There were some people here last year on Holy Week that are no longer here because they died. They are with us in Spirit, but not in body. And we miss them. Death is never easy, even when the person is advanced in years and we say that we are ready to let go. We are really never ready.
We have tried to disguise death in many ways. Folks will remark, “Look how good he/she looks—seems to be asleep.” Regardless of the disguise, death has a finality that closes a chapter in the person’s life, while the real story begins. Heaven is our home where we want to live with Jesus forever. That’s what we celebrate on Good Friday. We remember the Last Supper, the betrayal, Via Dolorosa. The Stations of the Cross are a popular devotion because we can identify with pain. We know about false accusations, about falling and having to get up again, about the sorrows of a mother who sees her Son in the tomb. The Stations touch the fabric of our being. The cross is the central symbol. The wood from a tree saved us, just like a forbidden tree condemned us. Tonight is like taking out the family pictures—looking at who we are. Every Christian is familiar with the cross.
We lift high the cross of Christ and we are not ashamed. Crosses hang from our neck, in our home, in our cars. However, tonight we do something special—we kiss the cross. An instrument of death has become the way to salvation because our Savior hung and breathed his last breath on the cross. We kiss our abulita, our tios and tias. We kiss each other. Shortly we will kiss the cross where the bill was paid for our sins. “Oh happy day.!” Good Friday is not about being sad, but about being happy—delighted that we are not going to have to die. No better news has ever been given to humanity. With all our modern inventions and the future discoveries, none will ever top the news of eternal life we have been given.
The best way to respond is to say “Thank You”. “Behold the wood of the cross, on which was hung our salvation. O Come let us adore Him.
We have tried to disguise death in many ways. Folks will remark, “Look how good he/she looks—seems to be asleep.” Regardless of the disguise, death has a finality that closes a chapter in the person’s life, while the real story begins. Heaven is our home where we want to live with Jesus forever. That’s what we celebrate on Good Friday. We remember the Last Supper, the betrayal, Via Dolorosa. The Stations of the Cross are a popular devotion because we can identify with pain. We know about false accusations, about falling and having to get up again, about the sorrows of a mother who sees her Son in the tomb. The Stations touch the fabric of our being. The cross is the central symbol. The wood from a tree saved us, just like a forbidden tree condemned us. Tonight is like taking out the family pictures—looking at who we are. Every Christian is familiar with the cross.
We lift high the cross of Christ and we are not ashamed. Crosses hang from our neck, in our home, in our cars. However, tonight we do something special—we kiss the cross. An instrument of death has become the way to salvation because our Savior hung and breathed his last breath on the cross. We kiss our abulita, our tios and tias. We kiss each other. Shortly we will kiss the cross where the bill was paid for our sins. “Oh happy day.!” Good Friday is not about being sad, but about being happy—delighted that we are not going to have to die. No better news has ever been given to humanity. With all our modern inventions and the future discoveries, none will ever top the news of eternal life we have been given.
The best way to respond is to say “Thank You”. “Behold the wood of the cross, on which was hung our salvation. O Come let us adore Him.
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