Good Friday – April 7, 2023
MESSAGE
Today, I’d like to focus on Peter’s three-fold denial of Jesus that was recounted in today’s passion narrative.
Recall…
First, the woman who guarded the gate, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?”
Not Me!
Other guards, “You are not allow one of his disciples, are you?”
Nope! Not Me!
Slave of the High Priest, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?”
Wrong man!
We’re more like Peter, at times, than we’d like to think!
- When we want to hide our Christian identity
- By not fully becoming a part of a faith community (don’t want to be too holy)
- By not adopting Christian values in our day to day living (ok to steal from employer, or to swear while at work)
- By allowing others to disrespect Christ, the church or our faith (not standing up for the values Christ, the church our faith add to the world)
- When we refuse to take a stand for Peace and Justice
- Against the war in Ukraine
- For Indigenous peoples who have suffered the effects of the residential schools
- Against unjust business practices, unjust living wages, environmental harms caused by corporations and our local areas
- By advocating for the farmers and peoples in the Global south
- When we remain silent in the face of evil
- Leading to discrimination and violence toward minority populations
- Leading to the abuse of children, power, or one’s position
- When we make excuses for not embracing the Good News
- Not fully living for Christ and making God’s word a part of our everyday consciousness (bible reading, prayer, commitment)
- Thinking that the priests and bishops are the ones who have that job (forgetting our baptismal consecration to be Christ in the world.)
When we do these things, we’re in essence
- rejecting the power of the cross to penetrate our hearts, minds and souls with God’s grace.
- Minimizing the power of the cross to bring about healing and reconciliation in our sinful world.
- Disrespecting Christ, who suffered and died on the cross, and forgave our sins by pouring forth his Most Precious Blood.
- Allowing secularism, worldly values, and a pessimistic worldview to speak louder than God’s love, care and sovereignty over all creation.
As we come up to venerate the cross today, let us silently ask pardon for the times, we have, like Peter, denied Christ and the power of His Cross to forgive us, to save us and to bring us new life.
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