“One cannot experience the true Easter experience of the miraculous without first spending time in the dark, struggling for faith on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, when faith is, for the most part, found wanting. The Easter miracle is not to be reduced to a rational, reductionistic faith.”
Makoto Fujimura, Silence and Beauty
Today is “Good Friday,” the day when we commemorate the good work, the best work that could be done for us, by Jesus on the cross. Scripture explains that by his own will, in faithfulness to God, Jesus allowed himself to be crucified. By doing so, he took on the sins of all mankind—of you and me—serving as the perfect, innocent sacrifice to atone for us, to give us everlasting life.
On Easter Sunday, we celebrate his resurrection, His victory over sin and death. But today we share in the immense sadness of Calvary, where He who loves us more than any other died on our behalf. As Fujimura states above, this day is vital—it is a time for us to search the depths of our souls, to understand how great a sacrifice was made on our behalf. It’s when we find kinship with the scattered disciples and betraying Peter, when we feel the immense guilt of hurting our beloved Jesus. And in comprehending that, we also begin to comprehend the vast love of God.
My prayer for you is that you’ll spend some time today in prayer, talking to Jesus and meditating on his love for us. I also pray that you’ll consider attending a church service* this Easter Sunday if you’re not a regular at church or even if you’ve rejected church or never really visited. If there ever was a time to consider Jesus’ love with the body of believers he died for, it is now.
May God bless you and keep you, and may his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, loved ones.
Twwk
*If you’re not sure where to attend, crossXover may be of assistance. And if you’re not quite ready to enter a physical space, why not try a digital one like Lux Digital Church or GodSquad Church?
