In our gospel reading for Good Friday, Jesus, the Son of God, is put to death on a cross. And in our busy world, dealing with death and decay, we can get to the point where we say, who still cares? We are witnessing death constantly, why is Jesus' death so special? Why is the day of Jesus' death still considered a holiday in some places? Because the death of Jesus is the one death since the beginning of humanity that is NOT the result of sin, but is purely the result of love....
What kind of death does a TV show or movie need to show you...to make you cry? Are you the type of person who cries easily in front of a screen? Do you cry each time an orc or a troll is killed in Middle Earth by an elven arrow or a dwarven axe? Did you cry when the Death Star snuffed out 2 billion people in the destruction of the planet Alderaan? Do you cry for each casualty caused by Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Sylvester Stalone, or Keanu Reaves? Probably not, that's a low crying threshold, and those deaths are pretty generic. But what about if death is the result of not enough lifeboats? Or an incurable disease? Or not making it back to the chopper in time? What if the death is the result of being trapped with your spouse on a sinking submarine? As a male, I will confess to the two instances of screen watching where my eyes auto-moistened: Mr. Spock in Star Trek 2 – The Wrath of Khan, and William Wallace in Braveheart. Why cry about those deaths? Those deaths affected me, because I found those deaths were meaningful to me.
And when we bother to look closely, the death of Jesus is the MOST meaningful death to us, the prototype of all the deaths we've cried over, in fiction or in real life. Jesus has all the positive characteristics of our favourite people and fictional characters. First, he's a badass - when questioned by powerful men, the council, Pilate and Herod, he answered them with either stony silence or a mocking “you say so,” refusing to back down or to beg for his life. Second, Jesus is a visionary – he's concerned with the future of the movement he has started, so he grooms his replacement, and he instructs Peter to strengthen his brothers, once he has recovered enough strength for himself. Third, Jesus is a charismatic leader - whose followers dearly WANT to be willing to die for him, and WANT to be awake in his hour of need, praying for him. And finally, Jesus is a lover of life – he does not want to throw his life away as if it were worthless, but he is only willing to die if it is essential to his Father's mission. Of course, the death of someone VIRTUOUS like this will have an impact on us.
And, since Jesus' death WAS essential to his Father's mission, he WAS willing to lay down his life. He was willing to put up with Judas kissing him, the guards beating him, the people shouting “crucify him,” the leaders taunting him on the cross. He was willing to commend his spirit to the wishes of his Father, and endure the horrible, humiliating spectacle of crucifixion. Of course, a HEROIC death like this will have an impact on us.
And in the words of one of the criminals crucified alongside Jesus, “we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” The death sentence against Jesus was for telling the truth – he is the Son of God. And even though Pilate and Herod had hesitations about executing Jesus, they were cowards, and caved to the mob led by the jealous religious leaders. In the greatest injustice in human history, the most innocent man in human history was put to death. Of course, a TRAGIC death like this will have an impact on us.
Or, it would, if we weren't already SATURATED by death! We continue to bury the final few of the VIRTUOUS generation called the “greatest” generation, those born before 1927. We continue to bury many of the HARD-WORKING, “silent” generation, those born before 1945. We continue to bury the much-too-young TRAGIC victims of cancer and heart disease and accidents. And anytime we look at the news, we see the corpses of HEROIC Ukrainians, dying in a never-ending battle to save their country. Death, it seems, is everywhere, all around us, and coming FOR us. Who has any tears left, even for the most meaningful death ever, the one we gather for here on Good Friday?