Tom Wright is a smart dude.  A trained historian and minister from England.  <iframe width=”420″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/zVhgAiGihoA” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

Easter is for reveling in the triumph Jesus purchased for us. Good Friday is for remembering what we cost him. As we do let our words be few and well chosen.

Here is a prayer ^{from Valley of Vision} for Good Friday to help us repent again of our pride and remember that the cross guarantees pride’s destruction:

The Dark Guest

O Lord,

Bend my hands and cut them off,
for I have often struck thee with a wayward will,
when these fingers should embrace thee by faith.

I am not yet weaned from all created glory,
honour, wisdom, and esteem of others,
for I have a secret motive to eye my name in all I do.

Let me not only speak the word sin,
but see the thing itself.

Give me to view a discovered sinfulness,
to know that though my sins are crucified
they are never wholly mortified.

Hatred, malice, ill-will,
vain-glory that hungers for and hunts after
man’s approval and applause,
all are crucified, forgiven,
but they rise again in my sinful heart.

O my crucified but never wholly mortified sinfulness!
O my life-long damage and daily shame!
O my indwelling and besetting sins!
O the tormenting slavery of a sinful heart!

Destroy, O God, the dark guest within
whose hidden presence makes my life a hell.

Yet thou hast not left me here without grace;
The cross still stands and meets my needs
in the deepest straits of the soul.

I thank thee that my remembrance of it
is like David’s sight of Goliath’s sword
which preached forth thy deliverance.

The memory of my great sins,
my many temptations, my falls,
bring afresh into my mind the remembrance
of thy great help, of thy support from heaven,
of the great grace that saved such a wretch as I am.

There is no treasure so wonderful
as that continuous experience of thy grace
toward me which alone can subdue the risings of sin within:

Give me more of it.

AMEN.

Since Jesus’ death, Christians have proclaimed the cross and resurrection of Jesus to be the decisive turning point for all creation. On Good Friday, millions of Christians set aside our other concerns to meditate upon what this astonishing claim means.

One way to meditate on the crucifixion is to read and reflect on the seven sayings of Jesus from his cross. These sayings have been used in Good Friday services for centuries.

1. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
2. “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)           
3. “[Jesus] said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’” (John 19:26–27)
4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34)
5. “I thirst.” (John 19:28)
6. “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
7. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46)

To learn more about “The 3 Days”, or Triduum click here