Good Friday Blog

Sorry folks its been a while since I blogged.

'I hate Jesus of Nazareth' was one of those lines you dont easily forget. A fellow and rather loud student burst into our common room, made the comment and ran off. This was 1993 and I had set up Franco Zeferreli's TV-movie in the seminary common room during Holy Week. (You know the one with Robert Powell - isnt he now in Holby City rather than the Holy City?) It was obsviously not to everyone's tastes and some staff made grunted comments that I was competing with the programme of liturgies they had set up. I had put this on because I felt that our ceremonies and rites had become a performance. Our endless rehearsals were almost too perfect, too anodine, too precise and I wasnt get much out of it.

Films like 'Jesus of Nazareth' or 'The Passion of the Christ' remind us that if we as Christians are not touched by the story of Good Friday then we are in trouble. It is all too easy for us as clergy and all those involved in preparing liturgies to be get so caught up in the planning and the details that we dont get anything out of it.

I recall as a deacon in my first year of ministry collapsing on the sofa Good Friday afternoon. It was 1998 and I was exhausted from the packed programme our busy parish had to offer. I channel hopped until I got to BBC1 where they were showing Ben Hur. Again, one of my favourite films, it goes on a bit, but it powerfully puts over the story of the Cross. At the point of crucifixion (Charlton Heston was saying something profound) the camera pans in on Jesus in agony, dying, thunder, lightning. Then to my initial annoyance a ticker tape runs underneath, with a news item. C'mon BBC, get this off! Not now! But I read closely. 'Northern Ireland peace talks concluded with agreement'. 'By his wounds we have been healed' says Charlton Heston/Ben hur. (I feel weepy even writing this.) And suddenly, that was it! Good Friday touched me, lanced me, threw me at Golgotha. Wham Bam!

And that, and many other thoughts , lead to believe that this, not Christmas, or Easter, is the greatest day of the year. We talk of being 'moved'. 'Being moved' speaks of a powerful emotional experience. It's a good expression, because it shows that being touched emotionally is not just a feeling but about doing something with that. In Good Friday, God through Jesus, moves us so that we can move. Martin Luther King said that love without power is mere sentiment. The power of Good Friday is what God does for us.

Yet, if we are not move, nothing will move. If we are not touched by the Gospel then how can we expect anyone else to be?