Harsha Mary
Good Friday is the Friday before Easter and the date during Holy Week when Christians do penance and commemorate the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Despite its sadness, Good Friday is truly good. Its sorrow is a Godly sorrow.
Many Christians have historically kept their churches unlit or draped in dark cloths.
Processions of penitents have walked in black robes or carried black-robed statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary, worshippers have walked the "Stations of the Cross," praying and singing their way past 14 images representing Jesus` steps to Golgotha.
Before Good Friday comes Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday. There are a variety of events that are clustered on this last day before Jesus was arrested that are commemorated in various ways in services of worship. In the Christian liturgical calendar, Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday is the feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. It is the fifth day of Holy Week, and is preceded by Holy Wednesday and followed by Good Friday. The colors for Maundy Thursday are usually the colors of Lent, royal purple or red violet. Some traditions, however, use red for Maundy Thursday, the color of the church, in order to identify with the community of disciples that followed Jesus. Along the same lines, some use this day to honour the apostles who were commissioned by Jesus to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world.
The sharing of the Eucharist, or sacrament of thanksgiving, on Maundy Thursday is the means by which most Christians observe this day. There is a great variety in exactly how the service is conducted, however. In some churches, it is traditional for the pastor or priest to wash the feet of members of the congregation as part of the service.
According to the Fourth Gospel, as Jesus and His disciples were eating their final meal together before Jesus’ arrest, he washed the disciples` feet to illustrate the humility and the spirit of service. After they had finished the meal, as they walked into the night toward Gethsemane, Jesus taught his disciples a "new" commandment.
“ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, you also ought to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
(John 13:34-35)
Good Friday Origins
There are two possible origins for the name "Good Friday". The first may have come from the Gallican Church in Gaul (modern-day France and Germany). The name "Gute Freitag" is Germanic in origin and literally means "good" or "holy" Friday. The second possibility is a variation on the name "God`s Friday," where the word "good" was used to replace the word "God," which was often viewed as too holy for commoners to speak.
Good Friday Church Rituals
Good Friday services are much the same as they have been for centuries. Christians typically fast on Good Friday; many observe this date as a feast in honour of Jesus` act to redeem humanity from its sins.
In the church the liturgy begins at 3:00 pm and is divided into three separate parts: prayers and readings, the veneration of the Cross and finally Holy Communion. A purple cloth is draped around the Crucifix during the Holy Week. The practice of covering the crosses and images in the church may be observed if the Episcopal conference should so decide. The crosses are to be covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord`s passion on Good Friday. Images are to remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil. The practice reminds us that we have entered the solemn Holy Week, and helps us avoid distractions. These coverings should remain until after the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday. There may also be what is known as the Three Hours Service, held from noon to 3:00 PM, which involves a series of hymns, prayers, and sermons focused upon Jesus` seven last sayings on the Cross.
Seven sayings
Saying One: “Father, forgive these people!”
Saying Two: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
Saying Three: "This man is now your son. She is now your mother."
Saying Four: “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”
Saying Five: “I am thirsty!”
Saying Six: “Father, I put myself in your hands!”
Saying Seven: “Everything is done!”
Good Friday and the following Holy Saturday are the only dates of the year when Mass is not celebrated.
Stations of the Cross on Good Friday
The object of the Stations is to help the faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer, through meditating upon the chief scenes of Christ`s sufferings and death. It has become one of the most popular devotions for Roman Catholics, as well as featuring in the worship and devotion of other Christian denominations.
The Stations themselves are usually a series of 14* pictures or sculptures depicting the following scenes:
1. Jesus is condemned to death
2. Jesus receives the Cross
3. Jesus falls the first time
4. Jesus meets His Mother
5. Simon of Cyrene carries the Cross
6. Veronica wipes Jesus` face with her veil
7. Jesus falls the second time
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus falls the third time
10. Jesus is stripped of His garments
11. Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus` body is removed from the cross
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb and covered in incense
Some people consider a 15th station, The Resurrection.
The Goodness of Good Friday
The present name of this holy day offers a fitting lesson to those of us who assume that "good" must mean "happy." We find it hard to imagine a day marked by sadness as a good day.
The church has always understood that the day on Good Friday was anything but happy. Sadness, mourning, fasting, and prayer have been its focus since the early centuries of the church. A fourth-century church manual, the Apostolic Constitutions, called Good Friday a "day of mourning, not a day of festive Joy." Ambrose, the fourth-century archbishop who befriended the notorious sinner Augustine of Hippo before his conversion, called it the "day of bitterness on which we fast."
I like to think the linguistic accident that made "God`s Friday" into "Good Friday" was no accident at all. It was God`s own doing-a sharp, prophetic jab at a time and a culture obsessed by happiness. In the midst of Western consumerism, Good Friday calls to an absolute halt the sacred "pursuit of happiness." The cross reveals this pursuit for what it is: a secondary thing.
This commemoration of Christ`s death reminds us of the human sin that caused this death. And we see again that salvation comes only through godly sorrow—both God`s and, in repentance, ours. To pursue happiness, we must first experience sorrow. He who goes forth sowing tears returns in joy.
At the same time, of course, Good Friday recalls for us the greatness and wonder of God`s love that He should submit to death for us. No wonder, in parts of Europe the day is called not "Good," but "Great" or "Holy" Friday.
Today, Christian liturgies reflect the gravity of Christ`s act. Services linger on the details of Christ`s death and the extent of His sacrifice.
Good Friday has always challenged merely human goodness. Its sad commemoration reminds us that in the face of sin, our goodness avails nothing. Only One is good enough to save us. That He did so is cause indeed for celebration.
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord!
