When I was a teenager most kids had a newspaper route. I had an egg route. My family bought eggs from a nearby farmer and one day he asked me if I would take over the deliveries to his customers in my neighborhood. I used my bike, but I didn’t throw the egg cartons like the paper boy did.
One Friday afternoon I was delivering to a nearby home and the mother asked me what I was doing that night. “You don’t have a date tonight do you? Its Good Friday, you know.” I didn’t have a date that night. Not even close! But more importantly, her remark has remained with me for all these years, and set an indelible impression on me about this day.
In today’s busy, culturally and spiritually diverse atmosphere, and with Church attendance fading, Good Friday has become an afterthought. If you are a believer you likely go to church for Stations of the Cross, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services. But I think that is a minority of people. Life goes on like any other Friday. Its not solemn. Some take the day off, some have to work. I am almost always thinking about the Cross between noon and 3 pm that day. I try to imagine with my mind’s eye what that day looked like. I have seen it portrayed in theatrical events over the years, but I doubt that’s very accurate. We read about it during this week but again that doesn’t do the story justice.
No one will deny that the past 15 months have been very weird, unsettling, and in some cases downright depressing. Covid, lockdowns, economic turmoil, being separated from loved ones- in some cases forever, and just an eerie dark cloud over everything has been following us all around.
But does Good Friday have any influence on how we perceive our circumstances these days? The Bible foretells of the events, so even back in that day there was a clue of hope coming. We know the end of the story now, so despite the tragedy of Good Friday, we know that the victory of the Resurrection is coming. Do we act like it “in these troubled times?” What’s our posture toward our circumstances, our faith, our family, friends, neighbors? Even just the strangers we meet or pass by as we are going about our day.
I’m no psychiatrist but I’m pretty sure most people are hungry for just some sane, pleasant, genuine interaction from others. Even if its just a greeting to a stranger in the parking lot as we are headed into Kroger.
We tend to want to jump ahead and focus on Easter Sunday. And with good reason. But Easter Sunday is just another pretty spring day without Good Friday. And we have no hope for our own redemption without it. Its really uncomfortable to think about that, but it was deadly for Jesus. Without Jesus on the Cross, we can’t do enough to impress God for our salvation.
Psalm 22, especially v16-18 describes in detail what will happen hundreds of years later. Isaiah 53 talks about it too, and in v11, about the Resurrection. Jesus himself talks about his impending Messianic calling in Matthew 17:22-23.
The Bible is a book, but it is the Word of God. Inspired by Him and written down by chosen men for us to read, know and live 2000 years later. In my talks with various folks in different venues and circumstances over the past year I have become convinced that there are a sizeable number of believers in the world who know the Word, work to live it, and share it with others.
More on that on Sunday.
For now, this is Good Friday.
And it is Good.
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