Facing Love at the Cross

April 17, 2011, Passion Sunday

The Scripture reading is from Mark 15:16-39

Mark 15:16   Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort.  17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him.  18 And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”  19 They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him.  20 After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. 

Mark 15:21   They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.  22 Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull).  23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it.  24 And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. 

Mark 15:25   It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.  26 The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”  27 And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.  29 Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days,  30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!”  31 In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.  32 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him. 

Mark 15:33   When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.  34 At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.”  36 And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”  37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.  38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  39 Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” 

Questions for Personal Reflection from Jerry Tankersley

Can you remember a day in which it was dark as night at midday?

Some of us are afraid of the dark.  Why are we afraid of the dark?

The Gospel text in Mark 15:16-39 tells us that on Good Friday the sun was darkened at noon until 3 p.m.  What caused this?  What was its meaning?

The centurion  who crucified Jesus saw  and heard something that called forth a confession of faith.  What was his confession and what did it mean?

Have you ever experienced spiritual darkness?  How long did it last?  How did it end?  What helped?

Why is the passion and suffering of Jesus important for Christians and the church? 

If Good Friday were the end of the story, how would we feel, or what would we do?

Prayer

"The Crucifix" by Evelyn Underhill

To look at the Crucifix and then to look at our own hearts;

to test by the cross the quality of our love–

if we do that honestly and unflinchingly

we don't need any other self-examination.

the lash, the crown of thorns, the mockery,

the stripping, the nails–

life has equivalents of all these for us

and God asks a love for himself and his children

which can accept and survive all that 

in the particular way in which it is offered to us.

It is no use to talk in a large vague way

about the love of God;

here is it's point of insertion in the world.

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

"What Wondrous Love Is This" 

Words: Alexander Means. Music: William Walker, 1835.