Looking Forward to April 6, 2007 -- Good Friday

Riverview will have a service at 10:00 am. Following our service all are invited to take part in the Ecumenical Good Friday Walk starting from out Upper Parking Lot at 11:00

The Scripture Readings for this service will be:

• From the Jewish Scriptures: Isaiah 52:13-53:12
• From the Gospel: Luke 22:31-23:49
• Psalm 22 (VU p.744 Part One)

The Hymns we will sing are:

• #144 Were You There
• #182 Stay with Us through the Night

The meditation is titled The Many Crosses

Early Thoughts: From time to time someone brings out the old story that Jesus didn't actually die on the cross. Sometimes it is an attempt to explain the empty tomb. Sometimes it is to prove some sort of conspiracy story. But of course it isn't based in Scripture, or in history.

The early church, it seems, had trouble with the crucifixion. One wonders if they wouldn't have welcomed a chance to get out of it by saying Jesus didn't really die on that cross. Modern Christians, it seems, would also like to forget the cross. We want to move from the triumph of Palms to the glory of empty tomb. We don't want shadows in our story.

But we can't do that of course. We have to acknowledge the reality of the cross. Not only because it is the only way the story makes any sense (how can there be resurrection without death?) but also because acknowledging the reality of that cross allows us to name the reality of the many crosses in our world today.

Friday morning we will take time to name some of those crosses, and to think about what our response is/could be.
--Gord