Today is Good Friday

Today is Good Friday. I will never forget a comic that I saw, quite a few years ago. It was "BC" - the comic strip with cavemen. And, sometimes they define words, giving them unusual or wacky definitions. This time, they defined "Good Friday" as "the only Friday worthy of being called good". I will never forget that.

Today, I am thinking about death. Not only the death of Jesus. The death of my mom, who we lost to cancer over two years ago. The death of a little preschooler in my parish, Edy. She died a couple of nights ago in her sleep from a grand mal seizure. I had been praying for her health, as I had been praying for my mom to recover from cancer. I am thinking about death.

In my prayer time this morning, I could not help but recall those brutal scenes from "The Passion of the Christ" where there was so much Blood. So much pain. So much confusion. So much death. And so much love.

On our retreats, in small groups, occasionally I ask the question of teens, "When have you felt closest to God?" But, I also like to ask, "When have you felt furthest from God?" Overwhelmingly, the answer for both questions usually has to do with death. Countless times I have heard things like –
"When my grandma died, I wondered why God took her"
"When my grandpa died, because I knew he was in heaven"
"When someone died, because of how our family all came together"

Sometimes, for some people, the experience of when they felt closest to God is the same as when they felt furthest away. And, often, it is in death.

Jesus modeled it, and I thank Him for His honesty. On the Cross, he cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" I have felt that pain and confusion in the face of death. I feel it today. And yet, he also cried out, "Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit." I have also known that trust, and utter dependence on God. I know it today.

One of my favorite talks of all time was given by a Protestant sociologist, Anthony Campolo. It was called, "It's Friday, Sunday's Coming!' The talk described the death and pain we all experience in our lives. Not only physical death, but emotional death and even spiritual death. But, after each statement of death and pain, he said, "It's Friday, but Sunday's Coming!"

I believe it. And, Jesus modeled it. Today is Friday. He is hanging on the Cross, after being mocked and scourged. He dies. But Sunday is coming!

I believe it. And, I trust in Jesus. Today is Friday, and later today I will go to the wake for little Edy, a preschooler. There will be tears and pain and sorrow. She died. But Jesus said that He is the Resurrection and the Life. Sunday is coming!

I believe it. And, I love you, Jesus. When Mom died, it was Friday. I saw her take her last breath, and it broke my heart. I will never forget that moment. She died. And, I remember how Jesus said, "It is finished". At that moment, I knew that my prayers for her healing were answered in an eternal way. She is now cancer-free. She is totally healed, in eternal joy. And, someday I will see her face to face again. And Edy. And Jesus. Here on this Earth, it is Friday. But Sunday is coming!