As a kid, once I was old enough to grasp the significance of Good Friday...that it is the day we observe the anniversary of the crucifixion...the name became an enigma.
In my head, it seemed...wrong...to call a day 'good' that saw such unspeakable cruelty. A day on which, to all appearances, evil had its way. A day that saw innocence suffer for the guilty. I had a hard time reconciling that with the word 'good'.
To be honest, I still struggle with it from time to time when I think of the human-ness of Jesus suffering the abuse and trauma he in no way deserved. But I think I understand now why we call it 'good'.
It was the day evil ran rampant. When the enemy threw his full force behind the destruction of good. And it seemed for a time that evil triumphed.
But, when all was said and done, when the enemy had delivered his best shot...that shot came up short. Evil could not overcome good. Or, to put it another way, when all the evil had been poured out, the good covered it and had more besides.
The enemy could not get Jesus to stop the process. Jesus took everything the devil threw at him. Physical pain, humiliation, verbal abuse, rejection, the horror of the guilt of sin...Jesus drank the cup to the very bottom. He did it. We see the triumph three days later, but I think the real triumph was in the words 'It is finished!'
He had endured the worst the enemy could do and it wasn't enough to stop the love and grace of God that day.
Oh, there may be liturgical and theological reasons why we call today 'Good Friday'...but in my mind and heart, it's good because today is the day love won. Even if it was three days before anyone knew it.
No comments:
Post a Comment