We have it wrong, the placement of Good Friday—this time of the darkness of God and of our faith—this time of death and destruction, of the end of Jesus and his descent into darkness—this commemoration of his crucifixion should be happening as the buds appear, and the sun comes to us for a longer time each day, the day of commemorating the death of Jesus of Nazareth should occur at the winter solstice, the day when we have the least sun, the most darkness.
But it does not, because we know something about how the story ends. We know that new life cannot happen with some death. We know it in our personal lives, when we repent of the evil that enslaves us, the evil we have done and the evil done on our behalf. We know it in our corporate life—that some things must die so that other things can live. We know it all around us—in the buds coming back to life because last year’s fruit lived and died.
So Good Friday happens as the spring sun greets us, and the buds bloom and new life starts all around us. We acknowledge the death around us even as we look for signs of new life. We say no to the things that bring darkness so that we can say yes to the Light of Christ on Easter.
So today, enter into this darkness, acknowledge the dark spots all around and in you. Stay with them today. Keep still in the dark of death, even as you know in your soul that the light is around the corner.
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