I always have a problem saying "happy Good Friday", because it's not really a happy day. So, instead I'll say that I hope you all celebrate Good Friday in a way that feels appropriate to the day.
Good Friday *IS* happy in retrospect, if not in what the disciples experienced at the time. Not because of what Christ had to suffer, but BECAUSE he CHOSE to suffer it to bring us life. Even Peter looked back on it with fondness later in life.
Liturgically Good Friday is a day of mourning and self-reflection on WHY Christ suffered, primarily upon our own sin and need of God's grace. Easter is the day of celebration and joy because of the victory that has been achieved by Christ's resurrection. Because of this, for me and lots of other Christians, Good Friday is a day not so much of joy, but of self-reflection.
To atheists like me, its a prequal to Chocolate Day.
Unfortunatly chocolate makes me feel ill, so each year I get to stuff myself with chocolate I really dont want to avoid offending those who give it to me.
The response to food offered that you do not want is, "Not right now, thanks." As a person with a life-long weight problem, I have found this is the one thing people will accept without trying to push you further.
Of course, the "I'm allergic" statement works, too. You can always threaten to throw up on them if they push it too far. ;-)
[[Liturgically Good Friday is a day of mourning and self-reflection on WHY Christ suffered, primarily upon our own sin and need of God's grace. Easter is the day of celebration and joy...]]
The Liturgy is a way of remembering the facts of history in a way which is meaningful to the Church. As such, it is appropriate to commemorate the sadness that the disciples felt, that Christ felt, etc.
But that DOES NOT rob the day of its essential fact. We were NOT saved by Christ's resurrection, but by his death on the Cross. His resurrection was simply PROOF of what happened on that Friday.
Think of it this way. When I look at November 2nd, I look back on feelings of mourning and sadness because it is the day my father died. But I also look back on it as a GOOD day, because it was the end of his suffering from cancer, and his entry into the presence of Christ.
Or to look at it a way SR might appreciate. For overeaters, Monday will be a day that on which they will feel much sadness because it is the day they begin their diet and have start turning down tasty treats and sweets. But in retrospect it will be seen as a GOOD and HAPPY day, because it was the start of the process which let them fit into their skimpy swimsuits by Memorial Day.
I always have a problem saying "happy Good Friday", because it's not really a happy day. So, instead I'll say that I hope you all celebrate Good Friday in a way that feels appropriate to the day.
Good Friday *IS* happy in retrospect, if not in what the disciples experienced at the time. Not because of what Christ had to suffer, but BECAUSE he CHOSE to suffer it to bring us life. Even Peter looked back on it with fondness later in life.
YanıtlaSilLiturgically Good Friday is a day of mourning and self-reflection on WHY Christ suffered, primarily upon our own sin and need of God's grace. Easter is the day of celebration and joy because of the victory that has been achieved by Christ's resurrection. Because of this, for me and lots of other Christians, Good Friday is a day not so much of joy, but of self-reflection.
YanıtlaSilTo atheists like me, its a prequal to Chocolate Day.
YanıtlaSilUnfortunatly chocolate makes me feel ill, so each year I get to stuff myself with chocolate I really dont want to avoid offending those who give it to me.
SR, do you like marshmallow peeps?
YanıtlaSilThe response to food offered that you do not want is, "Not right now, thanks." As a person with a life-long weight problem, I have found this is the one thing people will accept without trying to push you further.
YanıtlaSilOf course, the "I'm allergic" statement works, too. You can always threaten to throw up on them if they push it too far. ;-)
[[Liturgically Good Friday is a day of mourning and self-reflection on WHY Christ suffered, primarily upon our own sin and need of God's grace. Easter is the day of celebration and joy...]]
YanıtlaSilThe Liturgy is a way of remembering the facts of history in a way which is meaningful to the Church. As such, it is appropriate to commemorate the sadness that the disciples felt, that Christ felt, etc.
But that DOES NOT rob the day of its essential fact. We were NOT saved by Christ's resurrection, but by his death on the Cross. His resurrection was simply PROOF of what happened on that Friday.
Think of it this way. When I look at November 2nd, I look back on feelings of mourning and sadness because it is the day my father died. But I also look back on it as a GOOD day, because it was the end of his suffering from cancer, and his entry into the presence of Christ.
Or to look at it a way SR might appreciate. For overeaters, Monday will be a day that on which they will feel much sadness because it is the day they begin their diet and have start turning down tasty treats and sweets. But in retrospect it will be seen as a GOOD and HAPPY day, because it was the start of the process which let them fit into their skimpy swimsuits by Memorial Day.