Good Friday: Were You There?

Good Friday, Year C

John 18:1-19:42

April 19, 2019

St. Matthias

It has always struck me as odd to call this Good Friday.  We begin in silence.  Everything in the liturgy points to the crucifixion of Christ.  Gone are the COLORS of the CHURCH.  The CROSS is veiled in black.  A CROWN of thorns reminds us that this day was a day of suffering.  WHY was it necessary for Jesus to die on the cross?  Where is the GOOD?

I grew up with the old hymn – Were You There When They Crucified my Lord.  I have known the words and the music for as long as I can remember.  The images and pictures it brings to mind - of Jesus on the cross - are vivid and disturbing.  It IS - a Good Friday hymn.  In just a few short verses, we are told the story of how Jesus was crucified, suffered, and died.  The people who yelled Hosanna on Palm Sunday, now scream Crucify Him, Crucify Him.  Sometimes it causes me to tremble.

Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?  It is so easy for us to decorate the cross with gold and silver and flowers.  It takes away the uncomfortable KNOWING that Jesus was nailed to THAT cross.  There were no flowers – only a sign and a crown of thorns.  Nails were driven into his hands and feet.  I don’t know that I fully understood that part until a midnight Eucharist at St. Elizabeth’s in Bartlett, Tennessee many years ago.  College students and young adults had gathered for a weekend retreat.  Sins were written down on pieces of paper.  We nailed our sins to a large wooden cross.  The sound of that hammer hitting those nails echoed in the dark church.  Good Friday became real. 

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree? 

Sometimes it causes me to tremble.

Were you there when they pierced Him in his side?  The world – the Church – you and I – have so often put so much effort into forgetting – IGNORING – Good Friday and the Cross.  It is so easy to skip ahead to Easter and flowers and new life.  If we can ignore Good Friday – we can ignore the pain and suffering of the world – families with no homes – children with no food – people alone and afraid.  Good Friday calls us to the foot of the Cross.  Jesus did not die on the Cross for himself.  The crucifixion was the supreme gift of LOVE for you and for me and for all.  And when we give ourselves to those who are hungry and without a home – those lonely and afraid then we stand at the Foot of the Cross and we know why Christ died for you and for me.

Were you there when they laid Him in the Tomb?  Without the Cross, there can be no empty tomb.  Without Good Friday – Easter will not come.  The LIGHT of the RESURRECTION can only be seen shining in the darkness of Calvary.  This is our hope.  And it begins this night.  Good Friday is our starting point on the journey of faith that takes us to an Easter Sunday morning when a stone is rolled away, and a tomb is empty.  We look in hope to the resurrection that begins this night with nails and a cross on Calvary.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

           Sometimes it causes me to tremble.