Pastor John Boggs, Professor at Luther Preparatory School is serving us today.

The Service of Darkness centers on a series of lessons, psalms, and liturgical texts that reflect on the Lord’s crucifixion and our repentance. As the service progresses, the candles of a sevenfold candelabrum are extinguished until only one remains. This candle is not extinguished but is removed from the chancel, leaving the church in darkness. The service is closed by a loud noise (known as the strepitus) that foreshadows the rending of Jesus’ tomb on Easter. After the strepitus, the last candle, still burning, is returned to the chancel. It thus anticipates the light of the paschal candle. The service ends without a benediction. We exit in silence to reassemble on the Festival.

We begin today at the end. We take up something Jesus says at the end of our text. The Pharisees have watched the events of Palm Sunday very carefully. They have seen the reception Jesus received as he entered Jerusalem. They have observed the royal-treatment given to Jesus. The palm branches being waved, as if a conquering hero is coming to town! They have listened to the crowds as they cheer the arrival of Jesus, using portions of Psalm 118 to welcome Jesus with Messianic overtones. They don’t like it! They don’t like it one bit!

“No way!” This is the standard response when you don’t believe something just happened or will happen. The Bears are lining up for a 40-yard field goal that will beat the Packers on the last play of the game. That’s a pretty routine “make” for the pros. The ball is snapped…and the Packers’ defensive end Dean Lowry gets his hand up and blocks the field goal. Packers win! Packers’ fans yelled, “No way!” Bears fans muttered, “No way!”

It is difficult for us to imagine just how different Jesus would have been in the religious culture of his day. Jerusalem was largely dominated by the chief priests of the Temple. As you moved away from Jerusalem, the synagogues in the towns and villages were dominated by the party of the Pharisees, many of whom were rabbis and experts in the law. And for many of the most influential Pharisees, the world was divided into two camps. You either followed them and all their legal requirements, or you were considered a “sinner.” And people in the class of “sinners” were worthy of disdain and contempt. I suspect their expectation of the Messiah was that he would be a Pharisee-on-steroids. Just like them, only more zealous for the laws, and even more zealous about drawing that line between the “righteous” and “sinners.”