The Marriage Report

Sorry . . . KARFREITAG isn’t a Siskel and Ebert review of a hot new summer horror flick. Karfreitag is actually the original vernacular of a very old German word which means mourning. Though this word isn’t used anymore in the dialect of today, it sincerely expresses the realities of the event that took place on that day. If you take the ancient word (Karfreitag) and the words of modern day (Good Friday) as a description for that eventful day, it appears to be somewhat of an oxymoron. The truth of the matter is, there is no conflict at all because Karfreitag simply describes the day as it was; mourning. It was a day of mourning for the citizens as well as the disciples. It was a day of sorrow and of physical pain as well as a day of redemption and forgiveness. It was a day that would resound throughout the world among believers and non-believers forever. It was a day that the image they saw while standing helplessly gazing up at the cross would brand the hearts of man eternally. The day that we now call Good Friday is a compression of those events, but summarizes it all by broadcasting the positive impact. The impact was that Jesus dying was the beginning of life without the rule of sin over our lives. In either case, we can all agree that He lived and died for us.

So in your observance of this day, remember to keep Jesus in the center of it. There have been some faiths that encourage believers not to speak a single word on this day and there are some that observe it as a day to dress up and go to church for the fashion show. Remember this, Jesus lived as a man on this earth to set a standard; to show an example of servant hood and to die as atonement for our sins that we are too selfish to acknowledge ourselves. Find a time to be still and remember who He was and what He is to you. Find a moment to thank Him for all He has done and how He intercedes for you. After all, there would be no you without Him!