Here we are at the foot of the Cross.

The Passion of our Lord is a very familiar story. A story that we have heard many times. The problem with familiar stories is the temptation to skip ahead, to fail to really listen to the now part of the story, to have already moved on to the next part. You see we know what happens next – or at least we think we do.

Here we are at the foot of the Cross. Where has everybody gone? 

Why are there are now so few remaining?

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” 

Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” 

Did many of those who packed churches across the world on Sunday think that they knew what happened next in the story? Did they think that they just had to cheer and someone else would do all the hard work? Do all those who were gathered in church in Lairg, Tain and Dornoch on Sunday think that they know what happens next? Do we think that we know what happens next?

Here we are at the foot of the Cross. At the beginning of something new, challenging and uncertain.

But the important thing is – that we are here. Why are we here? We are here as, were those at Golgotha, because although we know that something has ended, we trust in God’s mercy and grace and have hope that something new will happen. We don’t know what it is that will happen, unless we’re tempted to read ahead in the story and risk getting it totally wrong – like the crowd and the Jewish Authorities, to jump to conclusions and make assumptions about what God has in mind for us.

Here we are at the foot of the Cross. Not knowing what will happen next.

If things are really going to happen in our lives, we have to enter a state of not knowing what will happen, of not knowing how we will emerge at the end. Knowing is a characteristic of Divinity and not of humanity. In humility we need to recognise our humanity and God’s Divinity and enter into the state of not knowing so that He who knows can lead us to where He wants us to be.

In order to really enter into the momentous events of today, we need to abandon reading ahead in the story, abandon the idea that we have the slightest idea what happens next. Now let us close our eyes and listen to the story again told by a stranger and through it enter into that uncertainty and hope.

Amen.