Not that Friday
There are people who do not fancy Good Friday, who see no good in it. And understandably so. They feel it's too somber and sad a day. It speaks of defeat and despondency. I can imagine what the disciples felt with the apparent finality that came with the death of Christ on that day. It's no wonder that some of them went back fishing, because the project had ended. Their hopes and dreams faded into oblivion with that dark hour.
That's Good Friday, but Easter Sunday has a positive feeling.
Most people will take that Sunday any day. There's a vibrancy in the songs that are sung. There's cheer in the words as they're spoken. And there's victory in the greeting and response, 'Christ is risen. He is risen indeed'.
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.
Support communities around the world as they respond to crisis and build resilience for what lies ahead.
Life in the liminal space
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We can go through Friday because there is a sure Sunday. On this side of heaven, we'll likely go through the experience again and again. Our lives are lived in the oscillation between the Good Friday and the Easter Sunday experiences.
Hope is what provides for the tenacity and resilience to live in that space in-between.
Hope to get through today and hope in that final resurrection when we shall be renewed and reunited with Christ.
More than surviving – the Power of Hope
Affected communities that we work with now understand that the cycles of climate crises will be more frequent and more intense. And with each cycle many of the pastoralist communities lose more of their cattle and livelihood. Many flooded farms lose their crops and farmers are unable to harvest enough to carry them through to the next harvest.
But they start all over again.
They're resilient.
Giving in is not an option.
Across the world, we also see other “Good Friday” moments unfolding - in the devastation of conflict in Ukraine, the deepening crisis in places like Lebanon, and the ongoing challenges faced by communities in South Sudan. These are spaces of uncertainty and waiting... that in-between where the promise of restoration has not yet been realised.
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They've lived and will continue to live between the Good Friday and Easter Sunday experience for several more seasons in their lives. Because of their resilience we have moved from calling our accompaniment and interventions “Surviving Community Led Responses” to “Supporting Community Led Responses”.
It's because they are fuelled by the power of Hope. And Hope does not disappoint. It's what holds us together between the Good Friday and Easter Sunday experience.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
