April 14th, 2006
Good Friday, St. Edmund's
The Passion, Gospel of St. John
The Rev. Rob FisherThere are not many light-hearted things to be said in a Good Friday sermon. But here's a true story.
Elise Campbell, a member of our church whose child is also a students St. Edmund's Nursery School, told me that her son has picked up the phrase, "I hate to break it to you." Well, actually, not the entire phrase. He only says, "I hate to break it!" and this seems to be his new favorite thing to say.
During this Holy Week at the Nursery School, the children were told the story of Easter. It was very shocking for Elise's son to learn! It was also an opportunity to use his new favorite phrase.
He said: "Mommy, I hate to break it.Jesus DIED!
***
Yes, Jesus died. That is the whole point of everything we are about today, on Good Friday, the darkest day of the entire Christian Year.
Today we are faced with the mortality of God. God in God's most utterly human moment, suffering physical and emotional pain as he faces real death.
Why do we celebrate such a story? Why hold this dear to our faith. It would seem, rather, that if God were rendered powerless to die on a cross, this would be reason to pack up our things and go find a religion in with a God who has more power.
That would be reasonable, if we want a God who is a God of power and might alone.
Instead we have a God who is a God of relationship. That is the Good News on this very dark day.
***
The Gospel of John is in many ways my favorite of the gospels because it is so clearly a book of theology rather than being strictly a book of history.
In the Passion that we read today, Jesus, when he is being questioned, says: "My kingdom is not from here." And he says that he came to this world to testify to the truth. "Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."
There is a higher order than the surface, earthly world that we all see before us, the broken, earthly world that suffers from a lack of compassion, love and understanding.
And Jesus brings the truth to this brokenness. When he says that those who belong to the truth will listen to his voice, this draws us into a relationship. It is beyond simply knowing something in an intellectual way. We belong to the truth, and we are in relationship with it. Our hearts have been stirred and we are changed.
And what can we say about this mysterious thing, this thing that is called simply the truth.
Love, in John's gospel, seems to be the secret ingredient. It's the conduit that connects all that really matters.
Jesus says, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments," and "If you know me, you will know the Father."
When Jesus talks to his disciples about how he will be leaving them, he says, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another."
And likewise, last night we commemorated and reenacted when Jesus washed the disciples feet. The final teaching he gives is that they should then wash each other's feet.
Throughout the Gospel of John we have this deep invitation to be in relationship with God and with each other, and to be always grounded in love. It is in love that we know the true and living God. Love is the conduit for the greatest relationship possible. When we love one another, we are in the presence of God.
***
And in these last moments, Jesus is still engaged in relationship with those whom he loves.
We do not know which disciple was the "disciple whom he loved," but we do not really need to know his name. We know him instead by his relationship to Jesus.
Jesus on the cross speaks to him and to his mother, and tells them to take care of each other. He is to be her son, and she is now his mother. Love makes a family here, rather than blood relations.
This touching moment perhaps points us to what is behind the suffering that Jesus endured.
Without the relationship piece of this puzzle, the crucifixion would be only a meaningless tragedy.
This horrendous event is flipped and redeemed. It is rather a beautiful act, grounded in God's love, a love that is offered out to us.
Among his last words are the words "I am thirsty."
William Sloane Coffin meditated on these words:
"The perfect image of the mighty, transcendent, invisible God is 'I Thirst' on the lips of the Son of God. For those . words from the cross lay bare the heart of God for all to see. They show us that God shares the lot of the least of us-the handicapped children, the old on welfare, the hungry, the dying. God suffers with us. More than that, God suffers for us."
The impossible becomes possible. Love is the special ingredient. By love, and by love alone, we can know Jesus, and we can follow. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. You will love one another with compassion. You will wash each other's feet when they need to be washed. You will reach out to your neighbor when he or she is in need. You will do these things naturally, because you will understand. And your understanding will surpass the understanding of your mind. You will know the truth, and it will dwell within you.
Bill Coffin says:
"Good Friday.reminds us that we are not going to be helped by God's power, only by God's weakness. For power can only force us to do things. Only love can move us to do things.
"Power affects behavior, love the heart."
Amen.
© St. Edmund's Church