Good Friday invites us into the great paradox of the Christian faith: death is the path that leads to life.

Though centuries of familiarity have numbed and distanced us, the cross was originally envisioned as a universal symbol of shame, meant to dehumanize anyone hanging from its beams. Yet as Hebrews reminds us, Christ takes a symbol of disrespect and “disregards its shame” (Heb 12:2). Through the shame and scandal of the cross, Jesus Christ restores humanity to its true glory.

Walking the way of the cross is not for the faint of heart. It requires an unshakable belief that death can give way to life. That the sickness within our hearts and in our world is healed when it is revealed for what it truly is, and then transformed through the renewing power of God.

In today’s reflective passage, St. Paul reminds us that we are “crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20). To be crucified is to have your brokenness and shame laid bare, and this is exactly what the Lord asks of each of us. We must be willing to open our lives fully to the Lord, not shying away from our sin, but believing in the power of God to make us by grace what Christ is by nature.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer for Good Friday

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