A Good Friday
At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sa-bac-hth-ani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
–Mark 15:33-39
These words in scripture are the foundation of the Christian faith. Surely in the life of Christ are the principles of righteousness; to care for those who are oppressed and ostracized. But here we have the ultimate sacrifice being paid, the wages of sin are death, and Christ himself being God in flesh, has finally paid that painful price for all of us.
It is indeed a good Friday, so why does Jesus feel forsaken in this moment? Isn’t this what he came to do, to pay the price for sin? Shouldn’t he be happy that his life’s purpose has finally been accomplished? He may have been celebrating this day with us, had it not been for the human flesh that he took on.
Christ is the Son of God indeed, but he was also fully a human like we are. He felt our wants as well as our needs, and his last cry of distress proves that to us. Right up until Jesus’ last breath, he was able to completely empathize with our sinful predicament.
Imagine if he felt no pain at his crucifixion, would his sacrifice really be a sacrifice at all? Perhaps Christ crucifixion models for us that as we follow him, even our greatest accomplishments may be painful experiences. Even in our suffering, the will of God is being fulfilled. This is in direct objection to prosperity theologies that say God wants to bless us with only the pleasures of life, and that any pain caused is the work of the devil. But doesn’t that way of thinking imply that the Christian journey is one only of self-gain and self-fulfillment.
On the contrary the Christian life calls us to put the needs of others above our own, and this is the example set for us on the first Good Friday. It was good because God’s will was fulfilled, not because our greed was satisfied. It was good because sin lost, and righteousness won, not because Jesus wore a smile on his face while he hung on his cross.
Good Friday grants us the opportunity to rethink what it means to be Christian. Perhaps following the Messiah is not all that Eurocentric theologies of dominance, control, and wealth paint it out to be. Maybe even this time of crisis, this global pandemic, is all a part of God’s mysterious plan to bring us back to unity and brotherly love.
Only God truly knows, but one thing seems sure. To follow Christ does not always feel good, and it could quite possibly even call us to give up our very own lives. Choosing to follow Christ is no bed of roses, it is a life of self-sacrifice calling us to sometimes give up everything our hearts desire. So, let us not make pleasure and abundance our life’s purpose, but rather, as Jesus himself did, let us peruse the call to proclaim good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners and the oppressed, sight for the blind, and to proclaim (that is to live out not only to preach) the year of the LORD’s favor.
Eloi, our Heavenly Father,
We thank you for all that was accomplished on this Good Friday, sin and death no longer reign victorious in our lives. We ask that you help us as we rethink what it means to be conformed to the image of your Son, for as you know, so many false prophets have led us astray. Remind us of the life and teachings of Christ, remind us also of his painful suffering and death, and help us to understand what it truly means to follow him. We need your direction as we face challenges we have never know, that there is no earthy guidance on how to overcome. We need you to show us the way, the way that leads to the cross and to eternal life. In Jesus Name, Amen.