Good Friday 2012

This is Holy Week.  This is the last week of Jesus' life.  We celebrated Palm Sunday last Sunday and yesterday was Maundy Thursday, the anniversary of the Last Supper.  A part of the service is the washing of the feet.  The priest washes the feet of those who choose as a reminder of Christ washing the feet of his disciples.  Today was Good Friday, the day He was condemned and hung on the cross.  It's a very solemn and poignant service, followed by a walk through the Stations of the Cross.

I was reminded, as I sat through the sermon, of my first Good Friday at the church I'm now attending.  It was a gloomy day that year, it rained off and on and was the perfect Good Friday atmosphere.  I was new to this area and a friend had come up to spend part of the Easter holiday with me.  We braved the rains and windy weather to attend this afternoon service and were very impressed when, during the sermon, as the priest spoke of the darkening of the skies and the tearing of the curtain, suddenly thunder sounded, lightening flashed, and the power in the church went out leaving us all in darkness while he continued his sermon.  After the service, we commented  that we'd attended some very impressive services but the special effects of the little church in the mountains surpassed anything we'd seen before.  We've had good weather and not so good weather since, but that particular Good Friday will always stand out.

While I contemplate this holiest of weeks, I can't help but think how much I miss my friend.  She moved across country later that year.  We stay in touch by phone and mail and social media but the season we had together was much too short, I really miss sharing times like this with her. 

It would appear that we'll have wonderful weather for Easter and that's as it should be.  We'll do a sunrise service at the outdoor chapel next to the lake surrounded by the mountains with the sun just climbing over their tops.  It will be cold ... and I mean cold as only the mountains can be.  But it will be glorious as the earth renews itself at this time of the resurrection.  God Bless and Happy Easter!