Pathway into Lent

Pathway into Lent

          Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his physical death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum.  It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, and Black Friday.  Good Friday holds a special place in the hearts of Christians as a day of remembrance, reflection, and reverence for the sacrifice of Jesus. It is a time to contemplate the significance of the crucifixion and to deepen one’s faith in the love and mercy of God. As we observe Good Friday, let us remember the words of Jesus on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). May we find forgiveness, grace, and salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus on this Holy Day (Information gathered on internet).

          So, how do we really feel today?  What are our thoughts, as we move through the day?  The words, Thy will be done, echo through My thoughts like so many question marks struggling to break free from a room of confusion.  My head takes me into denial about it being God’s will that Jesus suffer in such an ignominious way.  Then, the recollection of Jesus’ prayer in The Garden, prior to His arrest, when He is asking if there is any way for things to go differently.  That certainly fits into what I think I would do.  I would ask, “How could this go differently for me?”  How many times have we asked, no begged, in prayer that someone we love avoid pain, or be saved from death, or humiliation of any kind.  How often has that been our prayer for ourselves.  I know there have been times in my life when I fell to my knees, asking that same question, offering, if it would be done, that I would do something in return, rather like payment for a special favor.  But in the face of the unimaginable happening, right before us, there is an overwhelming energy of peace, an unmistakable sense of knowing that, that which is to be, is happening, and nothing can stop it, or should stop it.  That feeling cannot be sufficiently described with words.  It just is.  Thy Will Be Done.  These powerful words take us from the place of petitioner to the place of partner, one taking part in a Divine Plan, a plan that somewhere within us, we have understanding and knowing beyond what our minds can comprehend.  At that moment we are active participants with God in the continuing of creation, as it moves into us, through us, and onward into eternity.  Somewhere, deep at the core, within us, at that moment, we understand.

             Thank you for walking this path with me, and for making the time to commit to the observance of the Lenten Season.

          The reading I have chosen today is from Luke 22:42

The Reading

March 29, 2024

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  Luke 22:42