Golgotha

oops – forgot to post yesterday, so two offerings today. Here we are, Good Friday, remembering the darkest of days. We know the events through the bible and with hindsight. I cannot imagine how the mother of Jesus, or his friends felt at the crucifixion, not knowing what would follow.

I watched a much loved sister die over a relatively short period of time a few years ago. Sitting at her bedside, watching her lovely face grow thinner, seeing her slipping away in front of my eyes, was agonising. Yet I kept thinking about Mary, watching Jesus die before her eyes, an unimaginably more painful death with no pain relief, no nurses, and so alone.

He would have been naked, exposed, his skin gouged, his face beaten…publicly derided and humiliated. I cannot imagine watching that happen to a much loved son, to someone you loved more that yourself.

The Death
Mary watched and wept
 as the torture proceeded
 not knowing that each and every
 savage, painful moment

 drew You closer to home
 to the place where
 tears are tenderly wiped away
 and glory is inhaled with every breath.
 
Every step on the highway to death
 forged a path to a life that will never perish.

 And when deepest blackness
 darkened the sky
 and utter bleakness
 stole Your soul
 that was the last grasp of evil’s fingers upon You.

 Never again can the tentacles of death
 trap those in whom Your Spirit inhabits.

 For we are free
 and more alive than we will ever know
 even while we die.

 I will fear no evil. For the Good Shepherd is by my side.

• 

Father forgive them, they know not what they do

 The only certainty more sure
 than our past, present and future
 blind
 mindless
 murder
 of God
 
is
 His
 open arms
 offering
 free
 forgiveness
 to the killers.

Gethsemene

Here Jesus prayed.

Facing the unknown, when you are about to approach something difficult, be it a parting, a difficult journey, or a course of unpleasant medical treatment, is difficult. It would be much harder to face these same things, whilst knowing fully what they would entail. Which of us has not said at some time ‘if I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t come this way’.

I believe Jesus knew what lay ahead. He knew that betrayal, torment, agony and death were coming. For the person of God to ‘become sin’ – this too, lay ahead, and is a darkness beyond our understanding, yet he walked into that too, with eyes open. Jesus knew what would happen, why else would he pray, ‘If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.’

Is there anything on this earth that can console a person in such grief, facing the loss of body, soul and spirit? Perhaps only not to face it alone. Yet that was the point at which Jesus’s friends slept. Those same friends whom he had nurtured, taught and loved for 3 years. those same friends would flee, leaving him to face the terror alone.

Jesus
How did You feel?
You told them you were going
You told them they would grieve.
Were you hinting when You said 
“a time is coming when I will not pray for you, 
you can pray yourselves.”

You reminded them of their love for You.
You told them that You were going.
You said they would be scattered
But that You, Jesus
would be
all alone

WHY didn’t they pray for You Jesus?
For Heaven’s sake
they could not even stay awake
To be with You
While Your anguished soul cried out


Grief is a lonely place.
You alone are there.

Forgiveness

How easily the word Forgiveness trips off my tongue. Yet as I consider the depth of the betrayal of Jesus and the agony of the cross, the grace of His quiet forgiveness strikes me anew. How quick I am to take offence if I feel slightly ignored or badly treated by people I don’t know, let alone by friends. Yet He foreknew what would happen, and did not forbid Judas to come to the last supper or turn away from the fake kiss.

Easter

With Easter almost upon us, I plan to put something up daily regarding the week on the Passion of Christ. Please ignore the timeline – like the bible, I will jump around the timeline a bit.

Today reflecting on people Jesus loved. Mary, the disciples, and us.

Secret Place

When and where is there joy?

 When He holds the most important place
 the Highest place 
 the innermost throne
 of my heart
 and in my life.

 He loves to dwell in the inner sanctuary
 that too often he occupies alone
 whilst waiting for me.

 In that place is
 Gold
 A River
 Laughter
 Rest
 Beauty
 Tears
 Vastness
 Passion
 A different experience each day.

 Truth
 Conviction
 Grace
 New beginnings
 Gifts
 Revelation 
 Adventure
 Love poems
 Encounters

 and so it goes on…
 I could write a Thesaurus and it would never say enough.
 For the words of what is found in that place
 march off the page to eternity.
 

 My fickle heart - you have an enemy who shakes to see you go there.
 Not merely to pass through paying lip service to my King
 But to sit. To gaze. To dwell.

 Therein my joy. My love. My heart. 

Emmaus

Were we so shocked and traumatised
 that we did not believe
 that you meant what you said 
 when you told us
 this temple will be raised just 3 days after it has been destroyed?

 Were we so blind
 that we did not see you
 by our side
 until you broke the bread and gave it to us?

 Were our minds so dull
 that all the prophecies meant nothing
 until you patiently unpacked them?

 Were our hearts so cold that we did not know you walked with us
 until so much later?

Am I so tossed by life that your promises and life itself seem empty?
Am I so blind that I do not see you in every sky, tree or insect I pass?
Am I so deaf that I do not hear your voice in the wind and the word?
Is my heart so cold that I do not feel you by my side?

Every. Single. Day.

I believe. Forgive my unbelief.

Anna

The joyous wedding
Marital bliss
Longed for as a child, it became yours.
Life looking good

Except the womb lay empty
And until your husband snatched away.

Seven years of almost perfect 
Enough memories to tear at your heart
As now you slept alone.
And who would want a barren woman as a wife?

So what to do? And how to live?
A decision. 
A step made in the direction of the temple.
A life dedicated to quiet service
To cleaning and candle lighting
To prayer and worship
A friend of God
And not abandoning hope.

Seventy seven long years
Living in God’s presence
Sleeping in His temple
Knowing Him
Speaking his words.
Childless you remained 

Until a suddenly when
The Child was here and
Placed in your arms.

As you had entrusted your life, your self to Him
So He came to You and placed himself in Your arms.

A glorious eternal moment
When God lay in your arms and looked you in the eyes.

The arms that had been empty
Now full.
Love was yours. Forever.