Friday Five: Good Friday

RevHRod, a Lutheran friend at RevGalBlogPals, says:

"As a child the designation "good" for today confused me. How could we call such a somber day, good? Holy, yes. Blessed, yes. But, good?

As an adult I understand the meaning of good for this day. It is a solemn day of remembrance but it is also a time for us to stop and recall the great gift of love that we received this day. And that is most certainly good.

Our worship today will differ from place to place. Some services will focus on the great litany of prayers. Others will use the seven last words of Jesus. Some of us will walk the stations of the cross. Others will participate in a Tenebrae service of shadows and light.

I hope that this Friday Five will be a meaningful part of your Good Friday. God's blessings to you on your journey."

1. Our prayer concerns are as varied as we are this day. For whom would you like us to pray? Right now there are 4 people on my prayer list who all have different neurological concerns. Velma, an old friend from high school days, just diagnosed with ALS; Marcia, another friend from a different high school, who is recovering from problems caused by an arterial-venous malformation; Andy, an old friend's husband with vasculitis of the brain; and my brother, with MS and recently a problem involving brain capillaries. So I'm praying today for those four and for many, many others not known to me who have similar issues.
   
2. Are there things you have done or will do today to help the young ones understand this important day in our lives? In the middle of this I talked on the phone to Sisterknits and she confirmed that I probably didn't do much to help her understand Good Friday. For one thing in my defense, our church mostly conflated it with Maundy Thursday so that we had a prayer of getting a decent attendance! So after communion, we would do the Tenebrae service. She had some interesting thoughts about Good Friday which she has mostly come to on her own.
   
3. Music plays an important part in sharing the story of this day. Is there a hymn or piece of music that you have found particularly meaningful to your celebrations of Good Friday? As I posted earlier, Were You There? is the song that comes into my head all day. As a visual, I recall the scene in the film Green Pastures when the angels are watching Jesus carry the cross.
   
4. As you hear the passion narrative, is there a character that you particularly resonate with? Mary, the Mother of Jesus; I've been fortunate thus far not to have lost a child, but I think any parent can identify with her shock and sorrow.
   
5. Where have you seen the gracious God of love at work lately? Lately, I've mostly seen it in the various postings by my RevGalBlogPals; nearly every day there's a wonderful story of love on someone's blog.