Good Friday / Like a Lamb to the Slaughter
Read Isaiah 53: 5-7 (NLT)
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
Think
This is the darkest of all days: Good Friday, the day I remember Jesus’ death upon the cross. It’s true that I don’t like to think of these dark things. No one wants to dwell on death and pain and sorrow. I love Palm Sunday and Easter: the joy and triumph and excitement. But if I hit only the high points of the story, if I skip over the painful, dark, disturbing stuff, I run the risk of lessening the impact of Jesus’ resurrection.
That’s how life is, really. Periods of light and darkness happen along the way. I have to be realistic when I look back at my journey; I can’t just remember fondly the good times and not also honor the difficult parts. My life is made of both dark and light moments and everything in between.
The key to remember is that no matter what, God is with me. Because of what Jesus did for me, I am never alone in heavy dark moments or in effervescent light. Jesus’ resurrection sets me free to rejoice in everything, knowing how much God loves me.
If I am to truly be a person of the resurrection, I need to walk the whole road with Jesus, from the ashes of burnt palms, through forty days of self-examination and repentance. Traveling from the Upper Room’s shared meal, to the Garden of Gethsemane where he was betrayed with a kiss, down the Way of Sorrows to Calvary’s hill and onto the cross. I need to watch and witness and share his experiences and grieve for my own part in his suffering. For “by his wounds we are healed.”
Pray
Oh Great Ever-Loving God, I can’t find the words to express how this day makes me feel. I rejoice that you love me so much you died for me. I mourn that my brokenness made your death necessary. I’m so sorry, and so grateful all at the same time. Be with me as I travel through these strange, difficult, triumphant days. Guide me and surround me with your never-failing love. Amen.
Do
Take some time throughout this day to reflect on the events of the last days of Jesus’ earthly life. Sit for a time with whatever emotions these images provoke. Don’t shy away from the darkness, but hold it gently, forgiving yourself for your part in it. Remember how very much God loves you. Relax in this one last day of deep quiet self-examination before you move ahead to rejoicing at the empty tomb.
The View from Mt. Hope 