Good Friday

 

I have a little brother, he was born when I was five years old.  I’m not sure if it’s true, but I once heard someone say that the elderly often forget they are old and think of themselves as if they were between 18 and 22, a time when your body is in pretty good health.  So now that I am in my 30’s and have a kid, I often feel old, my arms hurt, by back hurts….. despite these pains,  I generally picture myself as about 20 years old… With my brother being 5 years younger than me, that would make him 15 in my mind.  (This is a permanent 15 years old just like I will always be about 20).

So yes, I am TOTALLY AMAZED at my little brother now as he is a music pastor at a large church.  I cant believe how grown up he looks and acts on that big stage.  He plays the piano and sings beautifully.

Last night he was instrumental in putting together an amazing Good Friday service at his church. 

He made it an “interactive” service, where people rotate between different contemplative booths which encourage us to reflect on our part of WHY Jesus came with the mission of taking the punishment we deserve for our pride, and selfishness…  We were encouraged to give up a sin …blowing it away with a little desktop fan, nail our sin written on a piece of paper to a cross like the one Jesus was nailed to,  take communion, remember to walk humbly with God by making a burlap bookmark with that verse on it, forgive someone, writing their initials on a balloon and then letting that balloon raise to the ceiling, etc…

Good Friday is only “good” if you know that death is not really how it ends, its all about what is coming on Sunday!!! 

Good Friday is the day we pause to remember Jesus being murdered, beaten, abused and nailed some large pieces of wood to die.  Even though Jesus was not guilty of ANYTHING, he was arrested, tried and killed with two other prisoners.  This death had been foretold of many times in the religious texts of that time.. what we now know of as the Old Testament.  Now it came true.  When Jesus died, it was not just an ordinary passing like the two other people he was executed with.  According to Matthew Ch. 27, at the exact time he died stuff happened:

 ⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

 ⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and^[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

 ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

I am not a writer, but Andy's friend Ryan is... he has a few reflections on Good Friday here http://secondsonsoup.com/?p=203