I was a church-going veteran by the time I was 10 years old. My parents made sure we never missed a service. We were as regular as the mail – “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night…”. That means that we were there, even on Good Friday, to listen to the story of Jesus’ crucifixion. I think we were the only kids sitting in the pews that day, all the others enjoying sleeping in and/or watching cartoons. I remember being puzzled by Good Friday. Why on earth would we call a day “good” when all the minister talked about was pain, suffering and death? It didn’t help that my grandmother would tell us that Good Friday is so sad, the sky turns dark at 3 pm. I figured the sky in England must be different from the sky in Canada, as I never noticed it getting darker than any other day. But you couldn’t tell my grandmother that. Believe me, I tried!
It’s a GOOD question as to why GOOD Friday is called GOOD. Some will explain that it was called “Good” because in orthodox theology, Jesus’ death was considered as God’s sacrifice for the goodness of humanity. Still, the more likely explanation is that the word “good” in old English was the same as the word “holy”. That makes a lot more sense to me. “Holy Friday” I can understand, while “Good Friday” seems at odds with he events of the day.
Regardless, I think it’s fair to say that while Good Friday is an important day for Christians, it is not a popular day. If you come late to church on Easter Sunday morning, prepare to park a few blocks away. You will get your steps in making it to the front door. But if you arrive at the last minute on Good Friday, chances are you’ll get a space in the parking lot, maybe not at the front, but definitely at the back. You won’t be burning calories when you get to the front door. And I get why that is. Easter Sunday makes us feel good. The music is uplifting, the message is inspiring (hopefully), and there are flowers and chocolate everywhere. Easter Sunday is like a warm hug!! Good Friday….not so much. The singing is muted, the readings are daunting, and there is not a flower or Cadbury’s chocolate egg in sight. As someone once said to me, “the pews feel harder on Good Friday”.
All that being said, I always have and always will encourage people to come to church on Good Friday, especially if they plan on coming on Easter Sunday. And it’s not because I want people to be depressed. Let’s face it, no one wants to think about the physical cruelty of a crucifixion. But Good Friday honours life not as we wish it were but as it actually is. I know people, and you know people this very day, who are struggling with burdens betrayed by their eyes, if not the smiles that they bravely wear. We all carry secret pains, broken spirits, and untreated wounds. The reality is that many of us can relate more to Good Friday than Easter Sunday because we know how difficult life can be. And I don’t believe it serves any of us to pretend that everything is “fine” all the time. You don’t heal a wound by pretending it isn’t there; you heal a wound by treating it. The first step in treating it is honouring it, acknowledging it, and sharing it. Good Friday is a day to honour, acknowledge and share our brokenness. Good Friday is the day to admit that we are not fine, and that’s okay.
At the end of every Good Friday service, I share these words while holding a candle, “the light today is extinguished, not forever, just for a time. But so long as you carry the light within you, it will never go out. So carry the light, the light of hope, the light of peace, the light of God. In three days, bring it here, and let it shine again”. I then blow out the candle, and we quietly go on our way, knowing that it’s not the end of the story.
To me, Easter Sunday has a much deeper meaning when celebrated in the context of Good Friday. The light of Easter shines the brightest not when it ignores the pain of Good Friday, but when it acknowledges it and then willingly enters into it, bringing to our wounds and each other’s wounds the healing of understanding, love, and shared hope. And then we can boldly proclaim, “Easter has come!! Hallelujah!!”.
