Sermon For Good Friday.

GOOD FRIDAY 2011

They reckon that we should eat as little processed food as possible.
Heather and I have a friend who is a Doctor
and he thinks we should only eat things
that look as much like they originally were as possible.
In other words “not processed”.
I think cheese is a good example
– that processed sliced cheese in plastic.
Awful – I wonder if you are better off eating the plastic wrapper.
Sometimes the picture we have of Jesus is like that,
the Jesus we are presented with – so processed,
the things we don’t like about Jesus have been sifted out,
so that all we are left with is a very insipid and unsatisfying,
un-challenging Jesus,
worse than the worst of our processed foods.
I hate the thought that I might be adding to the “processing” of Jesus,
that my preaching might be watering down the Jesus of the Gospels,
making him “predictable”, palatable, easy to swallow,
The picture we get of Jesus from the gospels is far from that.
The picture that we get of Jesus in the Gospels is far from conventional and “safe”.
He is in fact, so unconventional
– that no one would invent such a person.
We might now – but we would not have then,
and they didn’t – that is the beauty of having an historical document – one that hasn’t substantially changed in 2000 years.
Jesus is too different – too threatening for our comfort zones.
He challenges the way we live in the world.
Why do you think church attendance has dropped off over the years?
Over the years we have become more prosperous,
we want to be prosperous – and not be challenged.
I did a funeral the other week – One of the grandchildren (a man about 40) said of his grandma,
“We would be sitting down a to a lovely meal….and gran would say
“ I wonder what the poor people are eating now”
That would make people feel uneasy because we DO WONDER WHAT THE POOR PEOPLE ARE EATING!
Jesus challenges our lifestyle.
I can understand why the establishment of those days wanted to get rid of Him.
He showed up pride, pomposity, pretence, injustice, extravagance etc. for what they are.
When Jesus is not around we can tart them up – and we can feel good about them,
but not when Jesus turns up.
Jesus didn’t show the slightest tolerance for these characteristics.
People say Jesus was tolerant!
In what area?
Certainly not with sin, injustice and hyprocisy!
He could be moved with compassion,
and be very gentle,
not in a “gentle Jesus meek and mild” sort of a way,
not in a sloppy, sentimental way – but in a real way.
He could reach out – touch the untouchable and love the unlovable.
Even today,
when Jesus loves you – you know that you are loved.
Jesus was a person who could love,
but He was also a person who was terrifying tough,
not in a Sean Connery/James Bond sort of a way,
but by the sheer strength of His personality,
think about how He walked through the murderous crowd that wanted to throw Him off a cliff outside Nazareth!
Do you know anyone like that?
Someone who can walk through a crowd of louts outside the George Street Cinemas?
Think about how He spent hours agonising over His future in the Garden of Gethsemane,
how rung out He must have been,
and yet, when the guards came to arrest him
– with Judas and the soldiers,
the Scriptures tell us “they fell back to the ground”,
the sheer force of who He was sent them toppling to the ground.
Jesus was truly an amazing man.
He could be up early in the morning and helping and healing people all day,
day after day,
yet He could be fast asleep at the stern of the fishing boat,
while others were panicking in the storm.
He could be awake, up and out praying by Himself for hours on end,
while His disciples were sleeping.
He would touch a diseased, untouchable leper.
He made friends with those who had lost their reputation and self-respect.
He had no worries of denouncing the leaders of His Jewish religion,
He called them “white-washed tombs”
– looking good on the outside but inside
- all dead and decaying.
He spoke fearlessly to the violently insane.
He wept in the presence of human sorrow – it saddened Him.
He wept for Jerusalem when He entered,
because the city had failed to recognise the prophets of old,
and failed to recognise God’s Messiah as He taught, healed and preached among them.

How He must be weeping now?
Not only over the Jews (who He loves)
but also over humanity that has by and large given Jesus the flick,
Often without so much as a second thought.

We read things in the Gospels about Jesus like this….
“He spoke with authority”
“the common people heard Him gladly”.
Even the soldiers sent to arrest Him, said of Him,
“No one has ever spoken like this man”

This is the one whose death we have come here to remember today.
He was so amazing, so remarkable,
He was such an odd fit for the Jewish religious establishment,
That he had to gotten rid of…
And so He hangs on that Roman cross and cries out those terrible words,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
At that point this truly remarkable Son of God was suffering separation from His Heavenly Father,
He was suffering hell,
Because that’s what “hell” is,
Forget all the weird pictures,
“hell” is separation from God – hell is not being with God – not having God in your life.
We only get a glimpse of “hell” now (just like we only glimpse heaven),
But where there is no God – there is no goodness , no merit, nothing nice,
If people knew – nobody would choose that.

The Scriptures tell us that on the cross – Christ was taking on Himself other people’s sin,
The sin of all those – in the past – in the present and in the future,
Who have said, or will say,
“I repent – please forgive me for leaving you out of my life – give me a new start”

It is for them (us) that Jesus cried out “It is finished”,
“I’ve done the job”
“It is completed”

the terrifying task of doing God’s will to the bitter end had been fully and finally accomplished.
Has Jesus “death” had its effect on you?

There are two ways to respond to what Jesus has done on Good Friday.
Positively and negatively,
Responding positively means turning your life around,
The word is repenting – heading in God’s direction –choosing to be with God in eternity.
The negative response to God doesn’t even bear mentioning,
Not choosing to be with God for eternity,
Who would actually choose that?
People might slip into it,
You may even slip into it
….but surely not choose it.
That is why I pray that I might be clear when I preach,
So that at least people here….will not slip into a Godless eternity.

Let’s just take a minute to think about all this – and to respond privately to God in prayer. I believe that there are people here in great spiritual need to turn back to God.


AMEN.