Holy Week Reflections: Friday

Friday April 7 2023

Good Friday: The Women Watch

A reflection by the Rev Roddy Hamilton

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When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,

“They divided my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.”

So this is what the soldiers did.

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

John 19:23-30 (NIV)

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Enough!
It is finished.

Let us not waste words.

Mother, your son.
Son, your mother.

Everything has changed.
No longer look to the one on the cross.
He has been killed.
It is finished.

There is nothing here to see.
Look only to one another.

God is dead.

And hard as that is to hear,
And everything religious stands against it,
It is true.

It is finished.

It has to be.
There is no divine magic,
No theological sleight of hand,
No clever smoke and mirrors
Of atonement,
Or ransom,
Or substitution.
It is finished,
And there is no easy way through this.

Love is dead.

Only from that truth
Can the miracle be known:
There was no line this man would not cross for us.
His love was too great.

It is finished.
That’s the miracle.

It is done.
We have seen the ultimate,
Divine act
Of love.

Go now in that love,
And be with each other.

Mother, your son.
Son, your mother.

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God,
Holy God,
When it is this difficult,
And we do not understand why,
Let us hold silence instead.

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When we try to ease the pain,
And find some way to argue our way through the death of Jesus,
Rather than just leave him and his choice to do this,
Let us hold silence instead.

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When we find it difficult to understand
A love that can give completely of itself
For no reason other than to show what love does,
Let us hold silence instead.

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And in that silence,
Find each other,
And wonder,
How might we get through this?

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God,
Holy God,
Now we realise
How deep such silence goes.

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Holy Week reflections:
Palm Sunday: You Have to Laugh
Monday: Widow's Mite
Tuesday: Mary and Martha
Wednesday: Jesus anointed
Thursday: Pilate's wife's dream

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