God crucified, Ethiopian Orthodox. c 1800
It seems strange that everyone in this picture is smiling. The figures at the cross probably portray Jesus’s mother Mary and his disciple John. They have little reason to smile. Jesus is dying an agonising death, and yet he too is smiling.
I remember as a child asking why the day we remember Jesus’ death is called Good Friday, when it didn’t seem good at all.
It’s because we, like the painter of this picture, know the end of the story.
We know that just as spring follows winter, Good Friday is followed by Easter. We know that Jesus’ death has brought us life. And that is something to smile about.
O God,
who by thine only-begotten Son hast overcome death
and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life;
grant, we beseech thee,
that those who have been redeemed by his passion
may rejoice in his resurrection;
through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen
From the Gelasian Sacramentary
Forty 100 word reflections for forty days of Lent (Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, excluding Sundays), using the forty images in the Face to Face with Jesus pack, available to purchase from St Clare’s Shop. Written by Rev Charlotte Gale.
