Good Friday

Christian and Lutheran Life...

We will be going to a Good Friday service this evening. It will be a solemn and somber Tenebrae service. The scripture readings and hymns will retell the story of Jesus' crucifixion. The church will be darkened little by little, and at the end, everyone will leave in silence. When we meet again, it will be Easter morning and the celebration of the resurrection.

It's a dramatic service that is intended to stir the emotions. I think of it as an opportunity to hear again what Jesus did for me and to say, "Thank you."

Last year on Good Friday, we were in Kansas City and we went to a Lutheran service there. It was not a Tenebrae service, but it was sobering in its own way. At the end of it, the crucifixion scenes from the movie, "The Robe," were shown.

I have not seen the movie, "The Passion of The Christ." I am afraid that it is so bloody that it would sicken me terribly. I can hardly bear to think of crucifixion.

The verse below has been on my mind a lot lately. I have been pondering the phrase, "became obedient to death."

And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:8 (NIV)