Romancing The Rock

This one was easy. It’s Good Friday here in Australia and that means traditional hot cross buns for lunch. These I made fresh this morning and we enjoyed them for our midday meal. Yum.

This morning my little boy asked me why it is Good Friday. Although he knows the Easter story, I still had to remind him that Friday was the day Jesus died on a cross. I’m sure on that day, those two thousand years ago, it didn’t seem like a good Friday at all. In fact, I would say, for the disciples and others who loved Jesus deeply, it was probably the worst day of their lives.

Imagine watching someone you cared about go through that — the beating, the mockery, the nailing, the displaying for the world to see. When I watch the movie Passion of the Christ, I am right with Mary as she falls to the ground, grips handfuls of gravel and squeezes till her knuckles go white. Sheer agony.

But, they didn’t know then what we know now — even though He’d promised to return. Who comes back from the dead? They would have thought it was all over. Yet, He rose again on the Sunday.

So, now we can look at that bleak Friday and call it Good. God did a good thing for humanity that day, even though it is coloured in blood. Thank you Lord for going to the cross.