Friday; April 10


          Charles Dickens begins his classic book, “A Tale Of Two Cities” with the following statement, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness ...”.  Now, I have to be honest with you – that’s about all I can tell you about the work, but this introduction to his book provides an interesting segue into our discussion of what has been called “Good Friday”.   If there ever was an oxymoron it would have to be this religious term used to describe the day Jesus was crucified.  On first blush, anyone would be hard pressed to find anything “good” in the day that featured the torture and political murder of Jesus.  Literally, it was the worst of times.  Our Lord was stripped of His clothes and His dignity.  He was the subject of brutal physical and emotional abuse.  He was ridiculed – not just by those who hated Him – but also by those who had praised Him just a few days before.  How could any good come out of the death of the pure, perfect Son of God?
          Fortunately, through the years, we have come to appreciate that even though Jesus crucifixion was the darkest day in history it contained the spark that would enlighten the whole world – in essence, the best of times.  Yes, there is a special place in history for Good Friday, but that is because it is accompanied by Resurrection Sunday.   The only way anything good can come out of Jesus’ death is that it is paired with this observation, “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” (Luke 24:1-3).
          Due to restrictions placed on us in the interest of public health there are many places where we will not be able to gather together to honor the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  However, we must not allow these limitations squelch our worship and adoration of the One who was able to take something so horrible as a crucifixion and make something “good” out of it!
Think About It!

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