Good Friday- Isaiah 53, John 19

 Good Friday always seems like a time to read, hear, and meditate upon the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and to pray quietly and deeply. Let us briefly emphasize two of today's readings. Isaiah 53 is one of several passages which speaks of the Suffering Servant of God. This Messianic figure bears horrible sufferings innocently for the redemption of God's people. In the end, He also overcomes suffering and is honored by the Lord God. Jesus Himself alludes to such prophecies and applies them to Himself and  His work (Luke 24:26-27). Later, the Apostles (I Peter 2:22-25), Evangelists (Matthew 27: 12,29; John 12:38), and Christians down through the centuries have seen these prophecies fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

We see Isaiah's prophecy made personal and concrete in the Passion account from John 19. Jesus is holy and innocent. He deserves all honor, respect, and love. Yet, He humbly and quietly accepts rejection, insults, physical abuse, torture, and an excruciating and slow death to deliver people from sin, death, and the devil. He suffers for our transgressions. He lays down His life for His sheep. Jesus restores balance to a fallen creation. He overcomes the imbalance and disorder caused by sin. He does something that we humans could never do for ourselves. He atones for our sin; He graciously reconciles sinners with divine righteousness. Only through Christ's suffering and His perfect offering on the cross does divine goodness decidedly triumph. Because of His redeeming work, it is "Good Friday" after all. Thanks be to God!

Wednesday before Easter- Hebrews 9:20

On this Wednesday in Holy Week, the collect in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer helps focus our thoughts as Holy Week progresses and enters a more serious phase. Although relatively new in the Prayer Book, this short prayer is based upon one from the medieval Sarum (Salisbury) liturgy.

Assist us mercifully with thy help, O Lord God of our salvation; that we may enter with joy upon the meditation of those mighty acts, whereby thou hast given unto us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The mighty acts upon which we mediate this week are obviously very serious and somber, but the collect also speaks of joy. The joyful aspect is rooted in God's redemptive work during the first Holy Week. As the Epistle from Hebrews emphasizes, Christ's work is both great and unique: "so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of man" (Hebrews 9:20). Let us meditate prayerfully on Christ's one offering of Himself for us. In the words of Isaiah 53:5, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." Despite the sadness of  our Lord's rejection, betrayal, torture, and death, let us also remain aware of  the spiritual joy offered through Christ's saving work.

Easter I- Shalom- John 20:19-23

The Gospel for the First Sunday after Easter is John 20:19-23. In these few verses,  the risen Christ comes to where the timid and fearful disciples are hiding. He greets them in the common Jewish manner, saying “Peace be with you.”  This greeting is an implied prayer for God’s peace that acquires a special meaning in light of Christ’s resurrection. The greeting is now a blessing from the risen Lord. Jesus is the personification of God’s peace, and He has established a new relationship with the heavenly Father for all who truly believe in Him.

The fearful disciples need to hear these reassuring words, but Jesus does not stop there. Jesus wishes them peace a second time, and this time, He adds something. He gives them a mission. As the heavenly Father has sent Him, likewise Christ sends the apostles and through them, all His Church. Jesus shares His resurrection victory over sin and spiritual death with His disciples. He shares His Good News of peace with God, and He asks His followers to share that spiritual peace with others.

Christians still need to hear and believe this two-fold message of peace with God through the crucified risen Christ. First, despite our failings, Jesus Christ still offers us true, deep, and lasting peace. He brings us renewal, reconciliation, and hope. He simply asks us to accept Him and His message in faith. Secondly, as people who have received such peace from Him, He asks us to share this good news with others who need to receive the same divine blessing. These two points are the perennial message of Easter for us and for all people.

Good Friday- Isaiah 53:6

How can this day be called Good Friday? Crucifixion in itself was one of the more cruel and shameful forms of execution ever devised. Furthermore, Jesus of Nazareth was the holiest man and the pure Son of God falsely accused and plotted against by evil. Yet, it is a good day because it shows the love of God reaching out to fallen and corrupt human beings. The Crucified One is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins, and the apparent defeat of goodness on this day will be turned into an eternal cosmic victory over sin, death, and the devil.

In the words of Isaiah 53:6, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Lent V, commonly called Passion Sunday- John 6, Hebrews 9

Some newer liturgical calendars call the Sunday before Easter (popularly called Palm Sunday) Passion Sunday because the Passion Gospel is read. However, some other calendars (including the 1927/28 Proposed English, the 1928 American, the 1962 Canadian, and the 2019 ACNA Books of Common Prayer) use the older popular designation of the Fifth Sunday in Lent as "Passion Sunday."

The readings in the 1928 BCP are consistent with the Passion Sunday designation. The Gospel from John 6 points to the theological conflicts that led to plots against Jesus. The Epistle from Hebrews 9:11-15 turns our thoughts to the significance of Christ's passion and death. Hebrews 9:11 speaks of Christ as "high priest of good things to come." Hebrews 9:12 adds, "... by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Comparing the self-sacrifice of Christ to the old temple sacrifices, Hebrews 9:14 exclaims, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God"! Hebrew 9:15 concludes that Christ brings "the promise of eternal inheritance."

On Palm Sunday and during Holy Week, we will spend a lot of time focusing on the details of our Lord's Passion and Death. On the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Passion Sunday, let us take time for some preliminary and personal reflections about why He suffered and what His sacrifice means for us.

Christmas 2022- Hebrews 1:1-3

The anticipated day has finally arrived! It is Christmas, and we Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Incarnation of the eternal Word of God. Of course, there are many aspects to the celebration of this great festival, and we can easily be distracted from what is most important. So we constantly and prayerfully turn to divine revelation in Holy Scripture. In particular, today's reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews points us toward the meaning of the Christian celebration.

Hebrews 1:1-3 says, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." 

These words indicate the importance of the Incarnation and summarize the basic message of the Christian Gospel. The old divine message delivered through the prophets has reached its climax and fulfillment in Jesus Christ, God's only Son. The Son has been with the Father from the beginning and has always been involved in divine work, but in Jesus, the Son, the Word, has come among us in a great new way. He reveals God the Father more clearly, He takes away our sins, and He returns to reign with the Father in heaven.  Christmas is about an unusual birth, but it is also about much more. It is a proclamation of the eternal and saving Gospel of Jesus Christ! May this Good News dwell in our hearts always! A merry and blessed Christmas to all!

Good Friday- The Passion according to St. John 18 and 19

Good Friday is one of the most important observances of the Christian year. Over the centuries, Christians have developed a variety of devotions appropriate for the day. One resource used by some Christians has been a timeline to guide meditations throughout the day. Some such timelines have tried to draw together the different Passion accounts, but ten years ago, I developed the following one based on St. John chapters 18 and 19 which are used in the traditional readings for the day.

Friday morning just after midnight - Confrontation in Garden and Jesus' Arrest (John 18:1-12)

Friday early morning hours– Jesus is taken to the house of Annas, former High Priest; Peter's first denial; Jesus receives initial physical abuse (John 18:13-23);

Jesus sent to the High Priest Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin Court –Peter's second and third denials; Jesus bloodied by abuse (John 18:24-27).

Friday 6:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m. - Hearing before the Roman governor Pilate; Pilate tries to release Jesus but the Judean mob objects and prefers the release of Barabas (John 18:28-40).

Pilate has Jesus beaten.- Pilate's Roman soldiers take Jesus into the court ("Praetorium") and engage in mockery and torture, including a brutal crown of thorns (John 19:1-3) .

Pilate hesitates but the mob still cries out against Jesus (John 19:4-15).

Friday 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon - Pilate hands Jesus over for crucifixion. Weakened by interrogations, sleep deprivation, and beatings, Jesus is forced to carry his own cross to the place of execution; then He is crucified under the charge of being "King of the Jews" (John 19:16-22).

The soldiers cast lots for His garments (John 19:23-24).

Friday 12:00 noon - 3:00 p.m. - Jesus continues to suffer on the cross. His mother, other women followers, and one male disciple (usually identified as John) remain with Him. Jesus commends His mother into the disciple's care (John 19:25-29).

Friday 3:00 p.m. - Death: Jesus says, "It is finished" and expires. The soldiers do not even bother to break His legs, but one pierces His side with a spear (John 19:30-37).

Friday before sunset - Burial: With the Sabbath approaching, Joseph of Arimethea and Nicodemus make arrangements for a quick but respectful burial in a nearby rock tomb (John 19:38-42)

Uniqueness of Christ's Sacrifice- Hebrews 9 and 10

 As I was reflecting on Christ's Passion this week, I thought about the Reformation emphasis on the uniqueness of Christ's sacrifice. We always need to stress this point. Of course, Christians are called to present themselves as "living sacrifices" (Romans 12:1). We are also called to offer sacrifices of praise (Hebrews 13:15). Thus, our worship and our efforts to do good can be viewed as sacrificial. In this sense, the Lord's Supper or the Eucharist can be seen as a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

However, we must beware. Our sacrifices are merely thankful human responses to what God has done in Christ. Our sacrifices are not atoning. They can never set us right with God. Only Christ's self-offering throughout His life on earth and especially on the Cross can overcome our sin and restore us to fellowship with God.

The New Testament proclaims the unique and final nature of Christ's sacrifice in many places (especially in Hebrews 9:28, 10:10, 10:14). Unfortunately, we human beings have a perennial tendency to overvalue what we do. Thus, during the Middle Ages, the unique value of Christ's sacrifice was eclipsed. Christ's atoning death was obscured by exaggerations of human worth, misinterpretations of the role of the saints, high claims for the church hierarchy, and mistaken theories of the Mass. The Reformation was a scripturally based reaction that sought to restore a proper emphasis on the uniqueness of Christ's unrepeatable atoning work. We must never soften this point in misguided efforts to make the Christian message more acceptable to the world.