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Gospel for Good Friday
The Crucifixion of Jesus
So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.' Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, 'Do not write, "The King of the Jews", but, "This man said, I am King of the Jews." ' Pilate answered, 'what I have written I have written.' When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, 'Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.' This was to fulfill what the scripture says,
'They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.'
And that is what the soldiers did.
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, 'Woman, here is your son.' Then he said to the disciple, 'Here is your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), 'I am thirsty.' A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, 'It is finished.' Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. |
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 It is the central paradox of the Christian faith - mirrored in the natural world, where the dead rose carries the quickening seed. Christ passes through death, and in doing so claims life for creation - and models the only thing powerful enough to redeem humanity; unconditional love.
In Christ's death we find the quickening seed, which when placed in our heart, and nurtured, bursts into startling life - growing rich and strange in it's profusion. The Old English word 'Quick' meaning 'alive' has special significance - movement and growth are a basic sign of life. Our faith is alive, we have been given a quickening Spirit - it brings us to growth and change, to strain upwards like the green shoots of spring. If ever our faith rests too long in complacent certainty we risk choking it's vitality and taking to our hearts a dead thing.
Christ is quick and seems dead, is strong and seems weak, is victorious and seems defeated.
Almighty God, quicken us we pray, that our lives may be made new in Christ. Make of us something rich and strange, something that seeks to burst it's bounds and fill the world with joy. In Jesus' name. Amen. |
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Come and worship with us this Easter. We meet for our Service of the Ressurection at 5.00pm on Easter Sunday at 1333 S. Carrollton Ave. New Orleans. Choir meets as usual this Thursday at 7.00pm
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