Good Friday always breaks me. It is a day that has always broken me, even when I was a child. I think this it is because our Hispanic culture pays great attention to remembering the significance and solemnity of this day, including actual processions reenacting the passion of Christ. So, there was always an outward expression of the heartbreaking nature of this day.
And while there is an incredibly heartbreaking aspect of the day, it is a day full of thanksgiving. THANK YOU, GOD. Thank you for loving us so much that you sent your Son, Jesus, to atone for our transgressions. He was the only one who could do it— completely perfect and unblemished.
WE ARE NOT ENOUGH— that is a point often missed about today. If we were enough, Jesus would not have had to be crucified. But because God knew we were not enough, He sent us his son, Jesus, who was more than enough, in his perfect humanity and perfect divinity.
Today I keep thinking of Advent, and the journey that started nine months prior when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, God’s chosen one, to carry His Son. A little baby with the collective debt of the world— past, current and future— on his shoulders. And on Sunday, when we celebrate His Resurrection, it is like a second Advent, and with it we get to be part of the body of Christ.
That is the Good in God Friday— it is the fulfillment of the Gospel. The Good News.
Thank you for your grace, mercy and forgiveness. We do not deserve it, but you love us so much, that you gave it to us, at the highest price ever paid in human history. Because of your Son’s sacrifice, the veil separating us from you, Lord, tore and made it possible for us to now commune with you directly, and be known as people of God. A million thank yous will never be enough. THANK YOU, God. Because of this immense sacrifice, we are yours and nothing will ever change that.