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By Charles Newington

In Christian church services across the world, the story of the crucifixion of Jesus will be read again this Good Friday. This year, as the world is in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, the suffering of Christ will have special significance.

One of the all too frequent tragedies of this pandemic is that so many people are dying alone or in the company of strangers, while their loved ones wait anxiously and praying for their recovery.

This is a special grief – that of not being close at hand when one’s loved one passes away. It seems an unforgivable absence.

What weight has been laid on the shoulders of health workers who become de facto family for the loved ones of the dying. How hard for them to convey a sense of the dignity and love of the dying when all around them are other people needing the same care. The health-workers on the front line are truly deserving of the nation’s gratitude.

I have been reflecting on the death of Christ and those who stood close to him in his final hours. Luke’s Gospel tells us that his mother was there, her sister, another friend and Mary Magdalene. Then a little further away stood John, the apostle in waiting.

Rome chose its most brutal and uncivilised form of execution for those who challenged or endangered its authority and social order. There is absolutely nothing to commend crucifixion. It was barbaric, excruciating and deliberately terrifying, sending a clear message to all that they should not mess with Rome. What Mary saw as she stood close would have been unrecognisable as her beloved son, disfigured and lacerated. What a model of a mother’s love.

With his dying breath Jesus gave John the responsibility of caring for his widowed mother – mindful of her part in his conception, birth and natural life. He commits her to the disciple with whom he had the most personal connection. John took her into his own home and cared for her as his own. What a model of a loving son.

Another person there was Mary Magdalene whom Jesus had liberated from the torment of seven demons. She was there in his final hours, she assisted in his hurried burial and returned again three days later at first light to attend to the customs for entombment. As she wept in the garden because of his missing body, the risen Christ made himself known to her. Her response was to fall in front of him and grab his feet.  What a model of a devotee.

The central figure, the crucified one, was in his suffering and death providing the world with a solution to the alienation and inexplicable suffering of human life and death. Why do we suffer? Why is God so distant, especially when we need him most? Why do we exist? There is no one-liner that carries the full scope of all that took place in Christ’s death. If we find it hard today, imagine those who stood close to the flayed frame of their Lord and Son on crucifixion day.

It was for us all – to settle any score, to pay any moral debt, to forgive any crime no matter how horrifying, to save any soul no matter how lost. The apostle Paul wrote “In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them…”  The perfect Saviour.

In this time when we are being reminded of our own mortality, I encourage you to make this truth your own by the simple, heartfelt confession: “In Christ’s death, God was reconciling us all of us to himself, not counting our sins against us. I believe this applies to me and I’m thankful to God.”

Grant us all grace O’ God, to live these brief lives in loving dignity and thankful service. Amen.