SLOW WALK TO SUNDAY

Cherylyn Radford, Interim Bowridge Site Pastor

I grew up in a tradition that really loved Easter Sunday. We loved to celebrate the resurrection. We had lilies, new dresses, and as exuberant of music as fundamentalist Baptists could muster.

But Good Friday made us all kinds of uncomfortable. We dwelt on the risen king, not the suffering servant. I was in my 30’s before I really encountered a somber Good Friday service. And it was dreadfully uncomfortable. God was Holy and triumphant in my world, not buried.

But in the last 20 years I have come to embrace Good Friday for what it is: A remembrance of loss, of suffering, of utter disappointment. I have learned to sit in sadness and mourn, to feel the despair and utter disappointment of the disciples, to utterly weep with Mary, to regret deeply like Peter.

Because for many people today, it is firmly Friday. Despite many years of praying, that child still remains estranged. The business you poured your life and money into has gone bankrupt. The cancer is at stage 4 and is not going into remission. The one you have shared your life with cannot remember your name anymore. We live in a world where sin and death and brokenness are all around us and reality for so many is hard and lonely.

When I had a miscarriage so many years ago, the chaplain at the hospital told me to grieve right then and not rush through the grief or I would find myself grieving at 80. I often think of that when I am sitting with people going through something very difficult. We need to allow them space to mourn, to grieve, and to regret.

Because, while we do not grieve as those who have no hope, our hope is rooted in the future and we live in the now.

When we embrace Friday and Saturday and allow ourselves to sit in the grief and fear that the disciples and apostles would have been facing, "we cultivate a deep sense of empathy for those who are experiencing their own battle with despair, fear, and hopelessness". (David Helflin)

As we slow our walk and really reflect on the depth of Jesus’ sacrifice and the emotions of those around him, we will gain a deeper understanding of the hope of Sunday. As we hear the groans of Jesus, we will come to better understand how much he groans with us in our sorrow. As we weep with his friends, we will better hear the cries of those around us and will develop a holy love towards them.

And as we stare at the stone firmly in place and guarding the tomb, we will be able to truly feel the bewilderment and later utter joy of the women and the disciples as the angels tell them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?" (Luke 24:5).

This weekend, walk slowly to Sunday. Pause and reflect on the sacrifice, the loss, and all Jesus gave for us. Then, on Sunday morning, you will be better able to marvel at the empty tomb and loudly proclaim, "He is risen indeed!".