Good
Friday is a hard day. It is the day when the consequence of our
actions are made manifest. Last night we humbled ourselves and
washed the feet of another person; or maybe it was that we humbled
ourselves and allowed our feet to be washed. Following that ritual
we moved into the church, received our final Communion meal of the
week, and either watched or participated in the stripping of the
altar.
Last
night we told Jesus we didn't need him in our life, and we removed
everything that reminded us of him. Today we participate in his
execution by either actively shouting, “Crucify him!” or by
standing idly by, not wanting to get involved. Our level of
participation varies, but our culpability remains constant.
Make
no mistake – we are culpable. In reading John's version of the
Passion, it might be easy to blame “the Jews,” or the Romans.
But we must remember that John, like all gospel writers, had a
political agenda that shaped his story. And if we use this passage
as a basis for anti-Semitism, or as a basis to blame anyone but
ourselves, we are missing the point by a wide margin.
Instead
of using the crucifixion as a reason to condemn others, or using it
as a basis for sentimental piousness, the crucifixion should make us
aware of the suffering of Others, especially those who suffer at the
hands of those in power by virtue of their money, their politics,
their gender, their sexuality, their race, or any number of things
that allows one person to dominate another person. We may not be
actively driving the nails into Jesus' hand and feet, but all too
often we are the ones standing idly by, refusing to get involved.
The
reading from Isaiah is referred to as “the suffering servant,”
and is often used as a prophecy for Jesus and his crucifixion. In
that passage, Isaiah writes, “By a perversion of justice he was
taken away.” There is much talk in Christian circles about this
trial of Jesus being just that – a perversion of justice. Kangaroo
court and illegal also get thrown into the mix.
If
Good Friday is to teach us anything, it should give us an
understanding of cruelty. It should teach us that the pain and
suffering of the innocent, outcast, different and Other are not the
will of God. Perverted justice should appall us as much as it
appalls God. Pain and suffering can have meaning, but that meaning
is lost if we don't learn from it.
If
the pain and suffering of those killed by the Nazis – Jews,
Christians, gays, crippled, Gypsies and more – are ignored,
systematic ethnic cleansing can and will rise again. If the pain and
suffering of those fighting for equal rights in the 50's, 60's and
into today are ignored, if we allow a vocal, hateful minority free
reign to abuse people that are different, then we will too easily
fall into the comfortable but sinful ideology of “rights for me but
not for thee.”
Yes,
we gather today to contemplate those mighty acts by which Jesus' pain
and suffering redeemed the world. But we must also look on those
shameful acts that crucified an innocent man and ask, “If they were
shameful then, are they not shameful today?” Anytime we allow
people to suffer injustices, either because we actively participate
in their marginalization or because we stand idly by, then we are on
the wrong side of the cross.
This
Good Friday we remember more than any other day that Jesus died for
our sins. And that is a good thing. But we must also remember that
his death was at the hands of an unjust system. And that is a bad
thing. We must also remember that unjust systems are still in place
today. And that is a very bad thing.
As
we contemplate the death of an innocent man we name as Savior, maybe
we should also spend some time contemplating whether or not we've
learned anything.
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