Friday 29 March 2013

Good Friday


Amazing the places your mind can travel to in the space of an hour or so. Poatina’s Good Friday service began at the village monument, revisiting the events leading up to Jesus’ arrest, mockery of a trial and sentencing. We followed the cross slowly up the hill, flanked by eucalypts and then the prominence of the mountain as we climbed higher, until the cross and all the pain it represents stood out in stark contrast to the beautiful autumn morning sunshine.

Arriving at last at a bare patch of ground on the bluff overlooking the valley, we stood in the warmth or sat on tree stumps as the events of the Easter story unfolded. Through readings, music, a moving re-enactment of Mary Magdalene’s grief, a poignant drama depicting the enormous impact of individual forgiveness, and sharing the symbols of bread dipped in wine, a whole range of feelings were experienced.

We were asked to reflect on what we were thinking as we followed the cross up the hill. I sent myself back two centuries to imagine what I might have done on that day, and it was interesting to admit that I think I would have been cowering in the shadows of the doorways as the crucifixion procession slowly wound its way through the city and up Golgotha’s hill. The very nature of the spectacle and the mob mentality would have been a magnetic drawcard, but I wonder if I would have had the courage to identify with his followers, for I think fear would have been my predominant emotion.

Knowing the sequence of events that led to this historical moment is one thing, but to reflect on its impact on a personal level and feel blessed, confronted, thankful, and humbled in such a short space of time brought back the reality of the story on a human level.

The enriching time together as a small community made the gathering for tea and coffee and hot cross buns afterwards that much sweeter.







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