What's good about it?

As I drove Ashton home from school, I told him about our Good Friday stations at church. He asked me, "Why is it called 'Good' Friday if that's the day that Jesus died?" That's an important question; what is good about it? If you look it up, there seem to be a few explanations. I think the most likely answer is that it comes from an old use of the word "good," meaning "holy." And after witnessing the beauty of today's stations of the cross, I would definitely call our remembrance "good." It was such a holy time spent together, recalling the story of the crucifixion - spending time in silence and in prayer, using our senses to remember the events this day, worshipping alongside each other. We were able to insert ourselves into this story, just as we are called to do each year during Holy Week. Good Friday is also a day of paradox; we grieve at Jesus's death while we give thanks for his redeeming love. We mourn as we remember his wounds while we rejoice that in those wounds, we are healed. And while our hearts were heavy, it was such a wondrous sight, watching the clouds part and the rain stop for just the right amount of time we needed to lay our burdens down at the foot of the cross in our columbarium. Yes, today is indeed a Good Friday.