Morning Prayer at the Chapel of St John and St Anne
Matthew 26.57-27.26
Then Peter remembered the words of Jesus, ‘You will deny me three times before the cock crows’, and he wept bitterly, realising what he had done!
As we reflect on those events that took place many years ago, we may be left with the question – How could so many run away from Jesus when he needed them?, and how could Peter, who recognised and accepted who Jesus was before all the other disciples, deny knowing him?
During the weeks of Lent, we heard readings that have taken our thoughts from Christ’s baptism, to the final entry into a city, where the acclamation of the crowds, would soon turn to demands for his death. As we travelled with him through our imagination, we heard stories of temptation, powers of healing, and of Jesus’ readiness to confront embedded bitterness between people, with explanations as to who he was to all gathered around him.
Many remained uncertain, some even sceptical; how could this be, God in his Son, amidst the brokenness, corruption and destruction of a country in occupation? and for those remaining in their disbelief, Jesus raises Lazarus to life after death, as a prelude to his own resurrection.
Yet, through all these events, Jesus shows to those around him, and to us today, The fragility of our human nature. For without Him, together with his Father present, embedded in people, communities, and ourselves, part of that nature can bring about the downfall, not just in ourselves, but of the communities and nations, of which we are part. Deceit, Hypocrisy, and Self-seeking power, mixed with injustice, and denial of truth, become a toxic and destructive influence, to the life God intends everyone to have.
Pilot, in whose hands Jesus’ life lay at that moment, ‘Washed his hands before the crowd, declaring he was innocent of Jesus’ blood, before handing him over to be flogged, prior to his crucifixion’ Stripped of human justice, dignity, and earthly friendship, how utterly alone Jesus must have felt! Isaiah wrote, ‘He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities,
We, like sheep who have gone astray, And have turned to our own ways’. (Isaiah 53. 5-6)
They lead him outside the city, to a place they called ‘The Scull’. As many across the world today gather in memory of that occasion, we, in our own ways, will gather at the foot of that Cross, whether in thought, or in witness; each in silence, saddened by that of which humanity is capable. Yet, reflected in that image, a symbol present in every Christian church, will we see; the injustices of today, where people remain persecuted, the self-seeking of power in some, causing the wars against Ukraine, Palestine, and Iran at this time. Or will we see, The indifference of Pilot, as past skeletons of hypocrisy remain in the institutions of Church today; and the silence of Peter when we, as ‘Church’ remain silent, not speaking out against the wrongs we see, and others are left to endure.
‘He took up our infirmities, and carried our sorrows; by his wounds we are healed’ (Isaiah 53.4)
In that image of Christ upon that Cross, we are shown, The ‘sacrificial lamb of God’, the closing of the Old Testament culture, a temple curtain torn asunder, where God becomes accessible to all, sinner and faithful alike, by the actions of his Son. As we continue to gaze upon the face of Christ, we see the faithful servant of God, come to serve all, where death has no hold, and through his loved pouring down from the cross, a New Life, beyond the suffering we see today.