When I was very little, I went to church most Sundays. As I got older that slipped a bit and we became more like the Easter/Christmas church family. But Good Friday services were always included in our Holy week churchgoing. And it’s something I’m very grateful for. Attending that dark and somber service on Friday night made the sunrise service on Easter morning that much more joyful. I truly believe that in order to fully appreciate the miracle of Easter, you have to be “witness” to the event that occurred three days before. Only once you see and feel the contrast can you even begin to grasp the magnitude of God’s grace. That’s why my family and I will be headed to Tenebrae services tonight. To remind us why we don our Easter best and spend Sunday celebrating with eggs and bunnies and new Spring toys. To remind us that–like at Christmastime–there is deeper meaning behind the gifts and the big family meal.
One of my favorite worship songs says it best:
I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross.
That is why we celebrate. That is why we remember.
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Amen and have a Happy Easter with your loved ones. :)
Happy Easter!
I LOVE that song.
Steph
I too have been thinking of my spending almost all of HOLY WEEK at Church/School and I miss it.
Good Friday is always a tough one for me. It just rips me up inside knowing what Jesus had to go through for us all. Of course, I’m thankful that He did! Definitely looking forward to the joy of Easter…
Hope your Easter weekend is special!
Great reminder Darcie. Have a blessed and happy Easter!
We do the same thing as a family. We also went to Holy Thursday. It’s a little tough with a two-year-old on hand but I’m hoping we’re setting a precedent early. If nothing else, maybe the stress will put me into labor!
I love that song, too!
Yes, it’s so important to remember the sacrifice that HE made on our behalf.
In some ways, it reminds me of birth. The unspeakable pain makes the gift of the new baby that much sweeter and the joy that much richer…
Amen to that!
Yeah. Well. Not according to our new President.
His statement regarding the recent religious holidays focused in part on Easter and Passover, saying that both holidays are “occasions to think more deeply about the obligations we have to ourselves and the obligations we have to one another.”
This country is in TROUBLE.
Father, forgive us.