Preaching on Good Friday

Really and truly ALL preaching should be Good Friday preaching...and Easter Sunday preaching.

I've heard others say (don't ask me who) that if Jesus Christ didn't have to die and be raised for your sermon to work, it's a waste of time...at least as a sermon.  I don't think you should let a statement like that freak you out to the point of worrying and asking: "did I talk about the crucifixion ENOUGH?" But we proclaim Christ Crucified and Risen.  That's what we do.  Hopefully, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we live our lives in such a way that shows we believe it happened.

Some pastors decide not to preach on Good Friday and I get that. They let the story speak for itself, which makes a certain amount of sense.  But if you ARE preaching on Good Friday, here are a few thoughts that might help:


Get People to Inhabit the Story:

I heard an interview with historian David McCullough where he was asked how an author should prepare to write a work of history (he's written biographies of John Adams, Teddy Roosevelt and Harry Truman among many other books). His answer has stuck with me. "I marinate yourself in the time period." He means we should get to know as much as we can about it, surround yourself with it, become comfortable with it.

I believe the same is certainly true for devotional bible study in general and for experiencing Holy Week in particular.  Marinate yourself in the story.  Who might you be like? The disciples? Someone in the crowd? A religious leader?  Which one. What would have it felt like to experience these events?

As a kid, Holy Week was a very special time for me. Our congregation had a potluck meal and service on Maundy Thursday, a Tenebrae service on Good Friday, and two Easter Sunday Services. (on Saturday Night the guys cooked up the sausage for the Easter Breakfast).  I had (and have) a pretty active imagination and all of these services spoke to my senses. When all the lights went out on Good Friday and we stood there in the dark and whispered the Lord's Prayer it was like Jesus had died all over again...I felt the pathos and pain.  And then on Easter morning out cross was covered in lilies and everything was bright and shining and amazing.  Easter was so important not IN SPITE of my Good Friday experience but BECAUSE of my Good Friday experience.

Marinate yourself and your people in the story.


Now is Not the Time to Bash a Particular Theory of Atonement:

There are plenty of ways to understand the significance of Jesus' death on the cross.  The New Testament itself does not have just one theory of atonement.  In the history of Christianity many faithful individuals have attempted to describe that significance: Christus Victor, Penal Substitution, the Happy Exchange, etc., etc.  While the Penal Substitution Theory of Atonement is very popular and prevalent in the United States it is rather hated by most of the Lutheran Pastors I know (or at least most of the Lutheran Pastors who talk about it a lot). That's cool, I get it.  But slamming someone else's theory of atonement (which might be very close to their heart and the way in which they connect with Christ) isn't that productive.

When you do this, it becomes very difficult to make the sermon about anything other than a statement of "I'm right and you are wrong." At best people will be put off a bit, at worst it could cause a brother or sister in Christ to stumble.  If you want to introduce a new theory of atonement, do it with humility and grace.  Make it clear that this is ANOTHER way of looking at the cross, not the ONLY way.


Actually Talk about the Cross:

Okay, this  might seem like a no-brainer, but it needs to be said. I went to a Community Good Friday Service where one of the local pastors got up to preach and began by saying, "You probably expect me to talk about the Crucifixion of Jesus, but I'm going to talk about something else." I can't remember what his sermon was about (it was about 20 years ago) but I do remember that he kept his promise: his sermon did not have anything to do with the death of Jesus. Yeah, don't do that.


Don't Go Overboard:

So, I talked about marinating yourself and your people in the story. That's a good idea, but I think we always have to be careful not to overdo it.  Maybe Good Friday is the ONE day of the year when you really won't go overboard in dwelling on Jesus' death and suffering, BUT you don't want it to turn into a fetish for violence and suffering.  Yes, Jesus suffered, yes it was extremely painful and terrible, but spending a tremendous amount of time describing the various ways that Jesus was hurt can boarder on the pornographic.  In many ways, "less is more" in the way that you present what happens. The atmosphere that you set in the worship space as well as your tone and mannerisms will communicate more than a blow-by-blow account of the suffering that Jesus faced.

Talk about why it's a "Good" Friday: 

Okay, okay: I haven't studied the etymology of the term "Good Friday" and I don't think any of the people in my congregation really, really want to know where the term comes from.  But the name "Good Friday" provides a chance to talk about why the day and the events it commemorates is so important.  Note how it's not called "Happy Friday" or "Excellent Friday" or "Exciting Friday" or even "Great Friday."  Nope: we're talking about the trial, beating, abandonment and crucifixion of Jesus, it was not a "happy" day.

But when Jesus died on the cross, he saved us from our sins.  He made things right between God and humanity.  Good Friday is a day of "atonement" which describes exactly what it says: "at-one-ment."  It wasn't a cheerful day, or an easy day, or a happy day. But it was a GOOD day because Jesus accomplished his mission and he can say 'it is finished.'


Make it Very Clear that "The Jews" did NOT Kill Jesus:

It's 2014 so it might be tempting to think that we don't have to keep saying this, but we most certainly do.  Anti-Judaic and/or anti-semetitic voices are most certainly still out there.  "The Jews" did not kill Jesus.  Technically Roman soldiers were the ones who literally nailed him to the cross.  The Religious Leaders were the ones who tried him and brought him before Pilate...and not all of the religious leaders took part in the mockery of a trial that took place.  So the "powers that be" (both religious, political and military) killed Jesus: some were Jews, some were Gentiles.  But to really get at the heart of the matter: humanity killed Jesus.

I grew up watching the TV miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth" and the images in it are fused into my consciousness.  One of the many things this miniseries did well was to show that no one knew how to deal with "this guy" Jesus. The Zealots were disappointed he didn't want political revolution, the religious leaders thought he'd cause trouble and the Romans just wanted him to go away.  As the miniseries goes forward the viewer ends up saying, "They're going to kill this guy."

The hard truth is that we would have done the same had we been there. We might have yelled "Crucify him!" or at least stayed silent while others said it.  We would have run away like the disciples did, we would have denied Jesus the way Peter did. Ultimately WE, the human race, killed Jesus.