So it seems today’s post got lost earlier. Here goes (again)
For many of us there’s a strange disconnect between good Friday and Easter. What do we do with that time? Do we remain sombre, do we begin celebrating the resurrection, what? What’s your take?
Hi, here’s today’s Holy Nougat
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Psalms 22:1 NLT
Having received several Easter greetings yesterday, I’m not certain that the disconnect actually exists for all who claim Christ. For me however, I recognize the value of pausing to appreciate the extent of God’s love, expressed through the curse of death on a tree (Deuteronomy 21.23; Galatians 3.13) and by becoming both scapegoat and sacrificial lamb on our behalf.
On this fair day, our perhaps sombre day, I find myself imagining what Jesus’s family and disciples must have felt. They had all forgotten the resurrection promise. So Hope probably was NOT part of that day’s vocabulary. Judas finally caught on that weekday he did did not effect the outcome he anticipated. But the priests (us hypocritical church folk) were having none of the blame game. Judas resorted to what he thought was his only recourse – he eliminated the betrayer. Himself. Such was the despondency in the camp. The other eleven had probably sought cover, anticipating persecution like never before. The greater 50 were probably making plans to leave town (consider those Jesus met on the road to Emmaus). I suspect they were truly internalizing this psalm, especially since Jesus had shouted out that first verse while on the cross.
But that’s THEIR Story. There’s another story to consider. Ours. As in – our response when we are caught between the cracks of our OWN Good Friday and Easter experiences. When life’s curve balls are such that we cannot even envision a resurrection morning.
For many of us; it’s been a very long night. We cannot perceive Jesus fighting our battles in hell; wrestling with the devil or better yet, disrupting the devil’s victory dance to wrest our victory by conquering Death, Disappointment, Dismay, Doubt and Disaster once and for all. Perhaps we’re still mourning our loss of Hope, planning to eliminate the betrayer, taking cover or are preparing to leave town (i.e. renounce our faith).
So we cry out, “My God! My God! Why have you abandoned me? Will you let my enemy triumph over me?!”; not out of faithlessness; but from the depths of our experience. Amid our cry, let us hold on to the assurance that even in this uncertainty; we KNOW the outcome. So may our faith soar as we also proclaim, “into Your hands I commit my issue!”
God bless. God’s grace.
Blessed Holy Saturday.
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
