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The stained glass in our sanctuary is beautiful, but I do have one or two problems with how the life of Christ is depicted. If you look at the panel that illustrates the Crucifixion (the second window to the front on the pulpit side), you might notice that Jesus–who is in the throes of his torture, with nails in hands and feet–is blood-free. I’ve thought about grabbing a red Sharpie marker and fixing the problem, but I don’t imagine that act of righteous vandalism would be welcome.
Our crosses, too, are missing the blood of Jesus because…Jesus is not on our cross at all! Our Protestant crosses are Jesus-free. We justify our empty crosses because of the empty tomb: We are an Easter people, we say. Yet Easter would not exist–Christianity would not exist–without Jesus’ choice to sacrifice himself to the evil powers of this world on the cross. We can’t be Easter people without being Good Friday people, too.
Jesus was a good man. He models holiness and discipleship for us. He feeds the hungry, heals the sick, and values the vulnerable. We often focus our attention on the merciful and righteous acts of Jesus, but the most powerful and meaningful and loving act that Jesus accomplished in his life was his sacrificial death. Jesus made the choice to sacrifice himself to Evil mediated through humanity in order that he might put an end to sin, and death, and Evil for humanity. Truly, to see Jesus as our model, we must live sacrificially. Behold the blood on the cross where our Lord and Savior hung and died. Jesus’ victory on our behalf was costly. Don’t turn away from it. Embrace Jesus’ sacrificial love for you and for the world. You must be a Good Friday person to be an Easter person.
Pastor Molly
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