Despair, Pain and Death

When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Jn 19:30

At nine o’clock on Good Friday in 2006 the streets of Manchester city centre were full of people.  They were all taking part in The Manchester Passion, a contemporary retelling of the final hours of Jesus’ life through the music of Manchester.  When Jesus broke bread at the last supper the evocative Joy Division song Love Will Tear Us Apart echoed around the city centre.  The crowd were brought to despair as the trial, crucifixion and finally Jesus’ death occurred.  For a moment there was nothingness, a sense of injustice whilst the crowd contemplated what had happened.  Then a few moments later Jesus appeared on top of the town hall, singing I am the Resurrection by the Stone Roses.  He had been dead for less than two minutes.

I wonder how much time we spend reflecting on the pain caused by injustice in our world?  A correct and positive response to injustice is to try and rectify it.  However, to campaign against injustice must not be at the expense of spending time in empathy with those suffering.  It is noble and commendable to try to correct the injustice that we see but we must also stand alongside the people who are suffering, crying with those whose cry, feeling their hurt, their pain and their sense of injustice.  In their despair we see the brokenness of the world and the brokenness of Christ.

I fear that if we bypass this stage those who suffer become sacrificial lambs for a more just world. We can easily lose their pain, and by losing the pain of their suffering we dehumanise both them and ourselves.  They become a means to an end.

A consequentialist approach to Jesus’ death can mean that we try to rush to the future without focusing on the pain and injustice of this day.  There is nothing just about Good Friday.  The brutal killing of an innocent man can never be just. On Good Friday I refuse to look to the future, refuse to look for the hope that I know is coming because if I do so the injustice of the moment is lessened.  This is a day of despair, rejection and death.

This post is part of my contribution to the Favourable Time - Get it here!

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