Good Friday

A lazy co-worker finally gets let go, and we think . . . . . . . “You deserved it.”

A woman who has been fudging her company’s books for years finally gets audited, and we think . . . . . . . . .  . . .

“You deserved it.”

A man who constantly mistreats his girlfriend eventually gets dumped by her . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “You deserved it.”

A criminal gets caught and gets a stiff sentence . . . . 

“You deserved it.”

You scrape your knee chasing your sibling around the house, and what does your mom say?  You guessed it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “You deserved it.”

Often in life it seems as though people get exactly what they deserve.

Well, not today.

Jesus certainly didn’t - the sinless one, the one who did nothing but do right by every person he encountered, the one who only spoke the truth, the one who reached out to the lowly and those on the fringes - he certainly didn’t get what he deserved. 

And when we hear the story of Jesus’ passion and death it fills our hearts with an even greater amount of sorrow knowing precisely who had to undergo such an ordeal. 

It wasn’t right then.  And it sure doesn’t seem right now.  No, Jesus did not get what he deserved.

He deserved their respect.  He deserved their admiration.  He deserved their friendship.  He deserved their full and undivided attention.  He deserved their compassion and understanding.  And he deserved their love. 

Instead, he got little of those things. 

Instead, he was led where none of us would ever want to go.  And he did it simply because he refused to stop loving, even in the face of ridicule, even in the face of judgment, even in the face of suffering, and yes, even in the face of death.

Jesus certainly did not get what he deserved - that goes without saying - but he’s not alone.  He didn’t get what he deserved . . . . . and neither did we.

“Lord I am not worthy . . .” That’s right . . . neither did we. 

You see, we don’t really deserve what Jesus did for us and continues to do for us.  And that’s not to put ourselves down, or beat ourselves up, or be overly harsh.  It’s simply the reality of the situation.  We know that at times we have messed up.  At times we have made choices that undermine that which God desires for the world.  At times we have wandered far off the path, strayed, disobeyed - use any word you want - we simply have not always lived up to our calling as sons and daughters of God, and as people created in His image and likeness. 

And whatever is wrong with the world, whatever needs to be healed or mended, it’s not because God didn’t do His part - it’s because men and women - you and me - have failed to do ours.

But instead of saying, “You made your bed, now lie in it,” God chose to take all of the brokenness and all the sin upon Himself.  Instead of doing nothing, God didn’t just do something - He did everything - pouring out His very self, His very life for us.  We did not deserve it.  But that didn’t matter to God.  He simply showed us just how much He loves us.

And so as we reflect on Jesus hanging on the Cross, our hearts are not just filled with sadness.  They’re also filled with a tremendous amount of gratitude, a profound appreciation for all that God has done for us. 

A truly Christian heart is a grateful heart. 

May we never stop thanking God from the depths of our very being, not just today, but always, for opening for us the way to the Father’s Kingdom of true and lasting peace.