The Paper

"Has anyone seen the paper?" 

This was a frequent question at my house when I was growing up. Part of the problem arose from the fact that there were competing forces for the same sections of the newspaper. For instance, my brother and I fought to confiscate the comics section of the paper, and my parents both sought possession of the front page news. Sometimes this didn't end well for all the parties involved . . . 

But before the initial plans could be made to circumvent the others goal of reading your favorite section, the paper first had to be located. Depending on the paperboy, (or papergirl - I honestly never remember seeing this person actually delivering the paper to our house), the newspaper's eventual destination varied greatly. 

Rich Mullins - If I Stand

 

Why do we call it Good Friday?

There are various schools of thought on why the Friday before Easter has been deemed Good Friday, the day on which Christians commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. The name can seem counterintuitive to many Christians and nonbelievers, since this day is typically viewed through the lens of loss, a solemn moment, often observed with fasting and somber remembrances. 

So why is Good Friday called Good Friday?

Perhaps the best definition should be the words of the Holy Scripture, "Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2) 

Joy? Jesus counted being tortured, despised, humiliated, and killed as joy? The answer is yes. For in that moment on the cross, Jesus, the sinless One, took the punishment of all of our sins, so that we could become blameless before God. In that cosmic transformation, He became something He wasn't so that we could become something we couldn't. 

Put simply, He died, so we could live. 

Grief

"Oh, look at how she listens . . . 

She says nothing of what she thinks / She just goes stumbling through her memories

Staring out on to Grey Street / She thinks, "Hey, how did I come to this?

I dream myself a thousand times around the world / But I can't get out of this place"

There's an emptiness inside her / And she'd do anything to fill it in

But all the colors mix together / To grey

And it breaks her heart /How she wishes it was different