The backstory of Good Friday

What is “Good Friday”? What makes Good Friday “good?” And why all the fuss?

Today is Good Friday. That is to say, today is the Friday before Easter.

Traditionally, on this day, many Christians remember Jesus’ suffering and death on a cross. We remember that Jesus was betrayed by one of his closest friends. We remember that Jesus was denied justice. We remember that most of his followers abandoned him.

And we remember that he received the death sentence as a criminal, along with other criminals. We remember the despair, the confusion, the emptiness of that moment. Jesus was supposed to save the world. Instead, he died on a cross.

Why is Good Friday good? Easter is good. In fact, Easter is awesome. Easter is like Christmas in springtime – which makes it a better Christmas.

But Easter is not the point. Easter is a footnote at the bottom of the page that says “By the way, Jesus was right about who he was. That is, who God is.” But it’s not the main point. Good Friday is the point. I would even go so far as to say that Good Friday is the point of the whole church year from the first Sunday of Advent to the Sunday of Pentecost. It used to be that we Christians could sail from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday in one smooth move from victory to victory. Evening worship services on Good Friday were attendance-optional.

But this year I’ve noticed an increasing awareness among some of our best and brightest that Good Friday is actually pretty important.

And that’s good. It’s good for us to grapple with the betrayal, suffering, abuse, abandonment and death of our God. In my work as a pastor I find that such suffering touches that which is most deeply human in all of us. It’s not so much that Jesus’ suffering made God’s work of salvation possible. Rather, it’s that God’s suffering as Jesus is the very work of God’s salvation. I often wonder if the junkies, dealers, gang bangers and bums in our community would have a much more solid handle on this mystery than I do.

Perhaps only when we have experienced the deep mystery of Good Friday, in suffering and in solidarity with those who suffer, should we allow ourselves to quietly celebrate the small, uncertain, parochial, victory of the empty tomb.

This column was written on behalf of the Moses Lake Christian Ministerial Association.