Sometimes I think we’ve become too numb to this story, hearing it year after year. Easter has taken on a different meaning. Just walk through any store and look at the Easter decorations. You get pastels, you get bunnies, you get tulips, you get to be bright and cheery, dadgum it. It is the way we emerge from the gloominess of winter, but it is more a representation of the joy of the resurrection rather than the crucifixion. But the bottom line is this: while the resurrection may be full of light, the crucifixion is a story of darkness. 

A city in riot.

A public execution.

An innocent life given for guilty ones.

A supernatural darkness in the middle of the day.

Luke 23:13-25, 32-46 (niv)

Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.” 

But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”

But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will. 

...

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

If we’re being honest, I had a lot of trouble tackling this part of the Easter story. I felt adamant that we needed to reflect on the crucifixion and sacrifice of Jesus, but I spent weeks trying to figure out how to flesh that out. Even now, the blog series has already begun and I’m still trying to figure this out before my post is supposed to go live. 

But I don’t think it is coincidence that I haven’t been able to find my words until now, nearly four weeks late - that while I am ruminating on the historical darkness of the crucifixion, our communities and our world are dealing with a darkness of their own. The fear and anxiety caused by the current pandemic is transforming the way we live our lives. We are forced to show the true state of our hearts, each of us being presented with the opportunity to act in compassionate, sacrificial love or become overwhelmingly fixated on ourselves.

While the world was overcome with a physical darkness in the middle of the day when Jesus died, this year we’ve all watched a shroud of fear fall over the world as we struggle to process the panic and cynicism settling in our souls. Each of us have responded in different ways, rooted in past experiences or shared faith, and it caused me to wonder how the disciples processed this darkness in their own life. We know that before the crucifixion Peter denied even knowing Jesus, and while Jesus was dying John was at the foot of his cross - two distinctly different responses. 

John 20:19-23 (niv)

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

The scripture doesn’t specify what the disciples were doing during the three days that Jesus was dead, but we know where they were: together. Hidden away for fear of being killed for their association with Jesus. Mourning together over the loss of their God and friend. Without a leader and unsure of what would happen next. Filled with grief and doubt, they stayed together. When their faith was shaken and they didn’t know if they could trust their God, they relied on each other. They didn’t abandon their community. They didn’t isolate themselves individually. They held fast to each other, gaining strength from their shared experience.

Oddly enough, times of darkness shine a light on the truest parts of ourselves. 

How will we process the darkness in our lives? Maybe it is fear and anxiety over the physical state of the world - the pandemic, or other illnesses, or a deteriorating planet that you wish would be saved. Maybe it is your relationships - family, marriages, children, or jobs that you are desperate to be put right.

No matter what darkness you find yourself sinking into right now, I pray this season reminds you that you are not alone. I pray that you reach out to the community in which God has intentionally placed you. That you don’t try to wade through this darkness alone. Just like after the crucifixion, God isn’t done yet. He hasn’t abandoned you, and you aren’t alone. He has spoken power over us that we can extend to others. “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Sunday is coming, and the light with it. 

Over the next two weeks, you can find reflections here at vineyardrichmond.com. Use them to prompt yourself to focus on your faith in a fresh way. Each week we will consider a different theme as we build up to the resurrection event. On Mondays, we will draw your attention to a biblical focus on a character in the gospel accounts. On Wednesdays, we will reflect personally on how that theme affects our spiritual lives. On Fridays, we will focus outwardly as we consider how God is inviting us to engage the world around us for his kingdom. If what you are learning is meaningful to you, click one of the share buttons at the top of these posts to share it with your friends. Let this be a time of personal reflection and careful examination of our own hearts and minds.