Loving God, on this darkest of days, help us to find your love even in the midst of pain and sorrow.  Renew us in our faith, even as we strive to make sense of the cross; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    For centuries now, Christians have tried to make sense of the cross.  They have asked why Jesus had to die in this way.  They have asked what kind of a God would require this of his own Son.  They have asked what it all means for us, and how it is that a bloody crucifixion saves us.  They have tried to make sense of the events that are known to have taken place in first century Palestine, especially in light of their encounters with the risen Jesus.

    Each of the gospel writers also tried to make sense of what was going on as they wrote about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  The gospel of Luke, in particular, focuses on the love and forgiveness that continue to be exhibited by Jesus, even as he hangs on the cross.  And so, after the sham of a trial, and the declaration by Pilate that Jesus is not guilty, the crowd is asked to decide who will go free - Barabbas, or Jesus?  The irony is that the name Barabbas means “son of the father.”  Who do you want, son of the father, or Son of the Father?  They choose Barabbas, who was guilty of insurrection and murder, and send Jesus to the cross.

    As Jesus is crucified, which was one of the most torturous forms of execution the Romans ever invented, he prays for all those involved: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk. 23:34). – Love and forgiveness, even in the midst of pain.  However, we find no such thing in the religious leaders who are watching.

    It is hard for us even to imagine watching somebody suffer on a cross and then to respond by mocking them.  Yet, that’s exactly what the leaders do, as the people stand by, apparently unable to do anything to stop all this.  And one of the criminals, who has been crucified beside Jesus, decides to join in.  While it would be easy to say that he’s just going along with the crowd, there’s also something in it for him.  Of course he wants Jesus to save them, for he is in agony as he hangs there.

    However, it is the criminal who hangs on the other side of Jesus who is able to see what everybody else does not - even the disciples!  He sees that Jesus is an innocent man who has responded only with love and forgiveness.  He sees that Jesus actually is the Messiah and a king.  He sees that what the leaders are saying mockingly is actually true, and he asks Jesus to remember him when he rules in God’s heavenly kingdom.  “The repentant criminal thus becomes the only person to recognize that rejection and death are for Jesus the way to royal power at the right hand of God” (Sharon Ringe, Luke, quoted on workingpreacher.org).

    Jesus, too, sees beyond the darkness and suffering of the cross.  “Today,” he says, “you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk. 23:43).  Jesus also retains his faith in the power of God as he breathes his last.  “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk. 23:46).  In the end, it seems to be only Jesus, the repentant criminal and the Roman centurion who are able to see beyond appearances.  Everybody else seems to see a man who made false claims to be the Messiah and the king of the Jews, for if he really was God’s chosen one, he would have been rescued from the cross.

    That’s the majority opinion - the chorus line of people who simply accept things the way they are - one more false Messiah put to death by the Romans.  However, the presence of the repentant criminal gives us at least two sides to consider, even today.  Are we simply going to accept things the way they are in our world and resign ourselves to violence and mockery and greed and the misuse of power?  Or, are we willing and able to see the alternative possibility of a world that is shaped by the ways of God?  For the ways of God are entirely different from the ways of the world.
 
    According to God’s way, power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9), and the greatest ones are those who serve.  According to God’s way, the kingdom often shows up in things that are small or hidden.  According to God’s way, there are many great reversals - like the rich being sent away empty, or the poor being lifted up, or the sinners being forgiven, or the blind being able to see.  According to God’s way, frail and fallible human beings, by the power of the Holy Spirit, can be signs of the reign of God in this world.

    In fact, this is how God has always chosen to work - through people of faith who are empowered by the Spirit.  You may have heard the saying somewhere along the way that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.  As people who believe in Jesus Christ, our call is not to “do nothing.”  For, the ways of God tend to show up in our world through God’s people.  And so, God calls us to be signs of hope in this world, living by the power of the Holy Spirit and in the faith that love will triumph over hate and goodness over evil, despite all signs to the contrary.  For, when God is involved, there is always more going on than just what meets the eye.

    Luke, too, helps us to see that there is much more going on than simply the crucifixion of three people by the Romans.  Jesus, by his continuing love and forgiveness and his continuing faith in God, shows the love of God at work within him as one who did not deserve crucifixion and was not in the same category as criminals.  At the same time, Jesus, the repentant criminal, and the centurion all see beyond the shame of the cross, catching at least a glimpse of the God who saves and redeems.  May we, too, be granted the ability to see the alternative possibility of a world that is shaped by God’s grace and love, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.  Amen.

Good Friday (NL 3)                                Luke 23:32-47
April 14, 2017
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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