Good Friday Tenebrae Homily

Upside Down yet Rightside Up:
Good Friday Tenebrae
by Rev. Lance Armstrong O’Donnell, Pastor
St. Philip Lutheran Church and School
Chicago, Illinois

Good Friday Tenebrae Service
2 April, A.D. 2010
7:00 p.m.
Ps 22; Jn 19.1-42

Introduction

Tonight, as we ponder the cross, a key teaching, a divine mystery, is presented starkly before us. The mystery is the person of Christ, who is simultaneously fully God and fully man. The implications of this, though (perhaps) realized in devotion, are difficult for Christians to maintain in practice, individually and corporately.

Tonight, in the literal Latin words of Pontius Pilate, we “Ecce homo!” (“Behold, The Man!”) Pilate clearly had no idea what a profound statement that was, but I pray that by the time that we are done this evening each of us will better understand both who is on the cross and why.

I. The Image of God and the Loss Thereof

The reflection continues for us at the beginning, Genesis 1 and 2...

"Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:26-27, ESV)

Notice the “divine plural” there. God makes man in “our image.” This is not just a literary device, for the Scriptures make clear that there is--mysteriously--unity and plurality in God. There is “one God,” but “three distinct persons.” As we confess in the Athanasian Creed: The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, yet there are not three Gods but one God.

So, man is made, uniquely, in the image of The Holy Trinity; thus, as the Scriptures teach, in some ways “like God”--e.g., having an eternal soul--and in other ways unlike God--for instance, man--though incredibly powerful and intelligent--is certainly not all-powerful or all-knowing. There is a clear and loving distinction and unity between The Creator and his creation.

Relatedly and importantly for us this evening, in the further explanation of the Creation in Genesis 2 we are told:

"And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." (Genesis 2:25, ESV)

They were created as they were intended and it as was “very good.” They were--body and soul--perfect, and they knew it. Then something simple and profoundly bad happened:

"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”" (Genesis 3:6-10, ESV)

Something truly cosmic has happened here, and Adam and Eve knew it. They who had been created in love to be God’s stewards of the earth had sought to supplant God, the creature arrogantly defying God’s Word. And in so doing they found themselves truly naked, not just in the physical sense--where the organs of creation and nurture were exposed--but truly, profound, spiritually, alone. Those created for perfect communion with God had chosen to utterly reject him and his will for them.

Yet, in this same chapter three God had made a restoring promise...

And this brings us back to the cross and The One found thereon: Jesus...

II. The Second Adam

" Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us)." (Matthew 1:18-23, ESV)

Yes...

"When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic [His “undergarment” or loincloth]. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” [Ps 22.18] So the soldiers did these things." (John 19:23-24, ESV)

The soldiers and the others think that by removing all His clothing they are shaming Him, but in fact they are revealing His unique, Divine-Human splendor.  “Behold The God-Man!”, unashamed, the new Adam, as St. Paul says:

"Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:18-19, ESV) 

Indeed,

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." (Galatians 4:4-7, ESV)

Sons and daughters of God, Behold the God-Man! Unashamed. The promised “second Adam.” Could a cross and grave possibly hold him? No!

Then be not afraid.