April 10: Good Friday
♫ Music:
Day 45 - Friday, April 10
GOOD FRIDAY
Hymn for Holy Friday: Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung on a tree. The King of the Angels is decked with a crown of thorns. He who wraps the heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple mockery. He who freed Adam in the Jordan is slapped in the face. The Bridegroom of the Church is affixed to the cross with nails.
Scriptures: Mark 15: 22-26; 33-39
Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. And they crucified Him, and divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take. It was the third hour when they crucified Him. The inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.” Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Poetry:
Mad Song
by William Blake
The wild winds weep,
And the night is a-cold;
Come hither, Sleep,
And my griefs infold:
But lo! the morning peeps
Over the eastern steeps,
And the rustling birds of dawn
The earth do scorn.
Lo! to the vault
Of paved heaven,
With sorrow fraught
My notes are driven:
They strike the ear of night,
Make weep the eyes of day;
They make mad the roaring winds,
And with tempests play.
Like a fiend in a cloud
With howling woe,
After night I do croud,
And with night will go;
I turn my back to the east,
From whence comforts have increas'd;
For light doth seize my brain
With frantic pain.
GOOD FRIDAY
I write this not knowing whether Christians will be able to gather this year to celebrate Christ’s victory over death. In my part of the world, as in many, everyone has been sent home until further notice. As implausible as this would have seemed only months ago, here we are.
Our once-concealed human fears are now on full display—health fears, financial fears, the fear of chaos, the fear of criticism when we voice unpopular opinions. At the center, though, seems to be the fear of our own death.
We like to think that concern for the well-being of others has motivated this unprecedented response, but history convicts us. Deaths in far greater number far from home have never caused the panic we’re now experiencing at the threat of death nearby. Our own mortality has confronted us unexpectedly, and we’re terrified. Statistics have rattled us. The mere possibility of death, once animated by an aura of authority, has unnerved us.
Where do we turn for relief? By enacting the wisdom of the great world powers—science and government—we have been brought low. Who, then, will lift us up?
As paradoxical as it may seem, the perfect answer to death was death. On the day we remember today, Jesus—the only human “who knew no sin”—was made to be sin, so that “in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The full meaning of the Passover was revealed: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Who will lift us up? The one who gave himself to be lifted up on a cross! “I, when I am lifted up from the earth,” declared Jesus, “will draw all people to myself.” This one perfect death, by fully satisfying God’s righteous anger toward sin (which brings death), cancelled the sentence of death for all who would believe.
For “the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” But there is now “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set us free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
Death, to the believer, has become the opposite of a sentence. It is, thanks to Jesus, entry into his glorious Kingdom, the completion of our redemption.
And with the end of the death sentence should come the end of our fear of death:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”
Prayer:
Holy and gracious Father, you are worthy of all our attention. Every longing in us should be longing after you, but you have used our fears to reveal to us concerns that have displaced you. We confess that in our preoccupation with ourselves we have become fearful, as though our lives were not in your sovereign care. In the name of your perfect son Jesus, please forgive us! Thank you, Jesus, for accepting the sentence of death on our behalf that we might receive life from you! Holy Spirit, remind us in troubled times that we have nothing to fear.
Amen
Doug Axe
Maxwell Professor of Molecular Biology
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, poetry, and devotional writer selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab
About the Art:
The Crown of Thorns (triptych)
DaoZi
2018
Ink and gold on paper
3 scrolls: 140 x 70 cm each
From the Matter + Spirit: A Chinese/American Exhibition
Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity
The Crown of Thorns triptych is a veritable symphony of line and texture, punctuated with touches of color and gold, and has a resonant beauty appropriate to its subject, sacrificial love. It is both timeless and of our moment. The artist also called it “the triptych of the Thorny Crown” to refer to the way Christ’s suffering fortifies us in the midst of our own sufferings. He explains: “From the summer of 2017 till the autumn of 2018, I was making art around the themes of martyrdom, suffering, salvation and hope….By the winter of 2018, the persecution of the pharaoh came unexpectedly from Beijing to Chengdu. Amid chaos, absurdity, and foolishness, together with some responses out of weakness and astonishment, the tragedy was brought to its climax. Speaking of and faithfully painting out this great trial and gift from God is exactly the freedom of a clear conscience, and why art is higher than reality and even philosophy. But lies, indifference, and irresponsible chatter of the outsiders, are all signs of being enslaved, being the ‘vanity of vanities. On the spiritual journey, we should not fall into despair either because of persecution from the world or our own faults and sins, for the passing of time is not enclosed….The Crown of Thorns takes the form of an altar triptych. Thorns…contain the mystery of the theology of suffering….but ever since [they were] raised to the cross, [they] became a witness to the Incarnation of the Word, and an existence that symbolizes order, wisdom, and glory.”
About the Artist:
DaoZi is an esteemed Chinese poet, art critic and painter. Also named Wang Min, DaoZi was born in Qingdao in 1956 and graduated from Northwestern University and Beijing Normal University successively. He was deputy editor-in-chief of Chang An, a monthly journal organized by Xi’an Association of Literature and Arts, and a professor and chairman of the Department of Fine Art of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, as well as vice president of Chongqing Literature and Arts Critics Association. DaoZi is currently a professor and supervisor of doctoral candidates in the School of Art at Tsinghua University and is also a visiting professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a member of the International Aesthetics Association. His research interests and creative practices include art criticism, history and theory of modern art, Christian art research, poetry writing, and Chinese ink and wash art creation. He is a strong proponent of the indigenization of Chinese Christian art and what he refers to as Saintism Ink-Wash painting that combines traditional Chinese ink painting technique with Christian themes in a distinctly contemporary style.
About the Music:
“Good Friday: The End” from the album Lent
The Lyrics:
Day of evil's triumph over virtue!
On this day is the Good is called the vile.
Treated as a wolf, this Gentle Shepherd;
Foulest envy does the Good defile.
Day of shadows, blood and tears and sorrows!
On this day is beauty torn asunder.
Glory marred with whips and thorns and nails;
Foulest darkness covers Beauty’s wonder.
Day of falsity, lies and pretension!
On this day is Truth’s bent body killed.
When High Priest and Judge both fail the True One;
Foulest cup of Satan’s lies is swilled.
Purest Jesus, you held us to the end.
Truest Jesus, you taught us to the end.
Strongest Jesus, you bore us to the end.
Dearest Jesus, you loved us to the end.
Dearest Jesus, you loved us to the end.
Dearest Jesus, you loved us to the end.
About the Composer/Lyricist:
A month into his new job as music director of All Saints Dallas, an Anglican church, Ryan Flanigan received a poem from parishioner Nelson Koscheski. "It was gorgeous," he says, and he immediately set the poem to a short folk tune and sent the song to an astonished Koscheski. "I was tickled pink," says Koscheski. "This guy can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!" So began Liturgical Folk, a music project that centers around Koscheski's religious poems set to Flanigan's folk tunes. Since writing that first hymn in early 2015, Liturgical Folk has gained the support of producer Isaac Wardell, who has worked with many spiritually minded songwriters, including Sufjan Stevens, Sandra McCracken, and Josh Garrels. Wardell produced Liturgical Folk's first two albums, which debuted in 2017. The hymns range from mournful lamentations to spirited carols. Many include language influenced by Koscheski's childhood spent on Texas ranches. Most wrestle with substantial themes such as sorrow and hope. The collaboration of Flanigan and Koscheski is also a unique cross-generational pairing of two men united by a belief that when music is honest and refined it can be a credible, positive witness for the church.
https://www.liturgicalfolk.com/about
Nelson Koscheski (b. 1941) was a poet and priest in the Anglican Church of North America. A lifelong Texan, Nelson's collaboration with Ryan Flanigan began in 2015. Nelson’s poetry is saturated in his life experiences, West Texas imagination, and lifestyle of contemplative prayer. His poetry takes the listener through some of the darkest places of human despair into the presence of goodness, truth, and beauty.
https://www.liturgicalfolk.com/about
About the Performer:
Ryan Flanigan (b. 1979) is a songwriter, church music director (All Saints Dallas), and curator of new songs for the growing liturgical renewal movement in America. As an artist rooted in the Christian story, Ryan works to create beautiful and believable sacred music for the sake of the world. He believes the Church can be a credible artistic witness of God's goodness, truth, and beauty to the whole world, not only Christians. Ryan’s melodies are accessible and rooted in the inherently joyful sounds of the American folk tradition.
https://www.liturgicalfolk.com/about
About the Poet:
William Blake (1757–1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognized during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. Blake was a nonconformist who was associated with some of the leading radical thinkers of his day, such as Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft. In defiance of 18th-century neoclassical conventions, he privileged imagination over reason in the creation of both his poetry and images, asserting that ideal forms should be constructed not from observations of nature, but from inner visions. Although Blake was considered possibly mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, he is held in high regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-blake
About the Devotion Writer:
Dr. Douglas Axe
Maxwell Professor of Molecular Biology
Biola University
Douglas Axe is the Maxwell Professor of Molecular Biology at Biola University, the founding Director of Biologic Institute, the founding Editor of BIO-Complexity, and the author of Undeniable: How Biology Confirms Our Intuition That Life Is Designed. After completing his PhD at Caltech, he held postdoctoral and research scientist positions at the University of Cambridge and the Cambridge Medical Research Council Centre. His research, which examines the functional and structural constraints on the evolution of proteins and protein systems, has been featured in many scientific journals, including the Journal of Molecular Biology, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, BIO-Complexity, and Nature, and in such books as Signature in the Cell and Darwin’s Doubt by Stephen Meyer and Life’s Solution by Simon Conway Morris.