Today I'm thinking about Good Friday three years ago, a day on which (you may have guessed) I was in Oxford, stretched out on a blanket in University Parks, underneath a golden spring sun. We spent most of the afternoon playing and relaxing, after attending a packed service at St. Aldates which was somehow sobering and joyful at once.
I've never lived a Good Friday so fully as I did that year. For many Protestants in the States, Good Friday mostly means a day off work. ACU is closed today, so Betsy and Jake are in Midland with Mom and Dad, and Jeremiah has taken off to Dallas with the boys to watch baseball and hockey. I am (literally) chilling at my flat, relaxing and trying to stay warm. (It's entirely too gray and cold for a Texas April.)
We did have our own sort of Good Friday service at CAYA yesterday, where all the songs and images focused on the power, horror and importance of the cross. Next week Jeremiah is planning a joyous resurrection service. And we'll have one at Highland on Sunday: my first Easter in Abilene.
Not much to write today; I can't capture what Good Friday should fully mean to us, though to all Christians it is both horrifying and redemptive. But here are some words from one of my favourite new cross songs, "The Power of the Cross":
Oh, to see the dawn of the darkest day
Christ on the road to Calvary
Tried by sinful men, torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood
Oh, to see the pain written on Your face
Bearing the awesome weight of sin
Every bitter thought, every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow
This, the power of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross
Now the daylight flees; now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head
Curtain torn in two; dead are raised to life
"Finished!" the victory cry
This the power of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross
Oh, to see my name written in the wounds
For through Your suffering I am free
Death is crushed to death; life is mine to live
Won through Your selfless love!
This, the power of the cross
Son of God, slain for us
What a life - what a cost
We stand forgiven at the cross
3 Comments:
Katie, I was thinking about the words to that same song today and kept singing it to myself. We are the same person.
What a powerful song. Thank you for sharing the words.
I find myself trying to come to grips with what Christ endured. For me. And to know that He had the power to stop the pain and humiliation, but bore it all instead.
Love this post and that song! I hope your (very chilly!) Easter is wonderful.
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