BBC Radio Leicester
Thought for the Day
© John Denney 9
April 2004
I
remember the time when you had to wait a whole year before you could eat
them. Hot Cross Buns, that is. You only ever ate them on Good Friday. Mind you, it was when they really were one a penny, or maybe your Mum
baked them fresh and hot. My Mum was
Scottish, so the buns were much spicier than the English variety you can buy
today. Or buy any day of the year,
really. Such a pity, but then Easter
eggs have been on sale since Boxing Day!
Christmas crackers soon, I guess.
And
more and more people work through Good Friday, just as if it were any other day
of the year. Shops will be open, offices
and factories will be busy. Cheap
holiday flights will be taking off as fast as the airports can handle
them. Fewer and fewer people give much
thought to the significance of the Friday before Easter Sunday.
For
Christians, it’s the most solemn day of the year. We remember the physical suffering that Jesus
was willing to undergo on the cross of crucifixion. We remember the awful spiritual loneliness
that he experienced, as, for the first time in all eternity, he was separated
from his heavenly Father. He even cried
out My God,
my God, why have you abandoned me?[1]
And
we remember how most of his followers stayed away, afraid that they might be
next in line for one of the most hideous deaths ever devised by man. They turned their backs on him. On this day, we remember the ultimate
sacrifice of Jesus, taking the blame for all our sin and wrongdoing. Those of us who claim Jesus as our Saviour
and our Lord have been put right with God.
The wall of sin that separated us from God has been demolished. That’s why we call this day “Good”
Friday.
So
as you eat your hot cross bun, take a moment to consider the cross marked on
it. It’s a reminder of the terrible
things that happened that first Good Friday.
But it’s also a reminder that because of what took place that day, we
can be redeemed from our sins, reconciled with God, ransomed from everything
that has captivated us, set free into the full and meaningful life[2]
that God wants for us.
On
this day of all days, “TGIF” - Thank God it’s Friday!
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