Easter Meaning - Part 2

What is it about cheap Taco's that makes you realize Good Friday may not be the best name that was ever invented? As I sat munching tacos, Krystal, a teen I was munching with, piped up, "so what's this Good Friday all about anyways?" Krystal is not what you'd call "churched" although her natural spirituality causes one to wonder how churched she ever needs to be. Her question kind of surprised me because I assumed everyone knew, including me. Now granted, I knew, but as I began to share I found myself horrified by my own explanation. . . which sounded a bit like this. . . .

"Well you see Krystal, Good Friday is when we remember the day Jesus was betrayed by one of his own, deserted by his closest friends, beaten to a pulp, forced to carry his own cross, nailed to that same cross until he finally died, unable to take another breath." As I finished my explanation the look on her face matched the feeling I had in my gut and so the only thing I could think of doing was swinging my arm and saying "pretty good, eh?" Recognizing I may have destroyed this poor girl's soul I quickly tried to recover, "Krystal, what makes this Friday good is God took this horrible situation and used it to bring about the salvation of mankind." Great explanation John. Now pretend the girl is 15 and not your seminary proffesor. I tried to continue but she had moved onto much happier topics like Urban Planet, and why its the best place to shop. Sigh.

Is it just me? Or am I missing something? Why do we continue to announce to the world that the humiliation, torture and death of an innocent man is GOOD? I know what you're thinking, but that's because you've grown up hearing it and you know how that Sunday's coming. But saying Friday is good because Sunday is Fantastic isn't the best explanation, at least not for the Krystals of the world, who aren't up on their religion. Personally I think Friday is good, we just haven't done a good job of explaining why.

Here's something interesting, the words good and God are so closely related that when translated from other languages, namely German, they are often confused. Suppose that's what's happened here and today really means God's Friday? Would that change things? I'm not sure it would change things as much as explain things. For me anyways.

This day was good because it was God. He was there. On the worst day imaginable, he was there. As his son bared his soul crying out for relief, he was there. As his son was betrayed by one of his own, he was there. As his son's best friends ran away, he was there. As his son was falsely accused, he was there. As his son was beaten to a pulp, he was there. As his son was forced to carry his own cross, he was there. As he son shrieked in pain when he was nailed to the cross, he was there. As his son hung from that cross enduring insults and mockery and saliva and clubs, he was there. As his son cried out for water, he was there. As his son struggled to breathe while wondering "where's my dad" he was there. . .even when that son died.
On the worst Friday in history, when seemingly all went to hell, God was there.

How is that good?

If God can be found in hell surely he can be found in our mess. No matter what situation you find yourself in, God is already there. In fact, he's been waiting for you knowing you'll need him. Good Friday is a reminder that life is messed up. Its chalked full of pain, confusion, suffering and death. Friends can suck, family can betray and enemies can want you dead but nothing can take away the fact that the one who created you, is there.

Armed with that knowledge Good Friday reminds us to Let Go. Not my will but yours be done. The hardest thing about suffering is our resistance to it. How are you resisting? Good Friday reminds us that resistance is futile because life is pain and we were born to die. Our ulimate destiny doesn't lie in achieving comfort it lies in the God who is there anyway. Perhaps suffering, shame, betrayal, pain and death were and are God's way of saying - don't get too comfortable, you were meant for something else.

After all, Sunday's comin.

John