Good Friday. Doesn't feel so "good" thinking about what actually happened on this day 2,011 years ago. I guess the "good" comes from what happened after today's events. And what happened on this day, was necessary if we were going to be able to live the way we were created to.
I don't think I've ever been more aware, or in tune with what Jesus' death and resurrection means to me, to humanity, and all creation, as I am today. My searching and asking, has given me much more depth into why Christ's death and resurrection matters so very deeply.
Here is a beautifully written excerpt that I think describes why the Jesus' death and resurrection is brilliant.
"Jesus talks about death and rebirth constantly, his and ours, He calls us to let go, turn away, renounce, confess, repent, and leave behind the old ways. He talks of the life that will come from his own death, and he promises that life will flow to us in thousands of small ways as we die to our egos, our pride, our need to be right, our self-sufficiency, our rebellion, and our stubborn insistence that we deserve to get our way. When we cling with white knuckles to our sins and our hostility, we're like a tree that won't let its leaves go. There can't be spring if we're still stuck in fall.
Lose your life and find it, he says. That's how the world works. That's how the soul works. That's how life works when you're dying to live."
What a solid explanation of what was/is happening through the Cross.
So, I had this revelation today. I was really trying to wrap my head around what today, Good Friday, means, not wanting to breeze through this day without acknowledging its significance. Separate from the Easter holiday, in general, I've been trying to figure out what can I do in my life in that matters. How do I repay Jesus for what he so graciously offered me? Then it hit me. Jesus doesn't want me to do anything, but live. He wants me to actually use the gift of grace he gave me, and not just stare at it. That to me, means he wants me to live in the awareness that I am indescribably loved, that I am cared for in the biggest areas in my life and in the smallest fibers of my being, that I am desired to be whole, and that everything God has is mine. To know that I have access to the very source of life itself. Just simply living to discover the things my soul was made for is enough. Out of that understanding and quest comes my service, and gratitude. But, then it's not about doing anything after all, for the sake of doing... it becomes obvious and natural to extend ourselves when I/you/we are living a life in exactly the way it was intended to be.
In the ways I am learning and choosing to "die to myself," and set aside what I want, getting my way, controlling all parts of my life, I have found that I am actually gaining energy, sustenance, and life. That is exactly what Jesus modeled. Through his death, came the ability for there to be new life. Without his death, there couldn't be life. Without me giving up the "dying" parts of myself, I can't be new and refreshed. Jesus restarted everything. He shed what was old, so new could bloom. He rewrote our story. When you tap into that, boy does it change why you share the story of the cross with others. It's not simply about a destination; we're missing the good news' fullness if that's all we're living to tell people about. Christ's death and then resurrection, is an invitation to be new, and live eternally, now. That's beautiful to me. That's the story of the Gospel. Death to life. Old to new. Eternity now.
"That is why the Cross continues to endure. It's a reminder, a sign, a glimpse, an icon that allows us to tap into our deepest longings to be part of a new creation.
Because that's how the universe works. That's what Jesus does. Death and resurrection. Old life for new life; one passes away, the other comes. Friday, then Sunday. You die, and you're reborn. It's like that."
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