The hour of
darkness is upon us…
Three times
Jesus awakened them—three times. His heart was breaking, his fears were
mounting, and his knees were covered in the dirt of the garden floor. Three
times the Lord went to pray and pour out his soul in anguish to his Father… each time his disciples went
to sleep. God forgive us, are we not also unfocused and distracted.
The hour of
darkness is upon us…
Peter stood
at the fires in the courtyard of the high priest and three times denied his
Lord, Jesus—three times. Submitting to a false court in a sham trial that was
an outright mockery of justice, Jesus was saving the world. And in an outright
mockery of faithfulness, Peter was saving his own tail. God forgive us, are we
not also cowards and liars.
The hour of
darkness is upon us…
Judas
betrayed the hope of the world for 30 silver pieces. Only too late did he
realize that he did for 30 silver pieces that for which they would have paid
3000. He betrayed his master and friend… with a kiss. Trusting God’s promise, Jesus
hung on a cross forgiving the world its sins that put him there. Doubting God’s
grace, Judas hung himself in a tree haunted by his demons. God forgive us, are
we not also haunted by our demons and do we not also kiss you with our lips
then betray you for our own gain.
The hour of
darkness is upon us…
It was
religious people who struck Jesus first. Driven by fear, they raised their
hands in violence. Driven by love, my Jesus knelt in humility. Honoring
falsehood as testimony, they condemned the truth itself. Making sure not to
wander too far into the home of a Gentile, they kept ritual purity as they
handed over an innocent man to be executed. Their voices shouted first for the
release of a man who took life, as they demanded the death of the giver of
life. God forgive us, are we not also violent and full of compromise when we
should be full of the Spirit.
The hour of
darkness is upon us…
Pilate has
washed his hands. The magistrate found no guilt in him, but did not pardon him.
Pilate chose to play politics, and in so doing he handed over the true King to
die. God forgive us, are we not also addicted to popularity and often look no
further than our own reputation.
The hour of darkness
is upon us…
The soldiers
have mocked my Lord, and beaten my Lord, and spit on my Lord. They placed a
crown of thorns on his head and paraded him through the streets. They were just
doing their jobs—it wasn’t personal. They were just following orders as they
walked the King of Glory through the streets of shame and beat him down under
the weight of his cross. God forgive us, are we not also often an unwitting
part of so much systemic injustice and evil that we can’t tell the difference
between doing our job and insulting our Lord.
The hour of
darkness is upon us…
They played
dice at the foot of the cross—gambling for his clothes. Jesus, the Savior of
the world, is dying for them right above them, yet they are too busy playing
games to notice. God forgive us, are we not guilty—some of us—of still playing
games at the cross of Jesus.
The hour of
darkness is upon us…
Even the
criminals beside him have turned on him—as if some how they who are truly guilty are better than
him. They join the mocking crowd and heap insults upon him and shame him. It is better to die a scoundrel
with my own guilt than to bear the shame of this innocent man I helped kill.
God forgive us, are we not also blind to our own culpability and sin and do we not also flee the shame of the cross.
The hour of
darkness is upon us…
The apostles
are hiding. His closest friends and his devoted followers—all of them save one
were missing. Fearing for their lives, they hid. Saving their own skin, they
hid. Not understanding what their teacher had told them over and over again,
they were bewildered, confused, and afraid. God forgive us, are we not also
guilty of letting our fear and confusion drive us away from where we belong.
The hour of
darkness is upon us…
The sun has
gone black. The light of the world has been extinguished and all that is left
is night. The earth itself is shaking in furious upheaval. For nothing has come
into existence that was not made by him—the author of all living things has
been killed, and all living things shudder in revolt. The temple curtain is
torn and the graves of the saints are empty because even in darkness the light
will bear its witness. So we take heart even as…
The hour of
darkness is upon us…
In the
stillness and silence we hear no serpent in the grass for his head lay crushed
beneath the foot of the one who would not want anything. Listen and hear
nothing, for the great and terrible Accuser is silent. He is defeated. His
tongue finds no words, his lies have no more power, his accusations find no
purchase on the perfect life and wholehearted devotion of my Jesus. The ancient evil dragon who would conquer the world and overthrow God himself is humiliated
and vanquished by the love and peace of a slaughtered lamb. Satan did his
worst, but God’s best was even greater.
Here we
gather at the cross, "where the dearest and blest for a world of lost sinners
was slain." Here we gather at the cross where in "blessed backwardness the
immeasurable one was held but did not resist." Here we gather at the cross and
surrender ourselves to the great cost and greater joy of Good Friday. Here we
gather at the cross and find that we are forgiven… that we are loved… that we
are chosen… that we are victorious.
The hour of
darkness is upon us… thank God.
