Good Friday

Have you ever seen a father playing catch with one of his children?  I have seen it, and I have done it.  You know, when a father takes his two-year-old child, and tosses him up in the air?  And then catches him.  Every time.  The whole time, the child laughs uncontrollably.  So does the father.  They are having a great time!  And it is a wonderful game of trust, isn’t it?  That child is showing explicit trust in his father to catch him every time.  He never for a moment fears that his father might drop him.  There is only laughter and merriment…

But you can be sure that the laughter would stop in a hurry if Dad dropped his little one.  Once is all it would take.  One time, one drop, would end the laughter.  It would end the game.  And it would end the trust.

Let me tell you about a Son who was dropped by his Father.  The Son of God, who had shared the perfect relationship of trust with his Father, who loved Him, obeyed Him, and followed Him completely, had been dropped by his heavenly Father.  Dropped cold.  Not accidentally.  Dropped on purpose.  For the last three hours on the cross, darkness covered the land.  The Father had forsaken the Son.  The One became two.  The perfect Son was separated from his Father.  Abandoned.  Forced to cry out in anguish: “WHY?”  The Father dropped his Son into the depths of hell.  Separated from Him.  Trust could have been difficult from then on.

And friends, by now, you know why Jesus had to be dropped by his Heavenly Father, don’t you?  Because of your lack of trust.  Your failures in thoughts, words, and deeds.  Because of your bad decisions and poor attitudes.  Because of how you have dropped others who trusted in you.  Because of our sins.  The sins of all the world were heaped on Jesus.  And his heavenly Father, out of love for us, had to drop the Son who trusted Him into a place apart from Him.

And then, it was over.  The job was finished.  The punishment for our sins was handed out.  Paid for.  Finished.  And that Son who had been dropped to the ground, even though He had been forsaken by his Father, didn’t question his Father’s plan, purposes, or motives.  He got back up, placed Himself into his Heavenly Father’s arms, and spoke a word of trust.  “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”  Jesus confidently placed his soul into the Father’s hands for safekeeping, and He knew He wouldn’t be disappointed.  He trusted that the promise of the resurrection was still coming.  And then, with a final breath, He willingly gave up his life for us.

So here is the good news:  By doing what He did, by being “dropped” by his Heavenly Father instead of us, Jesus has made us children of God!  Loved and forgiven.  He removed the things that separated us from God.  He brought us into God’s family.  He made his Father our Father.  And so, because of Jesus, we can trust that our Heavenly Father will never drop us!  He will NEVER let us fall!

That gives us a comforting assurance that we can take all the way to our death-beds.  Just like Jesus.  When our time comes, as harsh as it might be, we can know that we are safe in our Heavenly Father’s arms.  We can be sure that He has forgiven us and that we are at peace with Him.  We can say, “I am not afraid.  I know Jesus is my Saviour.  I know He is with me now.  I am ready to go home.”  Like Jesus, we can pray: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”  Jesus spoke these words with confidence, because He knew his Father’s plan for Him wasn’t finished on Good Friday.  God’s plan for his Son included Easter morning, an earthquake, angels, and an empty tomb!  And God’s plan includes you and me!  So be like the two-year-old tossed high in the air by his father!  Trust in your Saviour and all He has done for you!  He won’t let you fall!  You have his word on it.

Max Lucado, in his book “God Came Near,” tells a story about a woman named Carmelita.  When she was a child, she was orphaned and lived with her poverty-stricken relatives.  Her mother had been a prostitute.  She never knew her father.  When she was seven years old, a wonderful old Christian woman named Dona Neusa visited her village and met her.  She realized that if no one helped her out, Carmelita would be doomed to a life with no love or attention.  So Dona and her husband adopted her.  From that time forward, Carmelita’s life changed.  It was filled with love, with compassion, and with faith in her Lord.

Twenty years later, something tragic rocked Carmelita’s world.  Dona Neusa was in an automobile accident.  She died.  At the funeral the next day, Carmelita seemed very quiet and composed.  She didn’t mourn like the rest.  But when the funeral was over, she was the last to leave.  She stood next to the coffin, weeping silently.  Carmelita was alone for the last time with her adopted mother.  She didn’t wail or scream with grief.  She simply leaned over the casket and held it tenderly.  With teardrops falling on the polished wood, she said repeatedly, “Obrigada, obrigada.”  Thank you, thank you.  A final farewell of gratitude.

Friends, we can relate.  We are like Carmelita.  We too, are frightened orphans.  We too had no tenderness or mercy in our lives.  We too were rescued by a compassionate Visitor, a generous parent who offered us a home and a name.  As we sit before the cross of Jesus this evening, as we stand before his tomb, his coffin, our response should be the same as that of Carmelita, a heartfelt obrigada, a stirring thank you, and a life of gratitude for our deliverance.  Because as we look at the cross of Jesus, let’s remember that in order to adopt us, in order to rescue us from a life with no future, the Son of God gave us his very life!

So this evening, let’s stand in the solemn company of Him who saved us, and weep tears of gratitude and offer words of thankfulness to Him.  Because it isn’t just our bodies that were rescued.  It is our souls.  And you have his Word on that.   Amen.

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