The Atonement of Good Friday

 

Dear friends,

That which we call Good Friday…

Is the Festival of the Atonement; the great moment in human history when God retires the  Old Covenant’s ‘save the peoples of the world’ project from the people of Israel and institutes one person – himself – to come fix the problem of separation and sin, once and for always. The traditional picture is that of Jesus suffering for our sins on the cross, but that is severely understated other than here is an innocent being killed, like so many other innocents who were crucified in those times.

There is no getting away from the goodness of God because we are all called to Him; He is beyond our concept of good; God is an experience, a feeling, a power of being and a power to be. This is only possible because the great Creator decides there is no other way. God allowed for years in the wilderness with his choice of a people - the chosen – to be a blessing to the peoples of the earth; they even won battles by blowing horns and other symbolic acts, because God gave victory and ‘fought’ for them. Maintain the people, maintain the mission. Very little they could not do. But they were constantly slip-sliding away, again and again, as seen in the Book of Judges etc. Saving grace is given to them time and time again. But they were not ready yet. I often think that today, despite our technological progress, we are still not ready for true spiritual growth, lost in materialism as we are. We just like to say that we are. It requires much more than the current style of living.

But God comes in the person of the suffering servant, because there is no easy way out. The goodness of God will not tolerate evil, nor the sin that causes our relationship with God to be separate from the good; we deteriorate into evil persona of varying degrees, slowly and steadily, slip sliding away. But read the songs of the suffering Servant esp.  the 4^th one, in Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

The historical practice carried out for all of the years from the inception of the people called Israel, was because they were far from the perfection of God, and prone to  sinfulness, causing harm to self and others. Moses goes up on the mountain to get the 10 commandments, the people ask of Aaron and he makes a golden calf. And so, taking into account such realities, the High Priest every year at the appointed time bring a sacrifice into the inner sanctuary and offer it – the lamb of God, given for the sins of the people. That redeemed for a year. Then it had to be repeated. In the Letter to the Hebrews the new Covenant is described as Emmanuel, the Messiah, now becoming our sin sacrifice; he is the offering, and as his life drains, the blood shed is his own blood, and so God gives to himself to balance the wrong of a disobedient and separated humanity. This action is not just for the Jews, nor just for the Christians, but for all people, for all time. Hence Jesus says, It is done…….. I return to myself.

If some of us have thought from time to time, why is a blood sacrifice needed? It is as simple as what it stands for – life. True sacrifice is life for life. Israel was called to be something special, but Israel gave nothing to God. In time, Israel died a natural death as the chosen people of God and was retired. The Jews are no more special than any other people in this world,

But now that atonement has happened, all folk have the option to rise above their inherited tendency to choose poorly, hurt themselves, and hurt others. If it was a matter of choice before, it is now a matter of choosing the ability to rise above temptations. You see, we are called to do more than be only singing in church or giving money, but to help those we encounter along the way who need help, in any way, shape, or form. The more help we give, the more the power of God flows into us. We have been going about it the wrong way for so long. No wonder we are still recounting Gods great deeds way back when but have precious little to show for our own generations. And God still waits…

But that is the miracle of the atonement – what it does for us. The beginning of real accord, the ability to rise above harm and hurt and experience a power God wishes for us to have. We choose otherwise, and that will never become real. Choose well, and we grow. And it is not a matter of faith nor belief but one of experience. It is the mind of Christ given, permeating body and soul. Over and above what you can do, you can do more. From the simplest need to the most complex. And God guides every step of the way.

Be at peace this Good Friday and be determined to discover newness in your life. Every day is new, every opportunity can be an occasion for growth, every growing event increases spiritual power i.e. the power of the spirit within. We decide. Always. This is the huge current contradiction that seems to happen as we age. Look again at the scriptures – it is not so much the young who lead as the older ones who as they age are filled with insight and God given ability, if they have done it right.  We age poorly when our main concerns are the accumulation of material wealth and not the Kingdom, and we too easily forget the distinction between the careful use of money and the love of money. Jesus word on that is his reference to the eye of a needle and a camel trying to go through it. I pray for the country, because we had poor leadership for quite some years and didn’t catch it; it has now come to a head with the election of a convicted felon, and what little we had left that makes us a Christian nation starts slip sliding away.

Do what you can as you can. Give hope, comfort, and strength. Maybe more. You will know for yourself. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be always upon you and yours and protect and lead you in every way. Love, G.