Good Friday- Were You There?

Were you there? -Jesus bending under the weight of a rugged wooden cross beam… pulled along by a rope around his waist… crowds jeering…  soldiers doing what they do best… Calvary looming ahead. 

It is the tradition of many Christians on this day to walk the Way of the Cross with Jesus, also known as the Stations of the Cross.  Early Christians who would make their pilgrimage to Jerusalem would walk in the footsteps of Jesus along the route He took as He bore His Cross to Calvary.  When access to the Holy Land became either limited or dangerous following the Muslim conquest of the Middle East, churches in Europe placed “stations” in the nave of their churches depicting the events of Jesus’ journey to the Cross.  The artwork on the wall of our nave here at Holy Trinity continues this tradition.

Here at noon we walk to the Way of the Cross with Jesus, as countless other Christians will be doing on this day.  We gather in the nave of our church and move from station to station, event to event, reading Scripture, praying, meditating on the events depicted, until finally we come to Calvary with Christ. 

Good Friday is a day of fasting and reflection.  In the evening at our Good Friday Liturgy, we once again read the Passion Story, as we did on Palm Sunday, but this from the Gospel of St John.

Where is the “Good” in Good Friday?  Considering the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross, this day is indeed “Good” for you and me.