Black Friday, or Is It?

Good Friday


Matthew 27:45-46

From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

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When Black Friday comes
I'm gonna dig myself a hole
Gonna lay down in it 'til
I satisfy my soul
Gonna let the world pass by me
The Archbishop's gonna sanctify me
And if he don't come across
I'm gonna let it roll

"Black Friday" by Walter Becker and Donald Fagan recorded by Steely Dan

Forsaken. What a word! Jesus asks his father, his Heavenly Father why he has forsaken him. Abandoned and deserted; these are good words too, but forsaken has more baggage with it, more emotion. The cry of "My God, why have you forsaken me?" is a cry that we really can't imagine.

Well, perhaps we can imagine it. There are times in life that it feels like God has left us on the side of the road. Death of loved ones, divorce, and addiction are good examples. Losing a job, especially finding that it went overseas just to save some faceless corporation money. Money some CEO will use to clean his other swimming pool.

Feeling like someone we love no longer loves us, that's what Jesus felt exponentially. Jesus had an intimate connection, a perfect connection with the Heavenly Father. Had. It's a connection we hope for, one we will only know on the other side of glory. Up until that moment that is the only connection to the Father he had ever known, and suddenly it's gone. Suddenly his connection to his Father is gone. He has been abandoned. He has been deserted. He has been forsaken.

It's Black Friday, from noon until three in the afternoon it's dark. It's dark in what should be the noonday sun. There is a darkness over the land and there is a darkness over the Lord. Jesus is forsaken. It's Black Friday.

"When Black Friday comes I'm gonna dig myself a hole. Gonna lay down in it 'til I satisfy my soul." It's Black Friday and nothing good is happening. The Lord cries that he is forsaken, what is left for the rest of us? Deep in a hole might be awfully depressing, but at that moment it might also be awfully inviting. It also seems like the safest place to be at this moment. The Archbishop isn't sanctifying anything right now. Since he isn't coming across, all I can do is let it roll. Let it roll.

Is there Good News? Well, it sure doesn't seem like there's any Good News, not today. But the church doesn't call this "Black Friday," the church calls this "Good Friday." Frankly, there wasn't anything good about it on this day. This is the day that we are so forsaken light abandons us.

There's nothing "good" about it today. Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? For the Good News, we'll have to wait. We can wait this horrible weekend because Sunday's coming.