God Is Watching Us?!
A
Meditation for Good Friday, Cycle A; March 29, 2002
Lectionary
Preaching Text: John 18:1-19:42
Trinity
United Methodist Church
Fort
Wayne, Indiana
Rev.
Justin K. Fisher
fishhook@iquest.net
http://www.trinityumc.cjb.net
(Pastors Note to flock and friends: This meditation is
just that, my personal reflection on the text for the day. It is not meant to be preached, just shared
with friends and pondered in my heart. May
you all have a blessed conclusion to Holy Week.)
YEARS
AGO NOW Bette Middler topped the charts with a stunning performance of From
a Distance (see full text below), a powerful folk-like tune that left us
alone with the thought that God is watching us... from a distance. On this
Good Friday I am painfully aware that God is watching us ... up close. And that He is searching our faces, pale in
the light of an afternoon gone to evening, for any spark of compassion for the
scene spilling out before us on Calvary.
He is watching us.
He
is watching us ... up close as we decide how to respond to our Lords death
before us. Will we run and hide with
the disciples? Will we move in closer
to hear his final words? Will we join
the women at the foot of the Cross-?
Will we be appalled at the gambling over his clothes? Will we pull out our hair and wail and
sob? Will we make funeral plans with
Joseph and Nicodemus? Will we do
nothing at all? Or worse yet, will we
be part of the crowd that has called for this moment and now stands paralyzed
at it plays itself out? He is watching
us.
He
is watching us ... up close, just as He has been watching us from a distance
all these many years. Hes looking
intently into our eyes to see if we see the crucifixion in Afghanistan and
India and Pakistan and Israel and Palestine this week, and if we feel it. Hes searching our movements to see if there
is any life in us, we who seem paralyzed by bombs falling, planes flying, women
and children fleeing, madmen flailing, darkness lightning in blitzkrieg moments of horror that we
have created by thought, word and deed against his divine majesty.... He is watching us. He is watching us.
He
is watching us this Good Friday to see if any of His goodness has seeped into
our mortal frames. Hes hoping for a
bit of spiritual osmosis that somehow weve put it all together, the nativity
and passion of our Lord. Hes watching
us to see if the words we proclaim match the actions that we take in His
name. Hes keen on seeing whether the
talk matches the walk, whether theyll know we are Christians by our
love. Hes watching us.
Perhaps
from a distance we all look a bit better, neater, cleaner, and purer. An overview of the Garden shows a postcard
picture shot of a praying Lord surround by a devoted small group of
followers. But viewed up close, a few
might notice that most are asleep and that the Lord is in tears, agony. Up close you might see that. You might also see that Peter gets a little
upset and cuts off an ear of a high priests slave, there is a commotion, and
Judas disappears and Jesus is hauled off to Annas. From a distance, its a murmur in the night, under torchlight,
and then its quiet.
Perhaps
from a distance we will not be noticed by most of those gathered around the
charcoal fire outside the high priests courtyard. Its crowded there, and besides, were not doing anything. Up close, Peter makes a fool of himself
(again!), but weve come to expect this of him. We havent done anything!
Did you hear that cockcrow?
From a distance, Pilates Praetorioum seems quite ordinary and orderly,
well considering the crowd is growing so quickly. Up close, I doubt you could distinguish my face from most of the
others, or my shouts either. Its a
good thing we all washed our hands there.
Disease spreads in crowds, dont you know, especially when youre up
close to one another.
Perhaps
from a distance the scene at Calvary is not all that grotesque. After all, theres a kind of symmetry to the
three crosses, stark along the ridge.
And the light, now dark, now stormy weather seems to cast a pall among
us gathered there. Are we really there
at all? We seem so far away from each
other, from the Marys, and from Him! I
cant get any closer. I feel like
everyone is a blur. Up close, we come
into sharp relief, and all the features become fine-tuned. And we are not a pretty sight.
Only
in movies do we have the luxury of looking at our world from a distance. Good Friday demands that we see it and
ourselves up close. Rather than
wallow in my own sinfulness, I confess I too am part of the crowd, but that I
want to be part of Light. O Lord, have
mercy on me and mine this holy day.
Search our faces and our hearts.
Shine on us in the darkness.
Bring us to your one true Light, and call us home. Amen.
Good Friday
is not a day of safe distances.
The darkness
descends. Taunts and jeers reach our
ears when we dare to
identify with
the Light of the World.
What part of
ourselves is found in the shadow of the mob that streamed to?
Calvary? What part of us creates nails in other forms
that wound?
our brothers
and sisters -- and our God?
Complicity,
apathy, guilt oppress us and stifle our joy. Let us bring our
sins to God in
genuine repentance and discover what God will do for us!
[from the "Call for Confession" in the 1998 Community
Ecumenical Good Friday Service of Worship, Summit, NJ.]
FROM A DISTANCE
v(Written by Julie Gold, performed by
Bette Midler)
From a distance the world looks blue and
green,
and the snow-capped mountains white.
From a distance the ocean meets the
stream,
and the eagle takes to flight.
From a distant there is harmony, and it
echoes through the land.
It's the voice of hope; it's the voice of
peace,
It's the voice of every man.
From a distance we all have enough and no
one is in need.
And there are no guns, no bombs, and no
disease,
No hungry mouths to feed.
From a distance we are instruments,
marching in a common path.
Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace,
They're songs of every man.
God is watching us, God is watching us,
God is watching us from a distance.
From a distance you look like my friend
even though we are at war.
From a distance I just cannot comprehend
what all this fighting is for.
From a distance there is harmony, and it
echoes through the land.
It's the hope of hopes; it's the love of
loves,
It's the heart of every man.
It's the hope of hopes; it's the love of
loves,
This is the song of every man.
And God is watching us, God is watching
us,
God is watching us from a distance.
Oh, God is watching us, God is watching,
God is watching us from a distance.