Morning Friends,
Although nothing good happens to Jesus on this day-long ago, we honor this day and bring it to memory. We do so because our faith does not shy away from the pain and hurt of the world or the pain and hurt of each individual who suffers in this life. We remember Jesus’ suffering and death because it connects us in a special way to the suffering of each individual who has ever lived and ties us all together in a bond that not even death can break. Some say suffering is redemptive, but I am of the opinion that only love redeems suffering.
Jesus’ suffering would be just another statistic in the always present suffering of human beings, except for the way God overcame suffering by love. In doing so, God says to each of us, your suffering is not meaningless or empty but now is shared by the Almighty I AM, and is redeemed by love. Even as I type these words my spirit, is overcome by grief and joy because it is almost too much for me to believe. Yet I stand in the gap between faith and despair and await what is to come.
You will find two links in today’s email. The first one is a Saturday Chat that Jen Long and myself have done. It is about Silent Saturday, which stands between Good Friday and the unexpected good news that Sunday will bring us. You will see that both of us struggle to say something of merit, yet respect that there is a great mystery of silence that throws us into a chasm where grief and joy awaits all who would enter.
The second link is to one of my spiritual mentors, Richard Rohr. I have learned so much from Rohr that has proven to be invaluable to my personal journey. Although he is a Franciscan Brother and I am a Presbyterian we share a common faith and a yearning to be as authentic as we can in our Christian journey.
https://cac.org/five-consoling-messages-2020-04-05/
It is my prayer that these resources may speak to you as you journey toward Easter. It is my firm conviction that Easter can only be understood through the lens of Holy Week. Easter, only matters in the most basic sense, because of the tragedies of betrayal on Maundy Thursday by Jesus’ followers (which includes us) and the Cross of Good Friday.
May God touch our hearts and minds,
Mike