Easter

Reading today the story of the crucifixion in Matthew, a few phrases stand out to me…

 

*After the bread and the wine: When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

 

*“Friend, do what you came for.”

 

*Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

 

*Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists.  Others slapped him…

 

*They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.

 

Good Friday doesn’t seem so good at this point.  Death and all of its derivative cousins (injustice, cruelty, and the like) seem to have the upper hand.  For some of us it’s tempting to rush past the pain and messiness of Good Friday to the tidy ending of Easter morning.  But there are mysteries here worth pondering.  There are realities here that must be dealt with.