Today is called Good Friday.  Why?  What’s so “Good” about it?  It’s a day that commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus.  Maybe it should be called Crucifixion Friday.  Or Death Friday.
    Some theories claim that the term is used because it designates a day on which there is some religious observance.  The Oxford English Dictionary states that “good” can refer to “...a day or season observed as holy by the church.”  Yes, today is a day observed as special or holy.
    If something good and holy comes from death and destruction, then what is it?  Eternal life?  Redemption?  Yes, we believe that.  But, what more can come from this good day?  How does that redemption and new life get lived out in our daily lives?  A “good” act of redemption should have effect in our daily lives, shouldn’t it?  Shouldn’t every day be a “good” day since we are redeemed?  How are we living out this gift given to us?  Is it something we reserve for our next life?  What might our life look like today if we were to live as redeemed people?  What might our lives look like?  How might our day to day, moment to moment lives be lived like with our minds and hearts immersed in redemption?  Is this “good” gift going to waste?
    Maybe today, this Good Friday, can be a day for some reflection on how we are living out the Good Gift Friday that has been given freely to us!  Instead of just saying “Thank you,” and putting the gift on the shelf with the sweater we got and will never wear, what might your day and my day look like if we lived in that gift?  We might just well up in some gratitude, and maybe even offer our lives to another person.
    I close with a song by Chris Tomlin, Jesus Messiah.  A great reflection for a Great and Good Gifted Friday!

https://youtu.be/f4whBsh9ovI