The greatest tragedy to befall humanity is the murder of Jesus.
The Author of life was crucified.
It was a great miscarriage of justice. There were rigged trials, false testimonies, angry crowds and that was just the beginning.
Then, there was the torture and crucifixion of Jesus.
A long and painful death that was public and humiliating. They mocked him, beat him, and executed him as a criminal when he was innocent and without blame—the spotless Lamb.
Every time I think of Good Friday, I think we could probably come up with a better name for it. It was good but it was also awful. In all honesty, I don’t know what you would call it. Formidable Friday? Mixed bag Friday doesn’t really do it. I’ll workshop that.
My point is, I have a mixture of feelings every “Good Friday”. I feel grief at the tragedy that befell Jesus. I feel gratitude that God loved us so much He would stop at nothing to bring us close to Him. I feel anger that human beings haven’t changed that much. That we still betray, we still deny, we still manipulate our legal systems to benefit the privileged.
It seems to me that the best reaction I can have to Good Friday is to grieve with gratitude. To grieve the evil that we perpetrate against one another. To grieve war and violence. To grieve people who use the name of Jesus for financial and political gain.
Then to be thankful that despite what I have done, God loves me intensely. That for Him, He despised the cross, scorning its shame but did it for the joy set before Him.
I can also be thankful for clear eyes and a clear heart, as Friday Night Lights told me. That despite the hypocrisy and hate, God has given me a path forward that is better. Jesus walks a line that few have walked. To love people enough to suffer for them. To sacrifice privilege for service. Just to know that this is a better way, is a gift. To receive clarity regarding my spiritual journey is to be celebrated, even though my circumstances are not great.
If Jesus could suffer with joy, I can find a way to do that too. And with joy, I can celebrate what He did while still grieving the tragedy of how it happened.
With joy I can look forward to Sunday and the resurrection. I can rest in the knowledge that the life of Jesus was so powerful, that death could not keep Him in the grave.
Life conquers death through Jesus.
Love triumphs over hate.
We can grieve the tragedy while celebrating the new life we have in Him.
Happy Easter!
mlsnellings 