"Light and Dark" 2010 Good Friday John 1:1-5 John 19:17-30

PRAYER

We have gathered tonight to remember that Jesus Christ died on the cross to redeem the sins of the world. I don’t think I have to say anything to convince you of the necessity of that sacrificial act. I will share with you some examples of why I understand that such a redemptive act was necessary.

I sat in the living room of a family who had just lost their seven year old son. He was struck and killed by a female drunken driver. The dark shroud of death hung over the room as I struggled with them to make sense of such a tragedy and how God’s presence would make any difference to them.

I have gathered in many hospital rooms with families forced to say goodbye to a loved one. These are occasions when death draws near and there is nothing that can be done. Life is being sustained only by means of a ventilator. I was there as part of their vigil when the machine was finally turned off. We then waited for death to come.

I have seen over the years how the call to arms has sent young innocent people into harms way and death. It seems our government, among most others, feels it must resort to war to bring peace and national security. I have protested such thinking, and have not viewed it as effective in achieving the national interests politicians have claimed war would guarantee.

I have heard stories and talked to people whose lives have taken difficult and even lethal turns because they have lost or could not afford health care insurance. We live in the only developed country that denies health care to a large segment of its population. I stand by and watch as people are victimized by an immoral system of health care perpetrated on us by greedy executives and uncaring politicians.

All the above examples point out how death, corruption and sinfulness can grip the world, and whole societies as well as individuals, all of which sent Jesus to his death on a cross. It was about God confronting the powers of darkness with the light of truth and love. It was God in Jesus exposing sin and death for what it was, evil, corrupting and ultimately destructive. What the crucifixion accomplished was to shed light on the emptiness of such sin and to judge it as powerless.

Pilate represented the state, human institutions surviving only by the sword. He had no real power to control the situation or to either save or condemn Jesus to death, as Jesus pointed out to him. The religious leaders who mocked and condemned Jesus had given up their power to the state, and ceased speaking for God. Peter had no power because he was mostly interested in saving himself, and had not come to faith. Each of us can find ourselves among the characters of this passion story, either tyrant or victim, or powerless bystander.

Jesus was arrested, interrogated, condemned, tortured and killed. He was judged by the standards of the world held captive to sin. On that cross, his life ebbing away, you can begin to catch a glimpse of the truth Jesus claimed to have. The ones who were judging, in reality were being judged for their evil ways. Jesus claimed to be the light of the world. That light was now shining on the world, revealing its powerlessness. Innocent suffering and death exposed the lies by which the world you and I often create live by.

So what are you and I to do, recognizing our captivity to sin and death? Are we not powerless to change the way the world responds to the truth and goodness of Jesus Christ? Exactly why Christ came to be on the cross instead of us. Only God can redeem the world and reconcile himself to us. What we can do, in fact are doing this night, is to do what Mary, the mother of Jesus seemed to do as she observed her beloved son become totally obedient to God’s will. She stood at the foot of the cross and watched, and wept, and hoped. Perhaps you have been there yourselves. There is nothing left to do, all resources exhausted, out of your hands, at the bedside, or watching the news, or praying in the pew.

That is your Good Friday task, to courageously stand at the foot of the cross, to contemplate the outpouring of innocent flesh and blood for the sake of all humankind. And then to realized it is Friday, but Sunday’s coming. I invite you to realize what Jesus meant when he said, "it is finished." It was not to announce the end, but to declare all things had been accomplished. It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming. Darkness has its day, but light is about to announce the future God has created for you. It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming. Amen