Up Golgotha’s Rugged Road

Good Friday, St. Paul’s, Smithfield, NC 4/3/2015

Jim Melnyk

In 1927 African-American poet James Weldon Johnson set down in words memories of some of the inspirational sermons he heard preached by early Black preachers.  His work, which includes The Crucifixion, has helped insure the survival of a great oral tradition in the Christian faith.  Hear now a portion of the words by the poet-preacher.

“Up Golgotha’s rugged road

I see my Jesus go.

I see him sink beneath the load,

I see my drooping Jesus sink….

On Calvary, on Calvary,

They crucified my Jesus.

They nailed him to the cruel tree,

And the hammer!

The hammer!

The hammer!

Rang through Jerusalem’s streets….

Mary,

Weeping Mary,

Sees her poor little Jesus on the cross.

Mary,

Weeping Mary,

Sees her sweet, baby Jesus on the cruel cross….

And the veil of the temple was split in two,

The midday sun refused to shine,

The thunder rumbled and the lighting wrote

An unknown language in the sky,

What a day!  Lord, what a day!

When my blessed Jesus died. (Taken from God’s Trombones)

Johnson’s images of the crucifixion are so painful – so cruel – so violent.  We shrink back from the language – the images we don’t want to claim – we don’t want to really be here – many of us are not here – perhaps because we know there is no escaping the violence of the cross.

No matter how beautifully we design it – gold, silver, brightly colored enamels, or even old, used nails soldered together – the violence of the cross is still there.

Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble…to even try to imagine the God-forsakenness of such agony and pain.

I believe we hurt – as the poet’s words so clearly show – I believe we hurt because we know the anger and the fear that ultimately led to the cross is alive – perhaps even thriving today.  And on this day it is so very hard to remember that all the evil in the world could not put Jesus on the cross – what put Jesus on the cross was his incredible love for us.

           

When I read the paper or watch the news I wonder about Good Friday.  I wonder about the mindset – the thought process – that could allow humanity to treat Incarnate Love so terribly – even today.  I wonder about the mindset that would turn its back on Love, so utterly broken and discarded like a dirty old rag.

The world has seen – is seeing – a universe of Good Fridays, it seems to me.  Human trafficking, genocide, bigotry, social isolation, teen suicide, unemployment, hunger…religion and politics around the world choosing power, fear, and hate over reconciliation and peace.

And I find myself wondering – wondering if this is the time the story changes and the world wins – I find myself wondering if this is the time when reconciliation and grace meet their match in society’s apathy or anger.  As much as I know the story – as much as I believe the grace and love of God overcomes the worst the world can offer – my heart skips a beat as I hear the story one more time – my stomach ties itself in knots – and I wonder.

Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble…

But then I realize what it means for Jesus to willingly go to the cross.  Had Jesus been dragged, kicking and screaming to this end, the world would have won.  But, as theologian Leonardo Boff reminds us, Jesus “does not simply accept the cross that is imposed on him by… the Romans.  He embraces it freely out of love.  [Jesus] transforms the cross from a symbol of condemnation [and Roman execution] into a sacrament of liberation” (citation lost).  The grace and love of God confound the power of violence.  By Jesus’ own choosing – by his wrestling with doubt and his steadfast courage and love – God in Christ offers an answer to the world’s relentless, cruel, shout of “NO!”

But for now – for today - for this moment:

‘Neath darkened skies

            Smothering noonday’s sun,

Love dies,

            Hanging on a tree. (Jim Melnyk, 4/3/2015)