 By The Rev. Ted Thornton
From John, chp. 19, verse 30 we read, “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” A few millennia ago on this day, this Good Friday, Jesus’ business in this world was finished. What about your business in this world? Is your business finished? Is what the world sees when it looks at you the final version of you? What is the unfinished business in your life? There are a great many untidy and unfinished businesses in my life. With that line from our general prayer of confession in mind, I ask myself, “what have I left undone that I ought to have done?” When I sit and pray with people who are dying, more than once they’ve said to me, “I’m not afraid of death. I’m at peace with God on that score. What frightens me, and what I’m so sorry about is the mess I’m leaving behind for my beloved family to deal with.” Unfinished business. Adults in the room: have you discussed with your family or left written wishes to help them plan for the time after you’ve passed on? What unfinished business remains to prepare for your departure from this life? Consider the unfinished business of human society, not only here but across the globe. One of our penitential keynotes this Lent has been the role we Christians have played throughout history spreading the plague of antisemitism. Just before Lent began, some of us explored the role infantile narcissism plays in the creation of the cruel patterns of hatred and behavior directed at Jews, hateful remarks and behavior that have also targeted members of other minority racial, ethnic, religious, and immigrant groups today as well of those with different sexual identifications and how we Christians have been complicit in all of this. Holocaust camp survivor Elie Wiesel was once asked if he thought Christians were responsible for the Holocaust. He replied, “Christians were certainly involved in creating and carrying out the Holocaust. Was it the Christianity in them that caused them to do so,” he asked? Answering his own question, he said, “I hope not.” Good Friday is a solemn and subdued day to be sure. But, we need to remember that Jesus’ suffering ended a long time ago. In a few days we will once again proclaim his triumph over death. At a minimum, we bear witness to that triumph in the faith of the millions who have gone on before us throughout the two thousand years since it all happened. We rest assured even on this solemn day that for the Jesus who walked through this world, there are no more friends or enemies betraying him and abandoning, forsaking, or denying him. No more ridicule, no more false accusations. No more taunts from the mob. No more crowns of thorns and lashes across the back, no more brutality and sadism at the hands of his Roman executioners. For all its grim fixation on the cross, Good Friday is not really a day about a wrongful death. It’s a day about taking stock, which after all is what we’ve been doing since the long season of Lent began on Ash Wednesday. That was the day we started thinking harder about what kind of dust we’re made of, about who we are, about our unfinished business as those who say we want to follow Christ Jesus. How can we lead better lives, how can we be more kind, more good, more loving; how can we be released from our prejudices and become truly reconciled one with another especially in light of the fact that we don’t have unlimited amounts of time to finish our business? This is the real meaning of mortality, the real meaning of “dust to dust,” the sense that our own eventual deaths define a temporal boundary for us which is the price we pay for living in the natural, physical world. Lent introduces a healthy sense of urgency into our lives and it all comes to a head on Good Friday. Good Friday is not really, then, a day of grief alone. It’s a day that calls us beyond grieving into renewal, taking steps toward finishing our unfinished business. In short, Good Friday marks the final stage in our preparation for Easter. May God Bless you as we all strive toward finishing our own personal and collective unfinished business. AMEN.  By Ben Cluff, Lay Preacher
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. On the last Sunday after Epiphany, Rev. Heather asked us, “How will we make ourselves more available to God this Lent?” On Ash Wednesday, Rev. Heather and Rev. Ted extended an invitation to the Observance of a Holy Lent, with these words, “You are invited, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word. And to make a right beginning of repentance.” I would ask that we keep this in mind as we consider the words of today’s gospel reading. And in today’s gospel, there is a lot going on here. We are in Bethany, at the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. It is 6 days before the Passover. Lazarus’ death and resurrection by Jesus had very recently occurred. Many people of the Jewish faith had turned to Jesus upon witnessing what Jesus did. This fact concerned the Pharisees and high priests. This concerned to the plans for Jesus' crucifixion. The chief priests and Pharisees had given a commandment that if anyone knew where Jesus was, they should report it so that Jesus might be taken in. There was even a report that Lazarus was wanted as well for the role he played in so many turning to follow Jesus. So we are able to imagine that there might be some tension in the air in the larger social context. And in this setting, we are presented with the scene in the home of Lazarus. And in the spirit of our Invitation to the Observance of a Holy Lent, I would like us to consider the individuals in today’s lesson as points of reference for our own self-reflection. Let us consider Lazarus - a person who has been resurrected: How many of us have had transformative experiences, experiences that have changed our lives? What have we done or not done as a result of having had those experiences? Did the experience open our hearts?, Did the experience recalibrate our gratitude meter, so speak? Did the experience change the way we see the world? And as a result, alter the way we participate in the world? Let us now consider Martha - we encounter Martha more than once in the New Testament. Martha is busy being in service, and maybe she is a little anxious or nervous. In today’s lesson, we are provided a simple description, “Martha served”. If you remember in the Gospel of Saint Luke, in the 10th chapter, Martha is busy preparing and serving Jesus, her sister Marysit sat Jesus’ feet. Martha complains to Jesus, “My sister left me to do all the work, tell her to help me.” Jesus responds to Martha, “Martha, Martha you are worried and distracted by many things.” How many of us keep busy to distract ourselves? Or as a way of putting our nervous energy to use? Yet again, how many of us are of the opinion that actions speak louder than words? And in the spirit of making ourselves more available to God, how many of us are mindful about our service? Are we contemplative in our service or is it just busy work? And let us now consider Mary: We have also met Mary in the Gospel of Saint Luke, as she sits at the feet of Jesus listening to him. In response to Martha’s complaint Jesus says, “Mary has chosen what is better, it will not be taken from her.” And in today’s lesson, Mary plays such an active and intimate role in anointing Jesus feet with oil and wiping his feet with her hair. Generally, anointing being a gesture of hospitality, but here it foretells and anticipates Jesus’ death and represents a preparation of Jesus’ body for burial. Have we been successful in our efforts to quiet ourselves and listen? To be contemplative and available to God? Are we able to pay tribute? Are we able to prepare for death? Are we able to openly and intimately put our faith on display? And finally, we arrive at considering Judas. He is the only one to whom we are given a peek into his thoughts and motives, at least parenthetically. Our other participants are described: Lazarus was present. Martha served. Mary annointed. Judas offers up the hypocritical concern, Why was perfume not sold? The money could be given to the poor; and then parenthetically, “He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.” We are also told that Judas is the one who will betray Jesus. How many of us have been hypocritical in our thoughts, words, and deeds? How many of us have been dishonest? Deceitful? How many of us have been less than loyal, Or downright betrayed a person; a loved one? Or betrayed a principle? We are five weeks into this Lenten journey. Next Sunday is Palm Sunday and we enter Holy Week. How are you doing? Are you ok? How are we doing? Now that we have entertained these questions through the participants in our gospel reading; How have we accepted the invitation offered on Ash Wednesday, all those weeks ago? To engage in self-examination and repentance? Bolstered by our faith, this self-examination, this taking stock or inventory does seem to require some honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness. Some old teachers of mine have made the following analogy to this discipline; “A business which takes no regular inventory usually goes broke. Taking a commercial inventory is a fact-finding and fact facing process. It is an effort to discover the truth about the stock-in-trade. One object is to disclose damaged or unsaleable goods, to get rid of them promptly and without regret. If the owner of the business is to be successful, they cannot fool themselves about values.” As we approach the final weeks of this journey, are we able to thank God from the bottom of our hearts, that we feel we know God better? Do we feel as if we have indeed, made ourselves more available to God? Those same teachers of mine, that I mentioned, taught me this prayer that I have found helpful, particularly on the heels of time spent in self-examination: “My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength as I go out from here to do your bidding. In Jesus name, Amen.” 4th Edition The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Oxford University Press Alcoholics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Gospel of Saint Luke 10:38-42 Isaiah 43:16-21 Philippians 3:4b-14 John 12:1-8 Psalm 126 |
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We believe God is calling us to cultivate a community of love, joy, hope, and healing. Jesus is our model for a life of faith, compassion, hospitality, and service. We strive to be affirming and accessible, welcoming and inclusive; we seek to promote reconciliation, exercise responsible stewardship, and embrace ancient traditions for modern lives.
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