Part of the Wizard of Oz in Lent series. A worship video of this sermon appears at the bottom of the post.
Peter is not on board with this new revelation from Jesus. For the first time in his ministry Jesus is telling his disciples what he knows is the inevitable end he will meet. The miracles he has performed, the people he has touched, and even more importantly the good news he has proclaimed and the authority with which he has proclaimed it, is disturbing the usual order of things and that is only going to intensify. Those who are comfortable with their position in the community are finding their comfort and power challenged. Those who are used to setting the rules are finding their rules critiqued. Those who are used to interpreting the law of God are hearing new interpretations. And they don’t really like it.
Jesus is preaching a good news about a new kingdom and those who are doing just fine in the current kingdom aren’t too enamored with this idea. Jesus knows it, and he knows how far they will go to get him to stop – all the way to death on a cross.
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“Have a happy Good Friday,” and it, well, brought about mixed emotions in me, to say the least. On the one hand, in a time when our culture is growing more and more secular I wanted to jump up and down excitedly and shout, “Yes! It is Good Friday! Someone knows it!” On the other hand – – happy Good Friday? Really? I’m not so sure that’s the exact emotion we’re going for here. But I think I’ll stick with my first impulse – – gratitude for the recognition that this isn’t just another day, that something happened, something important and horrific and life-changing, earth shaking, and kingdom altering even. Something happened on that Friday in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, and it wasn’t good, and it most certainly wasn’t happy, but it was something that changed the world forever, changed the world for the better. 
On Sunday the proclamation of the word took place through the words of Scripture themselves. It’s not often that many of us hear this whole story – – from the anointing of Jesus through the last supper with his disciples to his death and burial. It’s not often that we hear how the crowds shouted “Hosanna!” on Sunday, wondered what’s coming next on Thursday, and then denied Jesus and scattered in the days that followed. It’s not often that we hear the fear of Jesus’ enemies turn into anger and, ultimately, violence.
For Some Reason 