STATIONS OF THE CROSS

44 By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 45 The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. 46 Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.

The creator of day and night, light and darkness, while hanging on the cross, still had power over the first thing created: light. Jesus, the light of the world, him we crucified. We crucified the Light. And for a moment, the earth resumed its first state in the beginning when it had no form, and it was void, and darkness was covering it. While on the cross, the Light departed. But this was not the end, the Lord who bore the light also made a way for every one of us to come to him. In the temple, the barrier that was set, the big curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from anyone besides the High Priests’ access once a year, was torn - from top to bottom. In there lay the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the presence of God. The Lord himself reached out from on high to us, inviting us to no longer stay in the darkness, away from his presence, to come to his Light in his presence. Though the darkness at Calvary may have looked like a defeat, it was the beginning of all people accessing God's presence and receiving light for themselves.