“Why is it called ‘Good Friday’?”If I had a nickel for every time I have been asked that question – well, you know.
But it is a “good” question for us to ponder today. And we might consider this – what do we mean when we use the word “good?” The Oxford Dictionary lists way more definitions than I care to recite and most likely more than you care to hear today. “Good” can be used as an adjective, noun and adverb. It can be descriptive, exclamatory or attributive. How we understand “good” depends on the context in which we use the word.
It is tempting to view “good”, as in “Good Friday,” as an adjective – this Friday is good as opposed to other Friday’s which are bad or perhaps mediocre. I would suggest that before we can understand “good” as an adjective, we might consider looking at “good” in a way that might make grammarians cringe. What if we understood “good” as a noun?
As a noun, the Oxford Dictionary defines “good” as “that which is morally right, righteousness” and a “benefit or advantage to someone or something.” Perhaps we could call today “Righteousness Friday” since on this day Jesus takes upon himself the darkness of the world and the sin of humanity. Note, I said, “sin” and not “sins.” We think of “sins” as those things we do which cause separation between us and God and between us and others. “Sins” are those innumerable acts that cause hurt and pain, “things done and left undone” as the traditional language of the confession puts it.
Sin on the other hand is that which infects our souls and is a deep part of the human condition. It is that orientation which leads us in a direction away from God and puts us on the path where “sins” are the result. Where “sins” cause separation, “Sin” is separation. Sin is the seed from which grows the tree which bears the fruit of disobedience, accusation, division and, ultimately, death.
Righteousness Friday is the day when Jesus removes that which keeps us from being morally right. It is the day wherein we are allowed to lay down the “sins” of our lives and recognize that even as Jesus dies on the cross, Sin dies with him. The disease of Sin is healed. The power of Sin, Death, is defeated.
This helps us to recognize that today then is the “Friday of our Benefit.” The process of our becoming right with God and each other has begun. Jesus suffers. Jesus experiences deep pain. In this we recognize the degree to which God understands our own suffering and pain. We recognize that our suffering and pain are forever entwined with Jesus’ suffering and pain. And we are assured that as we take up our cross and follow Jesus on his path of suffering and death we will just as surely be raised with him to a new life. We “benefit” from that which Jesus undergoes today. We “benefit” in the form of new life, new hope, new joy and a new awareness of how deeply we are loved by God.
“Good” has a Germanic origin. In German, the word “gut” and is spelled “g-u-t”. Gut. Good Friday is a day that hits us in the gut. Good Friday gets our attention in order that we might become aware of what Jesus is experiencing. It is a day like no other.
Yet there is another day even more profound. Good Friday is a day that is but prelude to the Day of days which occurs in three days. On that day, bright and shining, we will look back on the pain and suffering of Jesus on this Friday and recognize that “good” (as adjective) is indeed descriptive of a day where God proclaims his deep love and desire for his people to be in unbroken relationship with him and each other for eternity.
And that is why Good Friday is good.
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