We often hear it said that human beings were created in God’s image. And most days, we have no idea how that could possibly be true. Because after all God must be perfect, while here on earth, the rest of us behave in ways that don’t seem very perfect, and there are places where evil and death have their way, sometimes on a horrifying scale. How could we possibly be made in God’s image, when all of us seem so far from being anything like God?
But on Good Friday, our task here today is to see God’s image differently and to see our own image differently too. Because it turns out today there is no “up there” and “down here” with God. God is not a distant, perfect, anonymous, invisible spirit. On Good Friday, we realize that when we look at the cross it is more like looking in a mirror, we do see our image. Today you can look up and you see what you really are: a humble, bruised, and broken person totally dependent on God. And you also see what you are called to be: someone who can give everything out of love for someone else. Jesus finally gives us an image of God that shows us God’s real self, and our real self.
From this point on, if you feel wounded and don’t know where to turn, here is a God who understands. If you feel excluded, God came to embrace you, to show us that God cares about what this sometimes cruel world can do to people. It would be great if what God would do is just take all this suffering away, we think that would be a better system. But in the midst of suffering is the place where love is most desperately needed, and also where it is found like a shining light. Today we learn that God is always about seeking out love, always more. The more other people matter to us, the more people of every race and country matter, the closer we are to God. The cross is all about seeing everyone, no matter how broken, seeing everyone as God’s image. Even ourselves. The Trinity is all about caring about. God is all about caring about. That is what being made in God’s image means for us.
We don’t get a pass on suffering in this life, unfortunately. If it looks like there are people who do, just look more closely for a while, and you’ll see that death and loss are part of everyone’s experience of this world. In the end, though, what God does is bring life where it seems like life is over. God will do what no human can do, give life and prosperity to those who have lost everything. Even death can be defeated. Today reveals who God truly is. The Jesus of the cross showed us love that ends up defeating death and suffering. That is our life, and our story too. It turns out we are in God’s image. We are made to be like him.