Weekly e-news April 10, 2020

Hey, everyone! Happy Good Friday!

“Should you really say that? What would would be happy about remembering the saddest day of all?Especially this year with everything we’re in?”

Well, you know what I mean.

Maybe it would have been better to say ‘Blessed Good Friday’ That probably would have been more appropriate.

Well, why do they even call it that? To call that Friday ‘good’ almost seems inappropriate in itself!”

Why DO they call it “Good Friday? “ Great question!

I don’t think anyone really knows why they call it Good Friday. Some people think “Good Friday” comes from “God’s Friday”. Like “good-bye” comes from “God be with ye”.  Other people believe that we call it Good Friday because of all the good that came on that day.

“What was good about that day? It was the saddest day in the history of the earth!”

It was a day of all things sad and painful…

Jesus stumbling...

hammers ringing…

thieves swearing...

soldiers betting…

Jesus bleeding...

soldiers mocking…

women weeping...

friends hiding...

Jesus dying...

friends grieving...

stones rolling…

sun setting…

darkness reigning…

The sun hid its face so it didn’t have to watch. 

And yet, in the darkness, there was good.

For the first time in the history of the world, a life was lived perfectly until death.

And because of Him, an innumerable multitude will live perfectly after death. That’s good.

Also, by the end of that day, our Lord was finally home. That’s good.

And because of that day, I’ve found a home. That’s good.

In the first moments of His nailing, our Savior asked the Father to forgive those who so horribly abused Him. Then He assured a criminal of a place in Heaven with Him that very day.  That’s very good.

Then it became dark. For three hours. And it became quiet. Our Lord suffered silently.

As an old spiritual says, “They crucified my Lord and He never said a mumblin’ word… not a word… not a word.”  The cruelest, coldest hearts on the planet, employed to nail humans down and hoist them up, and do it without a qualm or shiver, watched the Son of God suffer in silence, as blood and love flowed. 

And then He spoke. And one thing He said just before He breathed the last time was, “I’m thirsty.” 

Why would He say this? Why say that to the most unconcerned, uncaring assembly of human beings of all time?  Did He hope that from those emotionless, cold, dead hearts, someone would care that He was thirsty? …that hands that had hammered Him would now help Him? 

And yet…And yet…

“And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.” (Matthew 27.48)

Could it be that one of them, having heard words of forgiveness and of a home in heaven… royal words spoken from a cross where a King ruled through love… had opened his heart to Him?

And out of that new and reborn heart that moments before had been only dark and cold… out of that unlikely place… some pity… some caring… some good had come?

In almost the next verse after this, our Lord was dead. But just before that darkest of moments… on that darkest of Fridays… on the worst Friday ever… someone with love for Jesus, did something good.

And around the world, those who love Him… for what He did for them that day… in one of the most confusing and difficult times any of us have known… will do something good for someone today.

That’s good.