Tonight worship ended with Pastor Michelle slamming the book against the altar to make the loud noise symbolizing the closing of Jesus' tomb after saying:
Jesus is dead. Stark words to end tonight's service.
He is dead. He is dead indeed.
What if this variant of the traditional Paschal greeting "He is risen" was included in our Good Friday service? It wasn't tonight but would the inversion of that greeting be blasphemy? Perhaps it would be an attempt to honestly engage with Christ's death for a period without considering the resurrection. I don't know if I could give the response "He is dead indeed" and I ponder the reasons why my heart grows cold when I contemplate the possibility.
We have a Colossians reading for one of the Easter lessons. Sarah Wilson gave another substitute on the Working Preacher website for "He is risen. He is risen indeed", a Colossians variation on the theme namely - “You have died! -- I have been raised with Christ!” Expressing this double vision of the Christian faith is easier than the first exchange, but what is the impact for us of being raised?
Tonight there were eight stations of the cross around the sanctuary. As the service followed Paul reading Jesus' Via Dolorosa from the gospels there were contemporary pictures, texts written and read by Pastor Michelle, prayers led by Shirley, and a cross carried by Nick, all these elements pulled the crucifixion from the past into the present.
"But today.... go home. There is nothing more to see."
Commanding the community to disperse is how the powerful always assert their authority. Good Friday must be more than a reminder of one historic event, about people from another time, with another history. This is about our power and our powerlessness in our world. This is about who we are and, by nature, our hands are not clean in the account of what happened. In our lives we play many parts in the Passion story.
There may be disagreement among us on GLBTQ issues, Standing Rock, homelessness, immigration and a range of contemporary issues dealt with beyond what the eight stations were centered on tonight. Still, in our hearts, what drives us away from love for one another is obvious. With effort we can recognize who is on the cross and when the powerful are no longer acting from respect to those who are powerless. We can move away from pretending our hands are clean. This is possible because of what Jesus proved this night so long ago.
There are the stories we now live where we long for God to bring newness out of endings. Yes, there will be despair in the midst of some stories and crosses that will likely be carried. There will be weary, vulnerable people condemned, stripped of their dignity, who will suffer from injustice. Jesus, throughout his time on earth, showed us who he walked with in this life.Tonight we recognize that we do not see how these current stories end. To fully participate in a Good Friday remembrance we dare not dream about Easter endings and can see only what haunts our souls this Friday -
He is dead.
He is dead indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment