How to respond - Good Friday

From Helen

The readings this afternoon take us from the arrest of Jesus to His crucifixion. It is an emotional rollercoaster. Emotions that are based in something so real and that is the love of God for each of us.

God in Jesus had walked with the disciples, He had loved them and they loved Him. After all, they had left all that they had to follow Jesus. But when the going got tough … well things were a little different.

I want you to imagine the scene of Jesus’ arrest.  The disciples were with Jesus as they normally were and then suddenly everything changed and came crashing down around them. 

For the disciples their leader who you promised to be with was in trouble. 

If you were a disciple how might you have responded ?  It would be great to think that we wold never let Jesus down but then … Think of Peter.

Now Peter had been very vocal, in his love for Jesus. Peter wouldn’t let anything stand in the way of Jesus and His glory. At the transfiguration Peter had wanted to build shelters for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Peter was the first disciple to say that Jesus was the Messiah. When Jesus washed the disciples feet Peter wanted more and more of Jesus. 

Then at the arrest of Jesus, Peter staying true to form got angry and cut off the high priests servants ear !

But then …. Peter was given an option at the high priestscourtyard and he denied knowing Jesus.  (John 18:13-27)

Peter panicked and opting for safety denied Jesus. He told a lie, and the type of lie which meant that he had to keep lying. Now at times we could think that Peter was a bit of a fool. He didn’t have to keep lying. But he did so. Peter denied Jesus and he forgot what Jesus had told him at the last supper would happen. Jesus had said that Peter would deny Him, and Peter had to live with the fact that right at the last moment he had let Jesus down. He had denied him. The very thing that Peter had said he would never do he did….

I think we need to feel sorry for Peter as we can all be in situations when it is easier to turn away from Jesus. Times when it is easier to sin than not to sin. 

We are all placed into situations when it is hard to follow Jesus. We all makes mistakes, we all sin but today we remember once again what Jesus did for us so that we could be loved and accepted, so that we could be saved. 

Peter had to live with the guilt and consequences of a bad choice and this is something that we all have had to do at times. The difference is though, that we know we are forgiven. We know the end of the story and we know that Jesus has died for us. 

This is one of the hardest bits of today. Our Lord, the one we love suffered more than we could imagine and it was for us. While we were still sinners Christ died for us. 

When we feel guilt, when we feel shame we can ask for forgiveness and start again. This last hour of the cross is a chance for us to take time to listen as we hear again what Jesus went through for us. We have a chance to think about the times when we have let God down and give thanks that we are forgiven. We don’t need to feel guilty but we need to keep turning to God asking Him to help us be more like Him. 

Good Friday is a reminder to us that God loves us and that we must respond. How will we respond ? God loves us and all He wants us to do is to love Him and be more like Him. To offer Jesus our love, our everything.

I think one of the best responses is from a hymn we all know so well – When I survey the Wondrous Cross with the words –

‘ Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.’ May this be our response. AMEN