Friday, April 3, 2015

It is a Good Day

It’s an ordinary sort of day. I have been running errands and grabbing breakfast at our favorite greasy spoon. I woke up late and had to drag myself out of bed as it was chilly and rainy and staying curled up under my blankets was quite cozy. I decided it would not be a pajama day as tempting as it was and got out of bed and got ready for the day.

I didn’t take the time to think about the significance of the day, at least not until now. It is Good Friday and Christians throughout the world celebrate this holiest day in the Christian calendar. I don’t have to recount the story as every believer knows it by heart. But still it is right to pause and meditate on the significance of the day.

The road Jesus walked on the way to Calvary was both glorious and labor intensive as he spent the last three years of his life trekking roads throughout the holy lands. He was worshipped and adored for the miracles he wrought. His teaching amazed all who came to listen as scripture says he preached with an authority unlike the scribes in the synagogues. With a word he could heal the blind and the lame. He was able to raise the dead and yet take time to bless little children. He could thunder at willful and flagrant cheapening of the temple in Jerusalem and speak gently about the love and endless mercy of God. And when confronted by the self-righteous Pharisees he confounded them by wisdom that left them speechless.

His wanderings took him to hills and lakes where crowds of people sought him to listen to him preach and they would speak among themselves that he must have been John the Baptist come back to life. It was all set straight when he dared to declare himself as equal to the Father. The crowds thought him the long awaited Messiah who would deliver Israel from the Romans not understanding that he came to deliver them from a different bondage, sin’s seemingly unbreakable grasp. The Pharisees thought him a false prophet who was leading the people astray and hated him for turning people from their allegiance to them.  When Jesus claimed he was deity it was the last straw. What happened next is the story of the greatest gift God would bestow on humanity. His fate was sealed and he set his face like a flint toward Jerusalem.


Believers from the days of Jesus have made attempts to make the sufferings of Jesus as realistic as possible. I have seen displays and heard ministers describe in full detail how the Pharisees and Romans treated our Lord, as they subjected him to unbelievable torture, degradation and humiliation. It was the last step toward the final act of the most profound love that has ever been bestowed on humanity.

We call this day Good Friday because we have the benefit of hindsight. The disciples and Mary did not have the clarity we do. It was not a good day in their limited understanding. It was a brutal end to what was seemingly a journey to a new order on earth. Though Jesus prophesized his end, they did not understand and in that terrible death of their leader they hid as wanted men do.  

This is Good Friday and as we remember the sacrificial death of Jesus, we are given the gift of greater faith in the amazing love and mercy of our Father and our Redeemer King. So while you go about your day, take a moment to reflect on the cross and say once again it is good.

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