April 10, 2009 at Saint Mark in Norman, OK
Isaiah 52: 13-53, 12 + Psalm 31 + Hebrews 4: 14-16, 5: 7-9 + John 18:1-9, 42
Time, culture, and familiarity have just about insulated us from the reality of what we remember today. We have managed to become immune to the reality of what happened in Jerusalem and what continues to happen around us. The self-proclaimed “civilized” society in which we live now avoids passion, and when it is observed, it is either distant from us as an admirable quality of a few or an always to be avoided behavior seen in those different from us.
The inevitable consequence of this is a wrong conclusion that Christ had to die on a cross and that he chose to do so. That thinking is somehow an attempt to distance ourselves from the harsh and brutal reality of what happened. The truth is it repels us.
We are appalled by it. So, it is tempting to take refuge in the thought that it was God’s will even though we do not understand why God would will such a thing. It is a way of finding a comfort that shields us from the truth. God did not will His son to be condemned as a criminal and executed. Jesus Christ did not choose to be crucified. He chose to be faithful not matter the consequences. The fact is, Christ died because human beings chose to kill him. This was not some divine plan.
The powerful figures in this account all had a part to play.
The Pharisees, Peter, Judas, Pilate, Herod, James and John, his closest friends:
any one of them could have stopped it, but they did not do so.
- The Pharisees could have stopped it all, but to them, Christ was an impurity who broke the tradition of Moses. There is no reason to think they were evil. They were simply complacent and very self-satisfied. They fell into the trap of assuming that challenges only come from enemies.
- Judas surely believed that his own vision should be Christ’s vision. He must have thought that he could force the issue by putting Christ on the spot. I suspect that he was actually a very dedicated man who had simply become too narrow, too caught up in his plans and vision: another deadly trap.
- Peter the Rock, knew a moment of betrayal and panic. We’ve all been there. One split second and a bad decision. It is easy to understand Peter. He was afraid. Fear does terrible things to people. It does terrible things to us.
- Pilate the intellectual. He wants to debate or argue. “What is Truth?” Meanwhile he tries to read the crowd. He wants to please. Should he release Barabbas or Jesus? What will please the crowd? What will please the Emperor? So, the last result of a people pleasing politician is? Do nothing at all. He washes his hands, claims it’s not his concern and that way he doesn’t get hurt.
So, the cross goes up because no one stopped it. It happens all the time, not just on Good Friday. At least part of the Goodness ought to be because it does not have to be. This world never needs to be narrow or small. We never need to be trapped by our own assumptions and self-satisfaction. We never need to argue or make that one wrong snap decision. We have nothing to fear. That is not God’s plan, and neither was the cross in God’s plan. Two days from now we shall remember what God’s plan is: a world full of hope, full of joy, as full of goodness as God’s boundless power and mercy. A world full of life.