop to it all.

Every inch of my being would want to remove the nails - scream at the soldiers - start an insurrection.

Thinking about Mary - my imagination tries to understand God the Father.

All that happens in the heart of God at this moment.

Crucifixion from Above

I am struck by this image by artist Rev. Cara B. Hochhalter.

She writes of the image:

I drew the crucifixion from above and behind. From this vantage point, we do see all that is going on below the cross as recorded in John...

In our imagination - this bird’s eye view - might be a God’s eye view. Looking down - over the cross.

The city of Jerusalem in the distance.

Next to the cross some soldiers - one with a sword to pierce Jesus body.

Others gambling for his clothes.

Others kneeling or sitting at the foot of the cross - in anguish - like Mary who I just described.

Emotions

From theFather’s perspective I imagine the same sort of anguish.

The same desire like I imagine Mary might have.

Put a stop to this madness.

Take him off the cross.

Strike down the soldiers, the city, the people.

If ever there was a moment for a flood - then this is it.

We often try to imagine what Jesus was thinking, feeling and meaning when he cried out (according to Mark):

Mark 15:34 NRSV

34 At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

But for some reason I’ve never asked myself what God the Father went through when he heard that cry.

This is where our metaphor for the Trinity of God gets a bit confusing.

Father and Son - in Jesus and God is not the same as Father and Son in human terms.

But the metaphor is important in terms of our understanding of relationship.

Inheritance.

Likeness.

Love and Compassion.

In God we imagine:

The pain of separation.

The anguish of compassion for his Son.

As a Father or Mother the urge to protect and defend.

I pray with Isaiah:

Isaiah 64:1 NRSV

1 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence—

Then I am reminded.

In the Trinity - God has torn open the heavens and come down so that the mountains would quake at His presence.

But not in the way we expected.

God is there - on the cross - being crucified.

Isaiah writes:

Isaiah 53:4–6 NRSV

4 Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

And

Isaiah 53:11 NRSV

11 Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.