Our Maundy Thursday Tenebrae service concluded last night with a reading from
Mark's gospel about the burial of Jesus. in the darkness of the sanctuary, the
large pulpit Bible was slammed shut after the reading as symbolism for the tomb
being sealed by the stone. It was an abrupt sound...a sound of cold
finality.
Apart from Resurrection Sunday, there is little hope in the
events of Good Friday. The sad truth is that an innocent man was wrongly
accused, savagely beaten, unfairly sentenced, and cruelly killed on a cross.
Surely, many would agree, he was a good man...a man who didn't deserve such
inhuman treatment. To the followers of Jesus, the events of Good Friday were
devastating. The one they thought would save the world couldn't save himself.
In grief and fear, they retreated behind closed doors to wait...but for
what?
Our modern lives are marked by experiences that often leave us
struggling to understand what's next. We have hoped, yet been disappointed;
trusted, yet been let down; believed, only to be proven wrong. We cower at
times behind doors and walls of doubt and despair. Like our first century
brothers and sisters, we wait...but for what?
Yes, it's Friday...but
Sunday's coming!
Jim Abernathy
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