Good Friday

Growing up, I was aware of Palm Sunday and Easter but I don’t think my church did much around Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. As I grew in my awareness of what I will call the psychology of spirituality, I realized that we really can’t go from Palm Sunday to Easter without going through the valley of the shadow of Good Friday. 

The churches I attended began to honor these days as well and now their celebrations are as much a part of my spirituality as the other days. 

And so here we are ~ Good Friday and that strange, unnamed Saturday before the excitement and celebration of Easter. My thoughts turn to Mary and the disciples who spent these days huddled in fear of their own deaths. The world was dark and bleak and they felt lost and alone. They did not know as we do that just around the corner was the dawn of a day that would change the face of history. 

This year I am very aware of them. Sometimes life seems dark and bleak and decisions are made that effect ordinary lives all over the world. People are scared. The safe world seems to tremble under their feet and safety is no more. And yet, even as fear seems so abundant, there are those who are working for the Light, those who are resisting oppression and darkness. Resurrection is on its way. ~ blessings on your journey through these days.

(The cross is from First Christian Church, Lynchburg VA. On Easter morning all those holes will be filled with the flowers of resurrection brought down the aisle by the children.)