Do we have to crucify someone to make Friday good? Asking for a friend.
Judging by the way alleged Christians are behaving this year, I don’t think the whole sacrificial thing worked like it was supposed to.
There’s not anything significant to write about yesterday; it was what it was, nothing out of the ordinary. That’s a good thing, though, because that means nothing horrible happened, either. No one in our family was shot. No one was in an accident. No one accidentally let the dogs out. Given the way things are going around the rest of the world, that has to count as a win.
If you think combatants in the Israel/Gaza war are going to take a break this weekend, you’re not paying attention. Do you think anyone in the Russia/Ukraine war is going to go to Good Friday services? (You do realize this is NOT Orthodox Easter, right?) The violence still continues because when it comes right down to it, no one’s religion is enough to keep bad and stupid things from happening. Talk about love all you want, it’s not atheists who are going to war. You don’t see lines of bagpipers leading a Celtic army into battle. Transcendentalists are not leaving their meditative positions to topple a government. I even checked and made sure that Zoroastrians weren’t arming themselves to take on the world.
Belief systems are inherently, and necessarily judged by what they do to help the world. On that scale, the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) continue to fall at the bottom of the list. They’re the ones perpetuating hate in the name of their holy book. You find them at the core of every major military conflict. You find them at the heart of crimes against women. You find them leading the charge against immigrants (especially in the state of Georgia). You catch them perpetuating outright lies about elections and political contenders.
How does any part of Good Friday help the world? It doesn’t, because a couple of hours at church doesn’t override all the years of hate and murder that are perpetuated in the name of the one crucified. Nowhere does your holy book tell you to bomb anyone. Nowhere do they tell you to support political causes and protest in their name. No scripture tells you to mistreat people looking for a peaceful home.
Suppose you are going to claim that religiously and politically motivated murder of an innocent person somehow brings grace and love to the world. In that case, you have to take a stand against the people fueling hate, division, partisanship, and corruption, not pay their fines for fraud. If the priests and ministers standing before you today are not accepting of LGBTQIA+ people, then they’ve totally missed the message. Should a worship leader proclaim that any other group of people should “return to where they came from,” they are definitely following someone other than the one whose death is being remembered.
What makes a Friday good? Spending time with a friend. Helping someone in need. Feeding the poor. Housing the homeless. Protecting the weak. Standing up for everyone’s rights. Loving someone different than yourself.
And a big plate of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and greens. That’s a GOOD Friday.