The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling
Mr. Graeme Mills
Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill
Good Friday, March 29, 2024
Graeme: Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
The Cross: Yes. I was there. I was that tree. It was today. It was Friday; and I remember it well. It was morning, and the sky was dark; the weather was threatening. Many people had gathered to witness the crucifixion of Jesus. I think the crowd had gathered there for a variety of reasons, or so it seemed to me. I noticed two people in particular. They were standing next to each other, off to the side.
Graeme: Why were you there? What was your reason for witnessing this gruesome event?
Cross: Actually, I didn’t want to be there. I was taken against my will. Back home, where evergreen trees are plentiful, it was a holy week in our community. It’s a time when we gather together to celebrate God’s creation and all of ours. The elders in our community teach the younger ones about our traditions and our faith. They encourage us to grow tall and strong, and to reflect the beauty of our Creator, no matter our size or shape. They invite us to live naturally, and according to God’s will.
But then, I heard the wood-cutters coming through the forest. They spotted me; and I heard them say that they needed some good, strong wood to hold the King of the Judeans. And the next thing I knew, I was felled. I was face down, on the ground, in the mud. I barely had time to say goodbye to my family and friends, and to those I love.
Graeme: What about those two people standing together on the side. Did they come with you?
Cross: No, they were already here. One was a man, and the other was a woman. I think she was Jesus’ mother based upon how upset she was. Her name was Mary, and there were some other women standing near her. At first, I didn’t catch the name of the man who was right by her side. Apparently, he was a disciple, someone who had been following Jesus for several years. What I do know is that Jesus loved them all very much.
Graeme: How do you know that? What were people saying?
Cross: Well, Mary was remembering a day long ago. She was talking about a time when an angel appeared to her and told her that she would become pregnant. This angel, who was named Gabriel, announced to Mary that she was going to conceive and bear a son, and that his name would be Emmanuel, or God is with us. At first, she protested. “How could this be?” she said. She was a virgin! She wasn’t prepared; and she was afraid of what might happen to her. People might stone her, or banish her from their community. But the angel reassured her, indeed even comforted her. He told her that God had a plan, and that she was to be a part of it. God had a purpose for her life.
Graeme: I’m not sure that I understand what you are saying. What do you mean about a plan? And a purpose for her life?
Cross: Well, at first, I didn’t understand either. But then as this Good Friday progressed, this Friday that they call Good, I began to see things differently. Mary’s story was my story. I remember a peace coming over me. I became less angry and bitter about what had happened to me. I understood that God was asking me to play a part in God’s salvation story, and that I too had a purpose. For you see, Mary trusted God. Although she was terrified, and didn’t understand what was going to happen to her, she simply said “yes” to God. She said, “Let it be to me according to your word.”
Mary knew that her job would be to carry this child within her, to be the God-bearer of the light of the world. She knew that she would raise him up for a little while, never imagining that one day he would be raised up on a cross, and then raised up again after his death. Her job was just to love Jesus, even unto death, not knowing that her own self-offering would open the way for God’s purpose to be accomplished. Unto her a child was born. Unto us, came the savior of the world. Jesus.
Graeme: But what about that man who was standing next to Mary? What did he have to do with her? Or what did he have to do with Jesus for that matter?
Cross: Actually, I didn’t notice him at first. He kind of hung back, as if he too were afraid...and because Mary was so distraught. Her son was being crucified right before her eyes, and her husband Joseph was long gone and dead. She was alone in her grief; and Jesus was all that she had left in the world.
I’ll never forget that image of her body at my feet. Her hair was wild and loose. Her face was streaked with tears and marked by anguish. Kneeling there in the dirt, in front of me, she bowed her head in prayer. Her grief was real and the scene was raw.
Graeme: But what about that man? Did he do anything; did he say anything? To her or to Jesus? What was his part in all of this?
Cross: Well it was then that I began to notice him. For naturally, everybody’s eyes were first on Jesus, and then on Mary. Except the soldiers.They were drinking, laughing, and rolling the dice. They seemed clueless about what was going on around them. Their hearts appeared to be as hard as the armor that they were wearing.
The crowd was boisterous. I saw people shaking their heads and I heard them say, “He trusted in God, that he would deliver him; let him deliver him now.” The soldiers had nailed a sign over the head of Jesus that said, “The King of the Judeans.” But Jesus had said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest. But now my kingdom is from another place.’
Anyway, soon after Mary threw herself onto the ground, this man emerged from the crowd. I think his name was John. He went to her side, knelt down, and gently took her by the hand and lifted her up. “Lean on me,” he said. “You can use my shoulder.” Together, side by side, they stood below me, and in front of Jesus.
Graeme: Whew, this is almost too much to bear. What happened after that?
Cross: Well, the crowd suddenly became very silent, even the soldiers. And I understood once again, that God was using me for a purpose. “Lean on me,” I said to Jesus. “Use my shoulders to help you stand.” Perhaps that gave Jesus a last chance to catch his breath, so that he could speak his final words. So right after John helped Mary to stand up, Jesus opened his eyes and looked straight at Mary. He said, “Woman. Here is your son.” And then looking at John he said, “Here is your mother.”
Graeme: But they weren’t related. I don’t get it.
Cross: I think Jesus was telling them to love one another just as He had loved them. I think Jesus wanted them to stay together, and care for one another, as a community of faith. Soon after that Jesus spoke once again, but now in a weaker voice. He said, “I am thirsty.”
Graeme: Did anybody do anything?
Cross: Yes. There was a jar full of sour wine next to me. The soldiers stopped their gambling for a minute, put a sponge full of wine on a branch of hyssop, and then held it to his mouth. After Jesus received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit. “He did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent.” Silence.
Graeme: Do you think the wine quenched his thirst? Or was it spiked with something extra to relieve his pain?
Cross: I don’t know; but I do know that Jesus often said that he thirsted for righteousness. He promised that there would be no more thirst in the kingdom of God, and that those who believed in Him would never be thirsty. Anyway, Jesus died as soon as the wine passed His lips. And then afterwards, when his side was pierced by the soldiers, I saw blood and water pour out.
Graeme: This is a very strange story. Who can accept it? Who will believe it? And what did Jesus mean when he said, “It is finished”?
Cross: Maybe he was telling the crowd that his earthly life was over, and that God’s mission had been accomplished in him. All I know is that at my feet, and below the feet of Jesus, I saw this amazing circle of very different people, all gathered together in this one moment in time, for very different reasons. And then I suddenly began to remember my own creation and how in the beginning, God gave me life. I began to see that we’re all part of God’s beloved community and all part of God’s beautiful creation. I realized that we all have a purpose in this life.
Everyone stood in silence. The space all around us seemed holy; and the time felt eternal. The clouds rumbled and roared. Flashes of light zig-zagged across the skies. I heard that the temple curtain was torn in two. And some people say that God spoke, and tombs were opened and emptied. Then two prominent Judeans courageously stepped forward and took Jesus from my arms.They took his body and wrapped it with spices in linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb which was nearby in a garden.
I also think that Jesus was saying that while his work was finished, ours was not. “I give you a new commandment,” He told his disciples. “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Pause.
Although I thought that my life had ended on that day when the wood-cutters took me out of the forest, I realized that on that Good Friday my work had just begun. I remembered how Jesus had first carried me that morning, and how I had carried the body of Jesus until the very bitter end of his life. I carry Him now deep within my soul.
My work continues. I tell the story of my life and His life whenever I can, wherever I am, and to whomever will listen. I see crosses like me everywhere; and they remind people of the story of Jesus. We see him crucified on the cross; how his body was nailed to mine. And we see the empty cross as a sign of our hope.
But what about you? Why are you here today? Did you also know Jesus? What story do you have to tell? And what work is God asking you to do?
