{"id":1752,"date":"2013-03-29T13:17:42","date_gmt":"2013-03-29T13:17:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rogereolson\/?p=1752"},"modified":"2013-03-29T13:17:42","modified_gmt":"2013-03-29T13:17:42","slug":"why-do-we-call-it-good-friday-when","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rogereolson\/2013\/03\/why-do-we-call-it-good-friday-when\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do We Call It “Good Friday” When….?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Why Do We Call It \u201cGood Friday\u201d When\u2026.?<\/p>\n

Today is \u201cGood Friday.\u201d To many students whose schools are on holiday and to many workers whose companies close for a long Easter weekend, it\u2019s \u201cgood\u201d because they can sleep in, go shopping, take a trip or whatever. But my question today is why Christians<\/em> call it \u201cgood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an irony that causes me some cognitive dissonance whenever I attend a \u201cGood Friday\u201d service (which I usually do): We call it \u201cGood Friday\u201d but worship on it as if something terrible, depressing, sad and awful happened. Our \u201cGood Friday\u201d services tend to be dark, dour, minor key, funereal. At most we celebrate the Sunday coming (Easter)! \u201cIt\u2019s Friday but Sunday\u2019s Coming!\u201d<\/p>\n

But wait (I ask myself)! Why, then, do we call it \u201cGood Friday?\u201d Why not call it \u201cBad Friday?\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever the opposite of celebration is, that\u2019s what most \u201cGood Friday\u201d services are.<\/p>\n

Okay, I can hear the thought some reading this are thinking: \u201cBut Jesus\u2019 crucifixion was<\/em> a horrible event\u2014from one perspective, anyway. We need to remember his agony, his suffering, the injustice of his execution, his feeling of being abandoned by his Father, etc. All that stuff is<\/em> bad and sad and not to be celebrated<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

True\u2014\u201cfrom one perspective.\u201d But at the same time, of course, we believe that the cross event was also<\/em> a marvelous victory, a triumph, a defeat of sin, death and the powers of evil. So there\u2019s another perspective<\/em> to recall and emphasize\u2014without the cross no one would be saved!<\/em><\/p>\n

Again, I can hear people reading this thinking \u201cWhat\u2019s your point, Olson?\u201d Here it is\u2026<\/p>\n

If we call today \u201cGood Friday\u201d we should also celebrate the cross event and not just remember the evil and suffering involved in it<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If not on Good Friday, when do we celebrate the cross? What day do we set aside to rejoice with thankful hearts for the cross like we do the empty tomb on Easter Sunday?<\/em><\/p>\n

The contrast between how<\/em> we worship on Good Friday and Easter Sunday is jolting. It implies<\/em> that the crucifixion was a huge error, only<\/em> an injustice, undeserved suffering. This is one fault I find in the \u201cchurch calendar\u201d and how it is traditionally observed. If<\/em> evangelical churches (of whatever denominations) are going to observe the liturgical calendar, we ought<\/em> to amend the way it has been observed\u2014at least in this case.<\/p>\n

Here is my suggestion: An evangelical \u201cGood Friday\u201d service should begin<\/em> in minor key, somber, remembering our Savior\u2019s suffering and death from the one perspective<\/em> mentioned above. It was<\/em> a horrible event, a grave injustice, an undeserved death at the hands of sinners. The lights should<\/em> be dim, the cross draped in black, the hymns focused on Jesus\u2019 agony. The Scriptures read should<\/em> be about all of that. But<\/em>, halfway through the service, the lights should go up! The Scriptures read should be about the victory of the cross over death and sin and hell and evil powers! The songs should be celebratory and joyful! We should sing \u201cIn the Cross of Christ I Glory!\u201d That other perspective<\/em> should dominate. This event was the turning point of history, the moment of reconciliation, the cause of our eternal hope!<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we call it \u201cGood Friday!\u201d<\/em> And only if we do that should<\/em> we call it that.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why Do We Call It \u201cGood Friday\u201d When\u2026.? Today is \u201cGood Friday.\u201d To many students whose schools are on holiday and to many workers whose companies close for a long Easter weekend, it\u2019s \u201cgood\u201d because they can sleep in, go shopping, take a trip or whatever. But my question today is why Christians call it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Do We Call It "Good Friday" When....?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why Do We Call It \u201cGood Friday\u201d When\u2026.? 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