By 'Gbenga Bankole
The Minister in Charge of Christ Apostolic Church, Latona English Assembly, Osogbo, Pastor E. O. Olowookere has said that without Good Friday, God’s plan for the world would not have been accomplished.
The Cleric stated this in his Good Friday message obtained by CAC NEWS.
In his exact word;"The gospel according to St John chapter nineteen verses twenty-eight to thirty-seven (John 19:28-37) gave a beautiful narrations of the last hour of our Lord Jesus' passion week. The day literally fall on Friday of the week and indeed it was a moment of sorrowful scene. That was the experience of the family and friends that were living witness.
However, the crucifixion became a mystery unraveled. Jesus on the cross, the sacrificial Lamb. But till date, many are still wondering why we called such a day of the crucifixion as a good day?"
"You too may have noticed that many people are sometimes startled when they learn that we call the day that Christ suffered and died “Good” Friday. How can anything as horrifying as Jesus’ suffering and Death possibly be “good?”
"In the first centuries of the church, the Christian Passover was not divided into separate ‘packages’, independent services spread from Thursday to Sunday. Rather, it was seen as a unity, commemorating of Christ’s triumph over death, celebrating both his passage from death to life and the Christian’s own share in that victory through baptism."
"To understand this description of the day Christ died, it is helpful to know that as far back as 1290, the days the Church considered holy were called “good.” Our Orthodox brothers and sisters refer to Good Friday as “the Holy and Great Friday.” In Germany, the day is referred to as “Sorrowful Friday.”
"Why do we, in this part of the English-speaking world, continue to speak of a day in which we recall the whipping, torturing, and Death of Jesus as “good”? We call this dark day “good” because with the suffering that is part of it came God’s gift to us. The early church fathers in their teachings believe that in the mystery of our Lord’s Death and Resurrection is the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. This day was good for us. It is the day that we were set free. So much of what we experience in these holy days leading up to Easter is paradoxical—things that seem contradictory are held as true. In the Cross, suffering and forgiveness meet, love and justice also mingled. In Jesus, we encounter the one who was God and human. As we journey with Jesus to Easter, we experience that the Second Person of the Trinity “was” but also “is.” In his surrender to God’s will, we see strength."
"We can reflect as families on the paradox of calling this day “good.” Are there times that we have experienced darkness but also light? If we read the Beatitudes (sermon on the mount. Matthew 5-7), we see that things are not always what they seem. The poor, the meek, the suffering are the ones who triumph in the end."
"Without Good Friday, we cannot receive the joy of Easter. Without Good Friday, God’s plan would not have been accomplished. The prophet Isaiah notes the mystery in God’s work when he says, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8,9)."
"In this context, as part of the larger celebration of the Paschal Mystery, it is appropriate that the liturgy of Good Friday provide an opportunity for meditation on the passion and cross of Jesus, as well as solemn prayer for the church and the world for which he died. But the service should not give the impression of being ‘Jesus’ funeral’, complete with gloomy hymns. Therefore to me Good Friday invites us to dwell in the mystery of the paradox of God, that is, to the new relationship with God through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ."