Why is Good Friday, Good?

 

The contradiction of Good Friday is contained in its name. How can the manipulated trial, torture, and brutal killing of an innocent man be considered in any way, shape, or form “good”?

The answer to this question is revealed by the gracious and merciful nature of our God who in his holiness and justice owed the guilty no mercy or reprieve (we, who inherit Adam and Eve’s guilt and rebellious nature, and in turn, engage in disobedience from birth).

The foolishness of rejecting the cross, as many are want to do (especially, within Protestantism) is a rejection of the depth of human evil in our history, experience, and lives. To advocate the foolish covering over of infected, festering wounds by the “band-aids” of surface moralism, also reveals a dishonesty regarding the depth of our need.

We are now told by many “prominent Christian leaders” that the “good news” of salvation preached by Jesus Christ is that He wants we humans to “find God within ourselves”.  For some, this is now the accepted approach to “evangelism”. I submit, that taking this path is tantamount to a patient with a serious cancer diagnosis being told to think “positive” thoughts and focus on all the good health they have in other ways. Somehow, their focus on the healthy biological parts of their body will address their spreading and destructive disease. Accepting this denial, the cancer left untreated will feed on and destroy their health. In the end, the cancer must be irradicated, or the person will not be healed.

To see Jesus as a good prophet who is needlessly crucified as a moralistic ideal to be pursued is not “good”. This kind of crucifixion transforms no one, nor can it address the evil in us or in the world. But, a gracious God, who without compulsion or a need for us, who sends His only son to be our ultimate sacrifice? This is a whole other matter. The death of Jesus covers our sins, transforms our hard hearts, and provides us with a forgiveness that we could never produce ourselves. With the church catholic, I say: This is good.

While most of the Jewish world looked on with disinterest and disdain, our Lord Jesus Christ sacrificially provided for us the way of salvation. He did not die in vain.

Thus, at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, we offer two different holy and focused ways on Good Friday to walk alongside Christ on the day of his death. At noon, we offer a “Way of the Cross” service (the stations of the cross) highlighting and worshipping the important people and moments as Jesus journeyed toward his crucifixion. At 6:00 PM, in an abbreviated but poignant service, we rightly engage the grief and gloom which, in turn, prepares us for the joy of Easter. We leave this service in darkness and silence as we revere the sacredness of Christ’s love and sacrifice on our behalf.

I hope you will plan to join us on this day of personal and communal fasting and meditation (BCP, pg. 17).