Looking on from a Distance
Yesterday, on Wednesday and on Tuesday, the Holy Week stories we reflected on dealt with moments of intimacy with Jesus, in the week before his execution.
Good Friday is harder to face.
Deserted by everyone, Jesus experienced great pain and trauma completely alone. We cannot comfort ourselves by taking action: today, it is not within our power to be at his side or to alleviate his suffering.
License by Creative Commons Zero - CC0
You may want to start your time of reflection by listening to Were you There When they Crucified My Lord - Trad. sung by Tatiana.
Then, slowly read today’s story as told by gospel writer Mark, noticing the watching women at the end.
If you wish, spend time with the other three gospel accounts.
According to the four gospels, women followed Jesus and provided for him in life.
On the day of his death, these same friends had to look on his suffering at a distance.
It is difficult to imagine the intensity of their emotions – their grief and loss, their sense of inadequacy and hopelessness - as they watched their beloved cruelly and unjustly treated.
This year, the reflecting we do on Good Friday takes place at a distance from church buildings and friends, away from communities of faith, away from physical symbols we find helpful, such as the Stations of the Cross. We, too, are physically forced to ‘look on at a distance’.
Spend time with Mark’s story and the image above.
Reflect on the pain and sense of abandonment Jesus felt; become aware of the emotions this evokes. Stay with these. Allow them to lead you into God’s presence.
As we reflect on the pain of Christ, we might feel moved in compassion towards those feeling the effects of Covid-19. The Christian faith centres on a God who, through Jesus, shared in all human suffering .
Consider and offer thoughts or prayers, from a distance, for:
those suffering at home, in hospital, in intensive care units
those anxiously waiting, at a distance, for updates on how the virus has afflicted a loved one
those grieving the loss of one or more loved ones, whose funeral(s) they may not be able to attend
those exhausted by caring for the vulnerable, the seriously ill, the dying.
Use these Stations of the Cross for a Global Pandemic to aid you.
Thank you for your presence. You may like to close your time of reflection using this prayer:
“On this day of all days, O God
We bring to you the oppressions and suffering in this troubled world.
We do this in confidence, knowing that nothing is too much or too little for you.
We thank you, O God
That you travel with us through the days of life,
entering the places which we dread
and staying in the darkness and emptiness alongside us.
We thank you on this day, Jesus Christ,
for love which surpasses human knowledge
and grace which bears the pain of death.
Amen
”