benedson

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!

40x40x40: Day 33

there are moments
of perfect clarity
life is pulled back
into focus


where that which
once seem important
fades into insignificance

moments where i realize
both the gift
and fragility of life

paradoxical moments
where despair and hope
fuse together

40x40x40: Day 32

today i have needed to breathe

just a moment to stop
to be

too much juggling
too many plates being spun

yet in the midst of that
40 words to focus my spirit
40 words to remember
my innermost meaning

40x40x40: Day 31

i start to think about the end
it is within sight
tangible

yet i know that before the end
there will be great anguish

death wrestled with
and hopes dashed

i look forward to the end
but fear the journey

40x40x40: Day 26

the dynamism of manchester
surrounds me
a city that exudes confidence
proud of it's heritage

an arrogant swagger
of a city that looks beyond the capital
a swagger that
ignores the most broken

manchester, manchester
so much to answer for...

40x40x40: Day 25

hope
so much to answer for

it enlivens my aspirations
it assures me that the world can be better
it gets me up in the morning

hope
for the future
that shapes my present

hope
so much to answer for...

40x40x40: Day 24

in the innocent eyes of my children
i see a hope filled future

a future fuelled by naive optimism
rather than being enslaved to cyncial reality

a future that knows no limits
beyong the captured imagination
of a thirty something

 

40x40x40: Day 22

i look ahead
all i see is darkness
shadows of humanity
flicker around me
with no form
and no definition

i look behind me
light cascades into the space
the shadows gain definition
i see humanity
illuminated by the light

40x40x40: Day 21

21 dawns
and with it adulthood
i mourn the freedon of the child
and fear the responsibilities of the adult

is this a time to say goodbye to the wilds of youth
a time to become respectable


I think not...

40x40x40: Day 20

the first half way always going to be hard
more in front than behind
but now i'm half way there

lent seems so short
i can see the light at the end
i'm going to make it
i sigh,
relieved