I missed Compline on Monday night. Compline, of course, is one of the Daily Offices, one of the times each day that Christians are encouraged to pray. It comes at the end of the day, usually after one has finished eating dinner and washed all the dishes, after taking the dog for one last walk and after getting in a few minutes of reading time. Compline is positioned at the time of the day just before one settles in for the night and is an opportunity to quiet one’s heart and mind, give thanks for the day just completed, and say prayers for those both near and far. But I missed Compline on Monday night. And to make matters worse, I was supposed to lead Compline on Monday night.

I have been saying prayers with parishioners here at Compline each night for months now, rarely missing a one. Indeed, part of my personal set of spiritual disciplines is saying my prayers at the beginning and ending of each day. But I forgot. How on God’s green earth could I have forgotten?

It’s easy to answer this question… I had other things on my mind and heart… the dishes yet to be washed, the upcoming property tax bill, the catalytic converter stolen from my car a few nights before, my friend recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, my many responsibilities in the week ahead. But goodness, after all these months of leading Compline for our parish and after all these years of saying Compline as a part of my own spiritual path, how could I be so unfaithful?

Of course, you may be thinking, missing Compline isn’t that big of a deal. The people intending to worship on Monday night will survive and will forgive me. There’s always the chance to do better the next night. I know, I know. But still, I can’t get over the fact that after all this time, I am still so utterly unfaithful. Because the reality is that it’s not just Compline. There are all sorts of other ways, both smaller and much, much graver, that I have proved to be unfaithful to other folks and to God. And it happens each day, every day. With Saint Paul, I often find myself in shame thinking, “Wretched man that I am, who will rescue me?” And I know that I am not alone. Many of you may be thinking the exact same thing.

Now, the answer to Paul’s question, my friends, is almost too wonderful for us to bear! He answers his own rhetorical query with, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Who will rescue us? Jesus. Who can bear to look upon us in our unfaithfulness? Jesus. Who will refuse to abandon? Jesus. Who will remain faithful? Jesus. Who will free us from anything and everything that holds us in bondage? Jesus. Who will birth the Kingdom of God within us? Jesus.

It’s about Jesus. It’s all about Jesus.

Today is Good Friday. If this day is about nothing else, it is about the love of God poured into our lives through Jesus. Whether we are faithful or unfaithful, through Christ Jesus, God remains faithful. Whether we believe all the right things, whether we believe all the wrong things, whether we don’t believe anything at all, through Christ Jesus, God is faithful. Whether we are good or bad or somewhere in between, through Christ Jesus, God remains faithful. Whether we succeed or fail, through Christ Jesus, God remains faithful. Whether we remember Compline or completely forget it, through Christ Jesus, God is faithful. Faithful. Faithful. Ever faithful. Through Christ Jesus, God is faithful.

This day is Good. Good beyond all comprehension and imagination. Good because God is Good. Good because in Christ Jesus, God makes us Good. And so on this day, of all days of the year, may we hear God’s voice whispering into our minds and hearts, “you are beloved and accepted and received and embraced not because you deserve to be but because I want you.” You see, my brothers and sisters, it’s just not about us and about whether we have our act together or not.

It’s about Jesus. It’s all about Jesus.

~Father Art