Those who suffer are close to God.
Even those who inflict self suffering because they live in a tormented state. There is suffering that comes with life and then there is the suffering that is inflicted by others, the abuse, the restriction of freedom, the binding, the use of the body taken away by someone else.
Those who suffer are close to God.
We must take off our shoes and walk softly on this holy ground.
We know not what we do, so walk carefully, God is near.
We start with a great celebration of palm fronds waving, welcoming our king.
Then we turn around, bind him, humiliate him, torture him and brutally execute him. We are fickle to say the least.
We can always find reasons to justify torture or to hide it with words, but the cross exposes us, it won’t let us get away with what we do.
It is God who we torture, it is God who we murder.
The darkness in our hearts thrashes out, and we see ourselves for what we are.
We are fallen, we are lost, we are twisted, we are angry, we are panicked, we are indifferent. Sin shackles us and we are desperately in need, desperately in need.
We see the beauty of holiness in this man, we see the glory of God in this fully alive human being. And we must destroy it. He offends us, he shows us who we are meant to be but are not.
He is the bait that God is hooking us with, to catch us away from this disordered insanity. The wounds of God, our grotesque fascination bids us draw nearer to drive the nail in yet deeper still.
Those who suffer are close to God.
We begin Holy Week right now, come walk the way of suffering, the way of torture, the way of execution.
Take off your shoes and walk softly on this holy ground and see who we really are and who we are meant to be but are not.
Only God can pull us out of this pit.
We are desperate.