A Good Friday

Good Friday! I wonder who first gave it that name and how things progressed through history to cement that title to this day. The only people who would ever call it "good" are the ones who stand on this side of the cross and, in retrospect, see the inherent goodness of that horrible day. Surely the followers of Jesus couldn't possibly grasp, at the time, how anything good could come out of that atrocious day that resulted in the murder of the only innocent man the world has ever contained. How full of despair the disciples must have been! But more about the disciples in a minute...

First, here are some pictures from our Good Friday, which, happily, included a peaceful evening with each boy finding some means of quiet entertainment after supper.

David got out this electronic matching game and had fun with that...

Josiah played Monopoly by himself...

Tobin got the seat of honor on Grandma's lap and looked at books with her...

Speaking of Tobin, I just had to include another video of him. I know, I know...overkill on the Tobin videos. But this one that I took this evening shows the way he scoots around the floor. He may not crawl, but he can go places! At this rate, I won't have to worry about him wearing out the knees of his pants. The hind end? Well, that's another story... :) To clarify what might be confusing, my mom's voice is also heard in this video (along with my talking-to-baby voice; do I always sound so funny when I talk to my little ones?). :)

But back to the disciples... We participated in a Maundy Thursday meal and service with our church last night (and the most poignant moment I captured with the camera of my heart was when Tobin and Joelle Blosser sat side by side near the basin as Joelle's mom and I washed each other's feet); and as our pastor, Gordon, spoke about the disciples falling asleep in the garden, my mind flew to Passover night in 1996 when Jeff and I and another student at the school we attended in Jerusalem decided to retrace the steps of Jesus on the night of his betrayal. Jeff figured out the timing of everything; and as best we could, we did exactly what Jesus did on that night. I remember the delicious aroma of lamb and the other foods that the Old City Jewish residents were feasting on that night; as we walked through the deserted streets, the smell drifted through open windows to tease us...and the sounds of family and friends and fellowship filled my ears and made me feel the loneliness of being an outsider. But then we came to the Mount of Olives; and, although we couldn't go into the Garden of Gethsemane because of locked gates, we did sit down in a graveyard on the Mount to spend time in prayer. And I received an unforgettable lesson in humility when I, who had always been so critical of the disciples because they fell asleep when Jesus needed them, for crying out loud!, became so tired that I, too, drifted off to sleep.

I am no different than they were, and I've never forgotten it.

When we arrived home last night from the service, I noticed the full moon rising behind the forest to the east of us. I tried to capture it, but really haven't the slightest idea how to effectively photograph the moon. This was as good as I could do, but it's enough to remind me that on the night he was betrayed, Jesus, too, saw a full moon.