3rd Great Friday at War
Ukraine War Reflections on the Crucifixion
Great and Holy Friday, the third one in the full-scale war Russia launched on Ukraine. The sun brightly shined through the window. Kyiv’s streets were silent this dawn before coming alive with the sounds of traffic and people. Standing by the window looking out at the blue sky, I wondered how Jesus felt as the sun rose that morning. He was sore, hungry, tired and lonely on a human level. Christ knew what was coming later that day, but did He sit there and watch the sun rise while marveling at the Father’s creation on His human level. Did the beauty of nature mesmerize Him which had a hand in its creating?
Morning began to pass and as it did, the time of His scourging so arrived. The icons and images of Christ never seem to show how wracked His body was when He was hung upon the cross. I remember only realizing the extent of His suffering after seeing the film “The Passion of the Christ”. Was it completely accurate? It doesn’t matter whether it was or not, it’s the sheer brutality that He had to suffer on Great and Holy Friday. That got me to thinking about Ukraine.
Ukraine is being scourged daily by Pharisees from the north and east. Every day the whip comes down and digs a wound. Sometimes it is a fresh wound. Other times the cat o’nine tails rips into an existing scar that has not healed and tears the flesh…
