In the ancient liturgy it is said, “Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the cross.” We come to Good Friday and ask the question of what wondrous love is this? I think the best way to approach this horrific day on which we recall the crucifixion of our Lord is through the lens of what is going on in our world.
Right now, people are hurting. People are being crucified on the cross of racism, of hate, of despair, of depression. People are walking the way of suffering up to Golgotha because poverty is still running rampant, and diseases are ravaging the continent of Africa. You don’t have to drive too far from your comfortable chair in which you are reading this to see that the Gospel still needs to be brought about.
What does it mean to bring the Gospel about? At Broad Street United Methodist Church where I grew up one of the time-honored traditions is to release butterflies come Easter. I can remember as a child watching the cocoons growing in the church office and how ugly they are and if you approached them they smelled awfully strange. But then come Easter amidst the fresh flowers and sunshine you had forgotten about that terrible smell. You just saw the butterflies and forgot the smell.
Friends as we approach Easter we can never forget Good Friday. More importantly as we approach Easter we can never forget the cross of racism, of classism, sexism and hate. We must be the change that Christ has called us to be. So this Easter, as the pastor preaches their sermon, as the hymns are sung and the cross is lifted high, remember that people hurt. Remember that one day God will come and change everything for the better.
But as for the present, we wait. We bury everything in that tomb in hopes that come Sunday the butterflies will be free. It’s almost easy for us to bury those things in the tomb because we’re on this side of the resurrection. I’m reminded of that famous Bob Dylan song, Like a Rolling Stone. Are we going to roll the stone away with Jesus or are we content to let it sit there for the rest of time… We all have our stones, we all have our tombs, but God is willing to roll away the stone and change the course of our histories.
We who claim the name of Christian follow a 1st century Jewish Rabbi who taught us to be servants, who taught us to offer a meal even to those who would betray us. He was a man who taught us to turn the other cheek and allow people to see the best in them. So this Easter, as the butterflies go free and the flowers are present. As you gather around a table for an Easter lunch, remember that Christ the Lord is risen today, alleluia, earth and heaven in chorus say, alleluia. Thanks be to God.
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