Goodness is stronger than evil;
Love is stronger than hate;
Light is stronger than darkness;
Life is stronger than death;
Victory is ours through Him who loves us.
Love is stronger than hate;
Light is stronger than darkness;
Life is stronger than death;
Victory is ours through Him who loves us.
Desmond
Tutu
http://godspacelight.com/2012/04/26/goodness-is-stronger-than-evil-by-desmond-tutu/
John has taken us on a journey:
·
from Jesus washing the feet of the disciples praying for the disciples the arrest of Jesus – noting that in John’s
gospel, Judas doesn’t have to point Jesus out, Jesus says: here I am.
·
Jesus and the High Priest, Annas and Caiaphas
·
Peter denying that he is a follower of Jesus
·
Jesus and Pilate – we heard the first part of
their encounter last week.
Then this passage which sees Jesus
condemned.
This reading is gross, firstly Jesus
is flogged, and Pilate was planning to let him go free.
You could flog someone before you put
them on the cross. [i]
Or, you could flog someone, and then
say, OK, you can go now, you are innocent. What ???
Whichever, it seems unnecessarily
harsh and cruel.
But then the Romans were known for
their cruelty and harshness.
Here we have Pilate trying to work out
what to do with Jesus,
this man who won’t answer his questions,
this man who has enraged the religious leaders,
this man that Pilate does not find guilty, at first.
this man who won’t answer his questions,
this man who has enraged the religious leaders,
this man that Pilate does not find guilty, at first.
But then, Pilate is spooked by the
crowd. Once they question his loyalty to Caesar, he must crucify Jesus,
otherwise he will be seen as not being loyal to the Emperor.
Here we see Jesus,
Jesus willing to join with human victims
Jesus willing to join with suffering humanity
Jesus willing to live into his calling of incarnational love.
Jesus willing to join with human victims
Jesus willing to join with suffering humanity
Jesus willing to live into his calling of incarnational love.
The Gospel of John rarely talks
directly about the kingdom of heaven, but in this reading, we see the
difference between the kingdom of Jesus and the kingdom of the world.
The Roman Empire, as with worldly
kingdoms, uses violence, fear and threats to maintain their position and power.
And then Jesus comes along, with a
different kind of kingdom, a kingdom that is built on love and grace and mercy.
Not earned but lavished on us by Jesus who is the embodiment of love.
“Servants of Caesar are known by their
violence. Jesus says everyone will know his servants by their love.” [ii]
John 19, we see the upside-down world
clashing with the upside-down kingdom. The true Messiah and King, by his very
existence, threatens those in power who crave only self-preservation and
maintaining that power. Both the chief priests and Pilate want to stay in
office and stay alive. So, Jesus stands condemned.[iii]
This reading raises a lot of questions
in my mind.
Where
is my primary loyalty?
What do I
value?
What compromises do I make?
When do I
let others choose how I live?
What is the
truth of my life?
All through the Gospel of John,
encounters with Jesus discloses the truth about whoever he is encountering.[iv]
And it is the same with us. When we
recognise and accept that Jesus is part of our lives, we change, and the way we
see things changes. The way we see ourselves changes.
A quote from C.S. Lewis: I believe in
Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it,
but because by it I see everything else.[v]
One of the images I shared on Facebook
this week asks, how we treat other people. Do we choose to think about a person
in a forgiving or accusatory way?
One thing I am noticing about the
people I meet in this place on a Friday is the variety of stories, but also the
many stories of struggle. I meet with single parents, children with special
needs, families who rely on food banks, families where work is intermittent and
unreliable.
And for these people, this is a place where
they are not judged. A place where they and their children are welcomed,
offered food and drink, a chance to sit and chat, to engage with their
children, to engage with questions of life and faith, to be taken seriously, to
have their lives treated as precious.
And this all happens because we have decided
as a congregation that we will be people of the kingdom of love and grace, not
of threats and fear.
This passage is gross, it is terrible,
the cruelty, the lies, the mocking.
But it is a story that tells us that
we do not have to conform to the ways of the world
we do not need to side with power, or might,
there is another kingdom, another set of values we can live by:
the values of Jesus, of love and forgiveness, and generosity.
we do not need to side with power, or might,
there is another kingdom, another set of values we can live by:
the values of Jesus, of love and forgiveness, and generosity.
This reading raises a lot of questions
in my mind.
Where
is my primary loyalty?
What do I
value?
What compromises do I make?
When do I
let others choose how I live?
What is the
truth of my life?
What question does this reading raise
for you?
[reflection time]
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
you stretched out your arms of love on the hard
wood of the cross,
that all people might come within the reach of your
saving embrace.
Clothe us in your Spirit, that we,
stretching out our hands in loving service for
others,
may bring those who do not know you to an awareness
and love of you;
who with the Father and the Holy Spirit live and reign,
One God forever! Amen!
~ C.H.Brent (1862-1929 AD)
Hymn/song TiS 341 My
song is love unknown verses 1, 2, 4, 7
[i]
Working preacher podcast https://www.workingpreacher.org/narrative_podcast.aspx?podcast_id=992
[iv]
Working preacher podcast https://www.workingpreacher.org/narrative_podcast.aspx?podcast_id=992
[v]
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/c_s_lewis_162523
