Live Holy Week: Good Friday
Remember a time when fear, anxiety and anger overtook you? Does it help? Remember a time when you were just doing your job but it didn’t feel right? Have you been down far enough that your so called friends suddenly abandoned you?
The Jewish council charged Jesus with taking the place of God by claiming himself king. By king they meant the God-warrior who would defeat their enemies. The Romans, who had been burned before by rebellious Jews, did not want another rebellious leader to cause problems, especially during the week of Passover. So Jesus was judged by the Romans to hang on the cross for being an insurrectionist. The irony is Jesus probably never claimed to be the Messiah -- especially the religious/social/military kind of Messiah most expected back then.
From our eyes of faith, he is the king of kings, the Messiah. He would be the king that defeats all enemies. Every enemy in our world uses weapons and uses force as a shortcut to get what they want. But if the victor overthrows the enemy by using the same tactics as the enemy, the victor actually becomes the enemy. The cycle of abuse and force never stops. We need a Messiah that truly conquers all enemies for us. We can’t do it. We would be caught in an endless cycle of hate, war and fear. Jesus ends that cycle for us.
Why would Jesus fight fire with more fire? Jesus taught that if you want to defeat your enemies, make them your friends. Everyone wins when one decides to suffer for, forgive, and do the hard work of loving enemies. Jesus would defeat sin, death and the devil by not fighting with weapons of the world but by remaining true to God all the way to his end. Once he dies we find that his true Word continues being true even after his death. We find that not even death has the power to overcome this faith. We are given that same faith that overcomes death. Without the threat of death, we have no fears and no longer need to live under sin’s sting of death. Jesus’ way fights with a right spirit. Even though he dies, he really lives and so will we. Jesus nurtures. He doesn’t take life. He destroys the root of our enemies with agape love and therefore really defeats all enemies. He is the real Warrior-God who defeats our enemies. His only weapons are love and peace. They break the cycle, allowing us to live in the peace of God’s grace.
The irony is that the soldiers who mock and crucify Jesus as the King of the Jews unwittingly crucify the real King of Kings. The Temple curtain that separated God from people is torn in two. Jesus gives up his spirit, breathing his last. The centurion, a non-Jew, confesses he is the Son of God. Sin, death and the devil are defeated. All are free from death, sin and despair. But at the time no one knew it.
Lord God, you know how our anger destroys our ability to make good choices. We would sooner seek revenge and fight back or run away when someone attacks us with words or armies. You call us to take up our cross and follow you. Give us the ability to see through another’s anger and speak your Word to the hurt, fear or loneliness that invariably lies behind the anger. Give us Your strength to stand up to anger and not let it overtake us. Give us Your strength to stand up to anger and speak your Words of healing. Amen.
Pastor Michael
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