Lenten Journey, April 2, 2010 Good Friday

Lord, by shedding his blood for us, your Son, Jesus Christ, established the paschal mystery. In your goodness, make us holy and watch over us always. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen

John 18:1-19:42
1When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it. 2Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. 4Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?" 5"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "I am he," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. 7Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." 8"I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." 9This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me." 10Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) 11Jesus commanded Peter "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" 12Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him 13and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people. 15Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard, 16but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in. 17"You are not one of his disciples, are you?" the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied, "I am not." 18It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

19Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20"I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said." 22When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. "Is this the way you answer the high priest?" he demanded. 23"If I said something wrong," Jesus replied, "testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?" 24Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest. 25As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it, saying, "I am not." 26One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, "Didn't I see you with him in the olive grove?" 27Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

28Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29So Pilate came out to them and asked, "What charges are you bringing against this man?" 30"If he were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed him over to you." 31Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." "But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected. 32This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled. 33Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" 34"Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?" 35"Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?" 36Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." 37"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." 38"What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him. 39But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?" 40They shouted back, "No, not him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.4Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." 5When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"6As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."7The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God." 8When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"11Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."12From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."13When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.15But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered. 16Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. 19Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read:sc JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews." 22Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written." 23When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24"Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing."[a] So this is what the soldiers did.25Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," 27and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

28Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 31Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.32The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken] 37and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."

38Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. 39He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.[d] 40Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Today we celebrate one of the principal parts of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, His death and resurrection, and the culmination of our Lenten prayer and preparation for these saving events. This day is called “Good” and this week is called “Holy” because of the very goodness and holiness of God and Jesus as he carries out God’s will for our ultimate rescue.

This scene certainly shows the courage of Jesus. At Passover time it was a full moon and the night was almost like daylight, but the enemies of Jesus came with torches. They must have thought they had a long and hard search ahead of them. But Jesus steps out and asks “who are you looking for?” They respond and Jesus announces, "I am he." The scene also shows Jesus’ authority as when he announced himself even though they were many and he was one, they retreated and fell to the ground. Clearly Jesus was following God’s command for he could easily have eluded his enemies. Jesus also showed, at this hour a deep compassion with the words, "If you are looking for me, then let these men go."
John is the only gospel that tells us about taking Jesus first to Annas. Annas was once the High Priest, but in these days it was a position that was bought and paid for to the Romans. Since Annas had been High Priest, he made sure all his sons and now his son-in-law also occupied the office. These were men of little virtue. They owned the rights to sell the unblemished offerings in the temple. Outside the temple a dove could be bought for 4p, but it might not pass the “unblemished” inspection and when rejected, the worshipper was directed to buy from the Bazaars of Annas. Now we understand why John tells how Jesus was first brought to this powerful and wicked man. It was Jesus who overturned the tables in the temple and disrupted Annas’ income stream. But Jesus shows no fear in front of this man.

After being brought in front of the Jews to be condemned, Jesus had to be taken to the Romans in order to be put to death. The Romans did not allow the Jews to kill people. The Jews did in fact stone some, as was the case of Stephen, but Jesus was too well known for them to even try that punishment. Thus Jesus says in John 12:32 “when I am lifted up from the earth,I will draw all men to myself" and so it happened that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death (lifted up on a cross) he was going to die were fulfilled. What we see here on the part of the Jewish authorities is sheer hypocrisy. They follow as usual; the letter of the law, but break every spirit of that law by badgering Jesus, bringing the crowd to an awful state of hysteria and asking for Jesus’ death. They even changed the charge from blasphemy to rebellion to claiming to be a king to be sure the Romans would pronounce the death penalty. For they felt it was better for one man to die than to bring the might of the Romans down upon their settled way of life.

We see in this story of this trial, the majesty of Jesus. Jesus is never on trial, but is always the one in control. He speaks with directness about his kingdom. He tells Pilate that he came into the world to witness to the truth. His physical courage is undaunted by the all night questioning and the scourging. Even after all that beating, Jesus still had the fortitude to tell Pilate he no power other than that granted to him by God. After the ultimate mocking by the crowds and Pilate, when he was placed on Pilate’s seat of judgment and Pilate asks the crowd "Shall I crucify your king?", Jesus in immutable majesty and undaunted courage accepted the cross.

We follow Christ thru the 14 Stations of the Cross and continue to agonize at the pain, cringe from the mocking and marvel at the grandeur of God as the sky darkens for the final three hours. When Jesus breathes his last, the rocks split and the Temple curtain was ripped in two, but it was the Roman captain, an unbeliever, who testified for the world: “This has to be the Son of God.”

Almighty God look with loving mercy on your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, to be given over to the hands of sinners, and to suffer death on the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen

Lenten Journey, April 1, 2010

God our Father, we will gather to share in the supper which your only Son left to his Church to reveal his love. He gave it to us when he was about to die and commanded us to celebrate it as the new and eternal sacrifice. We pray that in the Eucharist we may find the fullness of love and life. Amen

John 13:1-15
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.” For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Maundy (comes from the Latin mandatum meaning "to give," "to entrust," or "to order") Thursday in the Gospel of John comes before the Passover feast with the apostles. Jesus knows the end is near. At this meal with the apostles, Jesus ties a towel around his waist and washes their feet. The gesture and the act are full of humility and love. The actions speak more than a torrent of words. The apostles don’t quite understand, but Jesus assures them that they will.

This ritual still speaks volumes. We are humbled by Jesus’ willingness to do such a personal and menial task. The model of love and willingness to sacrifice for others is strongly portrayed in the simple act of washing feet. With that act, Jesus put his faith in those apostles, and throughout the ages, to each of us. We don’t always understand, but we can follow Jesus’ example and model of humility and sacrifice.

As we come to Maundy Thursday we are alive with hunger and thirst. We have followed the life of Jesus thru this week with great anticipation. It is not enough to simply go to church and "watch" it happen. We need to prepare. Each of us needs to "feel" the resistance of Peter. We have to "let" Jesus wash our feet, let Jesus give himself to us, let him be our servant. Jesus gives us a "mandate." He gives us the one commandment of the gospel, "Love one another, as I have loved you." He gives his very self to us, is broken and poured out, and calls us to give our very selves, to be broken and poured out, in love for others. It is important for us to "taste" our resistance to love. We come to church prepared by our reflection on how difficult it is to love some people, either because we find them unattractive or unable to love us in return. The liberation happens when we let ourselves have our feet washed by Jesus. Then the Eucharist flows from our gratitude. Gratitude is the seed for great loving - the "return" I can make to the Lord for his great love for me. Now, when we open our hands to receive his body and blood, we can feel, with great devotion, the power of this gift and the meaning of its mission.

Our final preparation is to be ready to appreciate the ritual of transition with which Maundy Thursday concludes. The Body and Blood of Jesus, which we share at this Eucharist is taken to a special place, so that we might continue to be nourished with this Sacrament on Good Friday. The altar and the sanctuary are stripped bare. With this solemn gesture, we ritualize what we as a community are doing to prepare for Good Friday. We strip our focus down to Jesus alone. All the signs and symbols are put aside. We are left with the taste of the Eucharist and gratitude in our hearts. We leave in focused silence. We leave with the image of Jesus, as servant for us, our hearts readied to celebrate the mystery of his passion and death for us.

Holy God, source of all love, on this night, Jesus gave us a new commandment, to love one another as he loves us. Write this commandment in our hearts, and give us the will to serve others as he was the servant of all, your Son Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen