Such powerful images in our lessons today! Where to start: with ears to hear from the prophet Isaiah, with the psalmist’s “as useless as a broken pot,” or with one from our epistle such as, “taking the form of a slave . . . he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death”? Or with one of the many images in the Passion gospel from Mark: the alabaster jar, the upper room “furnished and ready”, the last supper, the warning of betrayal and desertion, Gethsemane prayer, sleeping disciples, kiss of betrayal, the trial before the high priest, Peter’s denial, the trial before Pilate, the mocking of the Roman soldiers, the crown of thorns, the cross, casting lots for Jesus’ clothing, the taunting of the passers by, the darkness over the whole land, the tearing of the temple curtain, the women followers, Joseph of Arimathea’s burial of Jesus, the linen cloth, the tomb, the stone rolled across the door, the women’s notice of the tomb? And those are just the ones that grabbed my attention today. Others may have touched your heart as you heard the lessons read.

Reflecting on any one of those images could be beneficial for us, but it is the power of Mark’s telling the entire Passion that pierces my soul now. The reality of Jesus’ Passion is overwhelming! My heart is full as I soak in the Word. I sit before a crucifix hanging on the wall opposite me, and I realize how we have cleaned up the story over these 2000 years. It’s easier for us to anticipate the joy of Easter by forgetting the rejection, betrayal, desertion, and denial, the emotional as well as the physical pain and agony, the real blood, sweat, and tears that Jesus experienced in Jerusalem during the days leading up to the Passover all those centuries ago. We have the benefits of his Passion without the mess, and that makes it easy to ignore the truth of Jesus’ example of self-giving love.

The way of Christ is the way of the cross. We don’t get to Easter without going through Good Friday.