Dear Friday,
5 Thoughts on Good Friday.
1. I can’t wrap my head around Holy Week – that is, that last week of Jesus’ life. This probably isn’t surprising, given the magnitude of all of those events. But I don’t like not having conclusions – and I’m seeing things from different angles that are unfamiliar to me. It’s uncomfortable. I’ve found myself multiple times during the last few weeks simply saying “It matters.” Like, it matters that Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey and not a war horse a week before he was killed. It matters that Jesus washed the feet of the very one who would hand him over to his killers in a few short hours. It matters that his mode of death was government-sanctioned execution. It matters that he wasn’t even given a proper burial, but rather a disgraceful one.
2. I’ve been calling myself an “Easter orphan” since Kyle has to work all weekend and our original plans to spend time with some family are therefore not happening. This is not the first time that holidays seem weird because we’re adults and have odd work schedules...
3. In light of #2, Kyle and I are trying to start our own traditions. Since I’m well on my way to mastering the art of yeast bread this week (slightly ironic, I agree), I’ve decided that Easter will involve Hot Cross Buns. Come on over.
4. This thought my fried and yours, Fr. Richard Rohr: “Jesus hung in total solidarity with the pain of the world and the far too many lives on this planet that have been "nasty, lonely, brutish, and short.” After the cross, we know that God is not watching human pain, nor apparently always stopping human pain, as much as God is found hanging with us alongside all human pain. Jesus forever tells us that God is found wherever the pain is, which leaves God on both sides of every war, in sympathy with both the pain of the perpetrator and the pain of the victim, with the excluded, the tortured, the abandoned, and the oppressed since the beginning of time. I wonder if we even like that. There are no games of moral superiority left. Yet this is exactly the kind of Lover and the universal Love that humanity needs.” way to keep me up at night, Richard.
5. My understanding of “Gospel” is evolving. The good news is bigger than I realize, I think. I’m constantly asking myself, “but what would be good news to her?” or “what good news does he need to hear?” Some of the time it’s American evangelicalism's typical-but-can’t-be-overstated-because-it’s-so-wonderful news that Jesus died to pay for our sins. Good news indeed. But I’m finding more and more that if I choose to engage rather that isolate myself from this world’s (this city's, this neighborhood's) harsh realities, the good news is so. much. more. At the very least, it must include the truth that “God is with you.” Like yesterday, my little crying friend on the sidewalk, I think the good news that she needed to hear in that moment was not that "Jesus died to pay for your sins," but rather “Jesus is with you. He was with all human pain when he hung on the cross and he's with you now." I don't mean to minimize the former, but I do think the definition needs to be fuller.
This was weightier than I intended. It's been a heavy week, and I've been struggling to put things in context (my constant quest).
Deep breaths,
Julie
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Great thoughts.
ReplyDeleteOn No. 5: I have thought a lot about this as well. It's why "Emmanuel" is my favorite of his names.
I'll be blogging about this later today, but I have also been thinking about the paradox of guilt and forgiveness. It was my guilt that put him on that tree, but it was him on that tree that took away my guilt. It's a strange circle.
Love that you've been blogging more recently. I miss you guys.