Bible Study: Isaiah 52, 13 to 53, 12.
Hebrews 4, 14 to 16, and 5, 7 to 9. John 18, 1 to 9:42.
This morning, someone greeted me by saying:
“Happy Good Friday.” And I really didn’t know how to respond. Immediately I started
thinking: “what is good about today?” What is good about the fact that we
recall the gruesome death of an innocent man on the cross? What is good about
the fact that Jesus was betrayed, that he was arrested and brought on trial,
that he didn’t try to defend himself before the authority, that the people
choose Barabbas, a thief and a murderer in place of Jesus? What is good about
the fact that Jesus was beaten and humiliated, mocked by passer-by, mocked by
the chief priests, mocked even by a criminal at the cross?
What is good about the fact that
Jesus was stripped naked and hung on the cross before the eyes of all who stood
by, that his side was pierced with a lance, that he finally gave up to death
without even trying to resist? What is good about the seemingly triumph of evil
over good? Why is today a good Friday? Honestly all these thoughts flowed
through my mind as I tried to respond to the greeting, so I simply said; “Happy
bad Friday.” And the person said, “Haba, Father, what happened na? Why is today
a bad day?” “Jesus died today now, is that not bad enough?” I responded. And
the person laughed, “Is that why today is bad? I thought something happened.”
Then, it dawned on me that we have
all become so used to the fact that today is just a day Christ died. His death
is no longer news to us. We never really give any serious thought to the fact
that Christ actually died. Dear friends, today’s celebration is not one that should
be glossed over easily, it is a celebration that contains ALL THE ANSWERS to
ALL OF LIFE’S MOST CHALLENGING QUESTIONS. The mere fact that we call this day a
“GOOD” Friday and not a “BAD” Friday confirms what God himself said in the book
of Genesis when after creating the world and man inclusive with all its obvious
imperfections said: “It is good.” Gen. 1, 31.
That today is called a “Good” is a testimony to the fact that we have
learned to see goodness right at the heart of the sacrifice, the pain, the
sorrow, tears and blood of Jesus. We call this day a good day because we now
know that the crucifixion and death of Jesus was not a bad thing but a good
thing. And because we have learned to focus on the merits of Christ’s suffering
and death, we should also be able to look beyond whatever pain, agony and suffering
that are present in our own lives as a result of our choice to be Christians.
And so, it is a good thing that we suffer persecution. It is good that
you have decided to embrace a life of poverty when you had opportunity to steal
huge sums of money and enrich yourself. It is a good thing that you are going
through that you were kicked out of your job because you refused to partake of
a plot by your colleagues in the office to defraud the company. It is a good
thing that life is somewhat miserable for you now with challenges here and
there and it seems as if God is not answering your prayer and you are refusing
to go after other gods just to make ends meet.
If really today is Good Friday, there is something good about suffering;
there is something good about the Cross that we are carrying as we follow Jesus.
If we say today is Good Friday, then we shouldn’t be asking: “God, where are
you?” when we see Barabbas go away smiling we who are innocent are made to
suffer. We should learn from Jesus to remain like a lamb and bear the weight of
the cross. We must learn to call our sufferings good and not go about thinking
of ways to eliminate our troubles or move from one prayer house to another in
search of solutions.
It is quite sad that today there are many Christians who believe that
since Christ died on the cross, he has taken away all our sins both the ones we
committed in the past and the ones we are preparing to commit in the future. Some
Christians even teach that because Christ died, we should never experience
sickness or poverty again, that any form of pain at all in our lives is a work
of the devil. Such teachings only make create a fear of the devil in us by
ascribing to him powers that are not his. We must understand that in the first
place, Christ did not die so that we can become millionaires and even billionaires.
Christ did not die so that we can take over earthly kingdoms. He did not die so
that we can live like animals and do whatever we like in the name of “he has
taken our sins away.”
Christ died to prove to us that this world is not our home. Many
expected Christ to take over earthly powers from the Romans but instead watched
him subject himself to their power. This is to show us that it is not our
ultimate goal to rule here on earth. Christ died bearing our sins so that we do
might die to sin and no longer live under the subjection of evil all because of
the fear of dying. He died so that we would rather choose to die than to sin in
the name of sustaining our life. “For those who want to save their life will
lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16, 25.
This afternoon, we shall all come out to kiss the cross. We shall all
genuflect and bow before the cross. This means that we accept the pains, that
we accept the sacrifices and the sorrows that we bear for being Christians,
that we are not rejecting the cross but accepting whatever God permits to come
our way, that our hearts are not set on possessing earthly kingdoms that we are
ready to follow Christ and die just as he too died.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, may I learn to hate my life
here on earth so as to win it for eternity in heaven. Amen.
God bless you. Be Happy. Live
Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy Good Friday. Sorry that today’s
reflection is coming so late, the ideas were not easily forthcoming at all and
it is part of what makes this day unique I guess.
No comments:
Post a Comment