Good Friday Meditation

I gotta admit: I’m just so not ready for this day.  I mean with all the now concluded midweek services, with home and family, the return of spring, the burdens of life, the arrival of family, [the imminent completion of a building], and so on, Good Friday snuck up on me and though I knew it was coming, I was caught off guard.  Come to think of it, this seems to happen every year.  And ready or not, here we are.  It’s Friday.  And yes, though Sunday’s-a-comin’, it won’t get here before passing through this day.  And FWIW, I’m not ready for Sunday, either!

Oddly enough, it was an obscure reference out of a published volume of the writings of Josephus that contained a footnote which identified today, April 3, as the exact date of the original crucifixion of Jesus.  I do not know how they arrived at that, nor can I find any studies or evidence to back up the claims of that little footnote, but I find it fascinating nonetheless.  And perhaps because such things begin occupying my time, that too is why I’m just not ready.

And while many of us might claim to be ready, I don’t believe that in the end, any of us are.  Let’s look at it: The crowd certainly wasn’t ready.  They were shouting hosanna’s just a few days prior, expecting Jesus to be the king that would overthrow the Romans.  They didn’t even comprehend what kind of a king he really was.  Pilate wasn’t ready either.  Though his historical proclivity for ruthlessness doesn’t seem to apply in Jesus’ case, he was clueless as well: He was incredulous as to the nature of what kind of king Jesus was, and when it came to truth, it was clearly all relative as he scornfully asks, “and what is truth?”  The disciples suffered from the same mentality as they stood by and even fled in disbelief as the events of Jesus’ passion unfolded.  Even the women, who were perhaps the most stalwart and comprehending bunch, weren’t ready, as the hopelessness of Jesus’ death came crashing down on them in a wave of emotion, leading even to disbelief as they went to anoint his body after the sabbath.

It seems that only God was ready - finally.  After centuries of warning Israel of the consequences of their godless disobedience - after prophet after prophet proclaimed that something better was on the horizon - after Job’s glimpses of a redeemer or advocate - and even after empire after empire came and went - time had reached its fulness.  And it would seem that these events were not intended to be foolishness, a stumbling block, or even insanity to the world.  And certainly for the latest Christian martyrs in Nigeria (147 college students, all Christian - murdered yesterday), it was neither foolishness nor a stumbling block.

 From St. Paul we read:  "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.'   Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,  but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,  but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength."  (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)

Only Jesus truly was ready and for him it was neither foolishness or stumbling block, as he asks the suffering to be taken from him, but also expressing “not my will but thine be done.”  It was necessity because of God’s love for his creation.  And so today - we call it good - despite its darkness, the cross becomes the power of God for us.  Meaning we also must, as we seek to imitate Christ, claim “not my will, but thine be done, O Lord.”  And I’m perhaps not ready mostly because too often in my life, it is my will and NOT God’s that wins the day.

So what is the message of the cross to you?  Foolishness?  Stumbling block?  Necessary?  The power of God?  Are you ready?  Are you ready for this weekend?  Are you ready for the remembrance of the death of the Messiah?  Are you ready for all the events of this weekend, including the resurrection proclamation on Sunday?  So who’s ready?  None of us truly are.  And that’s the point: God provided salvation because we are never truly ready or able to do it on our own.  And that’s also  the beauty of it, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.