Saturday, April 7, 2007

Good Friday and the Way of the Cross

Last night, we gathered in the New Room for a beautiful service following the Way of the Cross. It was an updated, scripture-based version of the traditional stations of the Cross. The band, the readers, the clergy and everyone connected with the service did an excellent job! Marty selected awesome graphics and Allison completed the service with a beautiful liturgical dance around the cross.

For some stations we used music, for others poems and other readings, and for some meditations by the clergy.

Here is my meditation for Station 5 -- Jesus is Condemned by the People

Five days . . . that was all it took . . . five days for everything to change.

On Sunday, the crowds had been on Jesus’ side. As he rode into Jerusalem, they waved the palm branches, they shouted Hallelujah, and they declared him king . . . messiah. But that was five days ago and now the crowds were shouting something else. Not “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” but “Crucify him.”

On Sunday, they thought he was the messiah they had been waiting for and by Friday they decided that he wasn’t what they wanted or needed. So when Pilate offered to let him go, they asked for something else—“Barabbas”

The Bible doesn’t really tell us a lot about Barabbas other than his name. Some say he was a robber. More than likely he wasn’t a common thief but rather a revolutionary—a freedom fighter—fighting against the Roman Empire. Whatever his crime, what we do know for sure is that his name was Barabbas—Jesus Barabbas no less. Jesus which means the one who saves. Barabbas which means son of the Father.

That is what they were choosing on that awful day—what kind of messiah did they want? A messiah who tells the truth. A messiah who reaches out to the poor, the lonely, the outcast. A messiah who commands them to love their enemies and to give to Caesar what is Caesars. A messiah whose kingdom is not of this world and who goes silently to his execution. A messiah who threatened their opinions and their way of life.

Or would they rather have another messiah? A violent messiah who attempts to violent overthrow the current world power. A worldly messiah with a kingdom like other kingdoms in this world. A messiah who hates the people they hate. A messiah who is more threatening to others than to themselves.

And they made their choice.

It’s so easy to think that we would have made a different choice. So easy to imagine that we would be stronger and more courageous than the crowds that day in Jerusalem. But would we?

How often have we been able to stand against the power of public opinion for Jesus’ sake? How often have we risked our lives, our jobs, even our comfort level to stand up for Jesus?

How often are we willing to accept a lesser substitute for the living Lord?

The truth is that we often choose a lesser substitute for the living Lord for the same reasons the crowds did on that fateful day. Because when we look into the face of Jesus of Nazareth, the son of the Living God, we see a mirror that reveals us for who we truly are. And sometimes that truth is so painful that we can’t handle it.

We prefer something less threatening. We prefer not to know.

\We are no different from the fickle crowds that day. The sad truth is that we too played a part in the sad pathetic drama. Every time we have refused to honestly look at ourselves and repent of our sins—Every time we have filled our lives with lesser things than the living God—every time we have been less than God has created us to be, we too have shouted “Crucify him! Give us Barabbas!”

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