Good Friday April 22, 2011—A Year of the Lord—Herbert O’Driscoll
We see this extraordinary man of Nazareth walking majestically among them all. He is a helpless prisoner, the butt of cruel jokes, the focus of physical violence. He very obviously feels the stress and pain of it all. He is totally alone in any human sense, yet he remains serene and controlled in the face of that which disintegrates the faith, courage, and integrity of all others. Jesus displays an utter trust that is far more than the stillness of trauma or resignation. That trust and serenity have ever since haunted the human imagination.
To witness and experience that is to witness and experience tragedy, the utter tragedy that human life can be, But, when we actually move through the liturgy of this season, we find another level of experience. We find that the witnessing and experiencing of the majestic self-0ffering of this Good Friday can pierce our perception of life. It can show us new horizons within ourselves and in the structures in which we live and work. To see Jesus Christ on the cross, to realize that he is no unwilling prisoner dragged to execution but rather a king offering himself for his kingdom, is to catch a glimpse of humanity as it is when fully open to the ultimate love and ineffable life of God. All this we are offered by Mary’s son, the carpenter of Nazareth.
When we realize such things, not merely intellectually but spiritually, we who have witnessed a crucifixion long ago find that we have encountered a resurrection in our own experience. That is why we can dare to call this Friday “Good.”
Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons |
Grace Episcopal Church (Sheldon, VT) 