Good Friday 2009 Sermon
Saturday, April 11, 2009 at 08:40AM Preacher: The Rev. Dirk C. Reinken
Verse: "The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,and he shall bear their iniquities." (Isaiah 53:9)
There are at least two ways to look at the Atonement. One is the idea that Jesus went to the Cross to take the punishment that was due for us - that Jesus took upon him the wrath of an angry God that was otherwise our just punishment.
Another way is the idea that, on the Cross, Jesus is standing with us in the depths of our human brokeness. By Jesus standing with us, the power of that brokeness to separate us from God and each other is somehow put to an end once and for all. Through his free self-offering, Jesus is suffering with us and for us so that suffering can be transformed into new life. This understanding of the Crucifixion is at the heart of the Anglican tradition.
The Glory of the Cross that John speaks of in the Gospel, therefore, is the glory of God with us. The name Emmanuel for the Savior announced at Jesus' birth means God With Us. The full meaning of that name comes clear on Good Friday.