Good Friday devotion

The third Lenten devotion I wrote that appears in the Hollywood United Methodist Church booklet: 

Good Friday, April 6

John 18:1-19:30
Jesus said, "It is finished!",

and bowed his head and gave up the spirit.

“There comes a point you think is the end. But it is just the beginning.” (Louis L’Amour)

This is one of my favorite quotes; these words have gotten me through many a dark night and a long day. And as I walked the streets of L.A. this morning, iPod blaring in my ears, gloves on my hands, hustling past others, I thought about it. I thought about how Jesus, up there on the cross where we put Him, gave up his spirit and proclaimed, “It is finished.”

             But it wasn’t really finished, was it? Not by a long shot. Though, on that Friday, that “good” Friday, it must have seemed so to Jesus’ mother and the others. Tied up on that cross, soldiers casting lots for His clothing, only vinegar to drink, His followers, the very people He so loved, denying Him. I am sure there was a collective sense of ‘game over’.

            Jesus died. Wait, nope, He didn’t just die. He was crucified, killed by the citizens of the country He lived in, the citizens He served. He was executed. And yet…it was only the beginning. We know that now. In some ways, His death served as a horrifying conclusion to a life spent trying to help others. But, in reality, His death served as the beautiful beginning of the love story between God and all of us.

God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to be killed. To go through all of that and to die up there on that cross, head bowed, spirit gone. And on this Good Friday, it’s important for me to remember, as I think about the life that I have and the love that I am given, that it is all because the end was only the beginning. That while today may be bleak, that while I think it is the end, it’s not. There is so much more to come that I cannot even imagine. And it starts today.

Prayer: God, when I come to you broken and hurt please help me to remember that that is when you do your work and give me a new beginning. Each and every time. Amen.