Luke 23:44-56

Many of us today see the Bible, and perhaps even Christianity, as a set of stories set in the far-off past which have little to do with today. Ancient stories, like a set of moral fables. Something we can set aside from our day to day lives, referring to them from time to time, as the Spirit moves us.

But this story from Luke’s Gospel today, so simply told, so devastating in its events, is, like so many other Bible accounts, one we cannot put aside.

A strange and sudden change in the light of the afternoon, the sky shrouded dark. News from the Temple of a strange event. A crowded hillside, those crowds drawn to horror as we are drawn to stories of horror in our own times. And once the action is over, they go back home. Did they know the man? The centurion said he was an innocent man. What a shame he had to die then. They go back to their lives.

But there were watchers, those who had followed him from Galilee to this hill of horror. For them this was no miscarriage of justice but the end of hope. Jesus had been their guide, their light, their prospect of a new world, and now he was dead. Their darkness was more than the lack of light in the sky, it was a deep and disappointed despair.

And another man, a good man, takes practical steps to move Jesus’ body, offering a place in a tomb which maybe was prepared for himself. And with this example, the women get spices and ointments to deal with the death.

Such a human story – how often have we faced tragedy or despair, then dragged ourselves back to the practical business of living, trying to smother the darkness within. This is our story. Yet just a few pages on and we will hear again of Jesus’ resurrection. He came back to his friends and lit a hope that was to outlast generations. His light, which the darkness cannot overcome, is here in our world. It shines into our miseries and troubles and ignites a flame of hope which cannot be extinguished. This too is our story; so when the darkness takes hold, talk to Him, share your troubles and He will light your way forward.