Those Who Remain

When confronted with the terrifying realities of the world, our deeply human instinct is to either scatter into isolation or draw our swords to fight. Yet, the cross calls us to an entirely different response.Preached during a joint Good Friday worship service with Church of the Redeemer, Rev. Dr. Charissa Clark Howe explores the tragedy of human isolation and the radical, non-anxious presence of Jesus. Grounded in the passion narrative of John 18:1–19:37 and the call to communal solidarity found in Hebrews 10:16–25, this message challenges us to resist a culture of fear that conditions us to lash out or retreat into silos.Rather than meeting the world's hostility with our own violence, we are invited to drop our ideological weapons and stand at the cross together. Choosing to gather, sit in the dark together, and hold onto one another in a stripped-bare sanctuary becomes a profound act of spiritual defiance—a testament that human solidarity and God's love are always stronger forces than division and fear.