The Passion Story

Matthew 27:45-50 and 54

     From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.  And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When some bystanders heard it, they said, "This man is calling for Elijah." At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink.  But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him."  Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.

...they were terrified and said "Truly this man was God's Son!"

For many Christians, John 3:16  is the Biblical passage used to justify their faith.  The above passage is the crux of my faith.  The bolded verses, ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and "Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.") never fail to bring me to tears with the realization that it is ME who put him on that cross.

In the Lutheran church, the Sunday before Easter serves a dual purpose.  We begin in a joyous tone with the celebration of Palm Sunday and move quickly into a somber tone, one filled with anxiety and mourning as we read the Passion.  To hear the Passion story read and acted by members of the congregation sends the message home that you and I are the players in this story.  You and I are the chorus, the Jews, the sinners judging Jesus, the accusers.  No, we were not there.  But, it only takes one day of listening to the hurtful gossip in the office or in a high school, or even in a church to know that we would have behaved the same way if faced with Jesus in his time.

There is one other piece of Scripture, coupled with that above, reminds my of why I came to believe in the triune God along this faith journey.  In a moment of vulnerability, Jesus prays "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want." To know what pain and suffering he must endure for the children of God, to believe that his journey was necessary for you and me, to not question God's will is beyond our human capacity.  

 

I've been reflecting on the notion of pure potentiality this week - the notion of change and of becoming.  I believe as humans we have an amazing capacity to change, to rise above, to be transformed, to pursue our pure potentiality. But, I don't believe we could willingly place ourselves in the seat of suffering on behalf of the world.  Only through God, with God, and in God could this pure compassion manifest!

In our home, the Passion story has been in our hearts and it has been a creative weekend. Included in this post are those pieces that have come from our hearts.  Works of art they are not...

May this Holy Week find you at peace and able to slow down enough to take this message in!