Good Friday service and Video

Video of Good Friday Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer
 

Good Friday

Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
John 19:17-30

In his 1519 A Meditation on Christ’s Passion, Martin Luther argues that in order for us to constructively reflect upon Christ’s suffering and death on the cross, Christians must not blame others for Christ’s death but blame ourselves. 

Jesus dies for us. His death is a direct result of our sin. On this day we cannot redirect our own responsibility for Christ’s suffering and death upon others. We cannot hide behind Adam and Eve’s failure and sin. We cannot hide behind cultural norms. The Holy Spirit teaches us that we are left without excuse. Our sin, our human nature’s open rebellion against God’s care and love for us, is the reason that God becomes incarnate in Jesus Christ and the reason why Jesus dies on a cross for our sakes. 

Luther says, “We must give ourselves wholly to this matter, for the main benefit of Christ’s passion that man sees into his own true self and that he be terrified and crushed by this. Unless we seek that knowledge, we do not derive much benefit from Christ’s passion. The real and true work of Christ’s passion is to make man conformable to Christ so that man’s conscience is tormented by his sins in like measure as Christ was pitiably tormented in body and soul by our sins.” (p10) 

We pray to the Lord God that He will deepen our awareness of our sin. How have you sinned in thought, word, and deed? What have you done? What have you left undone? When did you push your love for God back so that you can love something else more? When did you ignore your neighbor in need and thus not love your neighbor as Christ calls us to? When have you shrugged at the mention that you deserve present and eternal punishment? More important than the question of when is the question of why. What lies within your crooked little heart and your self-righteous brain that allows you to justify your thoughts, words, and deeds? 

Why did you decide that God is not truly the LORD of your life and that His Word ripples through every part of your life, affecting your thoughts, speech, and behavior? 

Why did you choose to use God’s name in a way that is not fitting of prayer or praise?

Why did you choose something else over Sabbath observance? 

Why did you elect to disobey your parents, their good training, and their representatives in the world?

The Ten Commandments force us to ask those tough questions of ourselves. They lead us to the truth of who we are before the righteousness of God. They serve as a mirror to show us just how far we are from God. We are sinners. We far fall short of God’s expectations and glory. 

As a consequence you cannot fix yourselves. You cannot “do better” enough to satisfy the righteousness of God. As shame, despair, and terror rise in your hearts, look to what the Word of God proclaims about Christ. Name your failures, name your sins, and then cast them unto Christ. Isaiah prophesied of Christ Jesus. For your sake “he was despised and rejected…he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, he is wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities… All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” 

We cast our sins upon Him in faith. He bears our sins on the cross. Only he can die for our sins. Only he can atone for our sins before our heavenly Father. Christ dies for our justification.  

Christ suffers and dies for you so that you know the peace of his forgiveness. His death on the cross justifies you before our heavenly Father. He reconciles you. He does the work you cannot do. You receive his grace through faith. 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. 

+ + +

Luther, Martin. “A Meditation on Christ’s Passion” 1519. Luther’s Works 42:7-14. 


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