Good Friday
“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
Even when I wasn’t being raised in Christian faith,I was familiar with the story of crucifixion.But what I did not understand during those times is if ‘Jesus was crucified that day so brutally,then why that day is ‘prefixed’ with ‘Good’?It puzzled me during those times.Now as I am growing in my faith,I think I understand.Simply put,Jesus died,brutal,most humiliating,excruciatingly painful death on cross when He committed NO sin.But He did it for our ‘Good’,for us,the ever sinful human beings.So that we can have an eternal life by Faith in Him.
John 3:16 summarizes the essence of it all in one sentence.
“For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS ONE AND ONLY SON that whoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
So on this Good Friday,I wanted us all to remember the magnanimity of the event which took place and reflect on it.I was very impressed with Jessalyn Easter traditions and tried to incorporate some of hers to ours.
We started the day walking down the woods,looking for woods to make the cross.We have plenty of cedar and oak in our backyard.My kids picked the woods and we put together using red bandana.We also made resurrection tomb.
Cross
On dinner table,it was challenging for me.I don’t do red meat,so lamb was out of equation for us to tie the story of ‘Jesus being our sacrificial lamb’ directly.I was stuck with chicken and wasn’t giving up on that.I decided to make ‘Shish Taouk’.It is middle eastern skewered chicken.Reason i chose the dish from this region is because it is a reminiscent of the area Jesus ministered.Then i made ‘Tomato rice’,as rice having red hue to it,representing the blood Christ shed for us.Then I had an idea to lay ‘Shish Taouk’ as ‘cross’ on the bed of rice.I had added ‘pepper’ strategically to the skewer.We had ‘Crown of Thorn bread’ to accompany the meal.
I asked my kids,what does it look like and the answer was ‘cross’.I think I accomplished what I was trying to get to.Not conventional but it worked for us.
