Good Friday is not an easy day to
observe. For some, the Tenebrae service is a real downer. (I know, I know…it’s
not supposed to be your typical joyful worship service or mass.) I’ve been to a
few over the years that were so painful they made you want to throw yourself
across a railroad track or off a bridge. Imagine what that must be like for
someone suffering from depression.
In spite of what many think is terrible,
horrible news – What? They crucified the Lord? – there is a Gospel (good news)
light that breaks through the darkness of the day.
Today I went to the noon Good Friday
service and was drawn into the pastor’s sermon – again. Pastor Rick has a
talent for picking out the seemingly most innocuous points in Scripture and
building a fascinating message around it. Last Sunday – Palm Sunday – he took
an event* that, when it happened, probably lasted all of two minutes and turned
it into a 25-minute sermon.
But before you start to squirm at the
thought of sitting that long, that’s probably nothing compared to the amount of
time you spend in front of the television, the computer or the big screen.
Pastor Rick’s Good Friday topic was
about the Temple curtain…specially the torn Temple curtain.
To provide perspective, it’s not your
ordinary drape. The curtain in the Temple of Jerusalem that separated the Holy
Place from the Holy of Holies (where only the High Priest was allowed to enter,
once a year, observing all sorts of strict rituals lest he be struck dead) was
60 feet high by 20 feet wide and as thick as a man’s hand; it required 300 men
to lift it. So...?
So, at the moment Jesus breathed his
last breath, that curtain was torn from top to bottom. No one was in the Temple at that time…it was
not the Day of Atonement, the only day the High Priest could pass beyond that
curtain. God and God alone tore that curtain in the most dramatic object lesson
ever.
What does that mean? (Good Lutherans
will chuckle at this. For the rest of my readers, it’s an inside joke.)
Pastor Rick noted that the torn curtain
symbolizes three things.
First, a barrier had been removed. The
physical barrier keeping all the people of Jerusalem from entering into God’s
presence had been ripped from top to bottom, opening up the Holy of Holies for
all to see. There was no longer anything between God and His people.
Second, a road was opened. Because of
Jesus’ death and resurrection, there is nothing standing in a Christian’s way
to come to God anytime, anywhere and as often as we wish. As long as we approach
in the name of Jesus, we have instant access to the throne of God. That’s
better than having access to the Queen of England and a whole lot easier...because Jesus paid the price and opened the way. All we have to do is believe.
Finally, the hope of eternal life was
confirmed by God Himself. Jesus became an anchor for our soul, lodged behind
the curtain in the very presence of God, forever. One of the stanzas from the
hymn My Hope is Built on Nothing Less
says: “In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.” That
veil is the Temple curtain.
“The painful truth is that if we
meditate too long on our sin that condemns us, we begin to doubt if we are
really Christian. As long as our faith depends on us, we are in trouble. But if
it depends on Jesus Christ, we have a hope that is greater than our shame. Our
anchor will hold against the storm of our guilty conscience,” preached Pastor
Rick. “Fear not. Do not let your sin keep you away from God for He has opened
the door to heaven. The torn curtain is His way of saying “You are welcome to
My family. Let nothing keep you away.”
* That event? When Jesus’ disciple Peter
cut off the ear of one of the High Priest’s servants and Jesus restored it. Had
he not healed Malchus instantly, Jesus and his disciples probably would’ve been
killed on the spot by the Roman soldiers, thus avoiding the painful death of
the cross. Far better for you and me that things worked out the way they did:
A Good Friday to you!
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