To the husband s great disappointment, the leaders of the group spent most of the first session talking about the high number of divorces among sufferers of this disease and that couples should prepare themselves for this possibility. Halfway through this kind of talk, my friend got up and announced that he and his wife were going home. You re goofy. I felt my eyes well up as he related that experience. The gift of Good Friday is the grace that strengthens our inner conviction that pain is defeated by acceptance, that suffering is conquered by love.
Easy love is cheap love.
As Christians, we are called to love as Jesus did, through the Good Fridays of our lives to the victory of Easter Sunday, through the Cross to the empty tomb. I t can be a struggle this choosing to embrace or not embrace the cross especially in a society that depends on quick pain relievers and instant gratification. Good Friday s special gift, dying power, is a portion of God s grace every time we celebrate Eucharist, but especially so on Good Friday. It is a profoundly good gift and one to be cherished.