Taking Just a Moment

We just got back today from our epic journey to Italy and the Holy Land and I'm back in the office, getting ready for tonight's service.  I thought I would take just a moment to reflect on today.  As far as important days go in the life of the church, today is one of the most important.  

It's Good Friday, the day when Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world (read here to find out one explanation of why it's called Good Friday).  It is a day to remember with reverence what took place just outside of Jerusalem on that difficult day nearly two thousand years ago.

Here's the thing that I'm wondering about: if we celebrate the excitement of Palm Sunday and don't take any opportunity to reflect on what took place on either Holy Thursday or Good Friday, we're missing a major part of the celebration story of resurrection.  I'm not posting this as a rant against persons who haven't done that reflection - sometimes life just get busy and it is a hard thing to be able to set aside time to reflect on the importance of this day.  Certainly I understand how life goes... this isn't about that.

What it is about is being able to realize that if there is no Good Friday, then there is no Easter Sunday.  

Just take a moment to ponder what that means.  We cannot have Easter Sunday if there is no Good Friday.  If (and this is a big if for all of us) - if we have taken a moment, just a moment, to pause and be reverent for what that means, then the true significance of the price Jesus paid more than likely makes it a tougher day.  After all, he paid the price for our sins - even if we think we've never done anything wrong.  Jesus paid it all.

I hope you'll just take this moment to pause - just a moment - to reflect on what that means.  Good Friday is here - yes - and Sunday is comin'...