Passion of the Lord (Good Friday) - April 18


Wait for the Lord, whose day is near. Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart. (Gather hymnal)

The Good Friday readings have it all: Isaiah’s dramatic prophecy of the Suffering Servant, the proclamation of Paul, and, of course, the heartbreak of the Passion. During Good Friday service, we have special blessings, we carry the cross, and we adore the cross. At the end of the readings and the service, we strip the altar to bareness, we sit in silence, and then we leave in silence.

We wait on the Lord; his time is near. This is usually an Advent theme, and it fits Good Friday as well. Our church is paused; there is no Saturday service. We wait, hope, and pray until we enter into the glory of the Resurrection in the Easter Vigil.

Good Friday teaches us, forces us even, to wait and pray, in quiet, in joyful hope. To wait for the revelation of God’s plan; to wait for the resurrection which we, unlike the Disciples, know is coming.

Wait and pray. We wait for God’s plan in our own lives as well. We wait for what is coming next, for what we are called to, what we are given, what new challenges and opportunities are ahead.

Like the disciples, like the Church on Good Friday, like Jesus even, we wait in the tomb, in quiet stillness for the coming manifestation of God in our lives.

Q: In those quiet moments when I find myself waiting, how do I grow? How can I deepen my faith and reach a more profound appreciation forthe moment when something finally arrives?

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