"Good" Friday? Written in blood

"Holy Friday," 5 X 10, cold press

"Good" Friday? Why? It marks the brutal execution of a ragged rabbi by rule-bound religious authorities, because he came preaching love and peace and compassion for all people. "Good?"
I'm not much for formal religious liturgy because it seems too institutional  for the passion of true spiritual leaders and believers of all sorts, except perhaps for Passover, and communion. But then we all have our liturgies, some religious, some habits, so no judgment here.
But I can appreciate the abiding cultures and strengths that make those liturgies so important to so many believers of various religions.
So "Good" Friday didn't seem to fit, until I read more. In Middle English, one of the archaic definitions of "good" was "holy."
That's what makes Good Friday "good," written in blood.
Thus today's watercolor, "Holy Friday."

What kind of man was this?

What kind of man was this? 5 by 7 watercolor

Amid the joy, the emotion, and ceremony of the confirmation of Susan and her sister Sara at St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church this morning, I found myself looking at the beckoning Christ in front of a cross on the wall back of the altar.
What kind of man was this, that so many would follow?
His magnetism began when he was earthly, with dirty feet and sweat and words that riveted people, especially the poor and spiritually hungry, and drove others, especially the religious, away.
He taught love and forgiveness and acceptance and sincerity, trying to unite rather than divide--lessons foreign to the world then, and now.
Would he be welcome in many places that tout his name ? Where would he be on Sunday mornings? In fancy churches, or with the homeless? In political rallies or helping the poor?
What would he be teaching today, in this country, or in other countries where the languages, and religions and races are different?
Bishop Konieczny's powerful homily, delivered without notes but from a walker, told these new Episcopals, about the meaning of Jesus today.
Separate from the liturgies, the traditions, the regulations, narrow-minded judgments, the politics, the divisions, the vile acts and hatred performed in his name, this dark-skinned Middle Eastern Jew, who preached against hatred and judgment and hypocrisy, and said love your neighbor....
What kind of man was this who had the courage and truthfulness to  say and do what he did?

Episcopal confirmees, at St. Augustine of Canterbury, with Oklahoma Bishop The Right Reverend Dr. Edward J. Konieczny, under the outstretched arms of Jesus--Susan in white on front row left, with her sister Sara right behind her.

Crucifixion and rich beaches, 2 more countries

Readers in two more countries clicked on this blog this week, bringing to 117 the number of countries where readers have for various reasons, scanned these posts.

One country, Paraguay, is in the news because some fired bus drivers staged self-crucifixions with real nails in protest. Crucifixions
Now that's  a level of passion and freedom  rarely known in the western world. Paraguay, home of native peoples 1,000 years before the Spanish "conquest" in the 1500s, suffered under military dictatorships and poverty until 1989, when the government became more democratic. 

Since then its 6.6 million people have seen the economy boom. They take democracy seriously too, having impeached a president a few years ago. The South American country is just a little smaller than California.
Its flag is unique in that it has a different symbol on opposite sides--one is the coat of arms, the other is a map and name of the country in a circle.

The second new country is the Bahamas, the site of Colombus' first landfall in 1492, but the Spanish didn't settle it. The British made  the 700  islands a crown colony in 1718 to combat privacy. At the close of the American revolution, many American loyalists moved there with their slaves. When the Brits banned international slave trade in the early 1800s, the islands became a have for liberated slaves, and those who escaped from America.

The country gained independence in 1973 but retained Queen Elizabeth II as monarch. The country has almost no taxes, living off tourism, and is among the top five richest per capita in the world. Its flag symbolizes the aspirations of black people.

A black day before sunrise

Painting in the Basilica of Constantine at Trier, Germany. The church was built in 310 AD.

They huddled behind locked doors, afraid, confused, exhausted, in shock. Three years of their lives has been destroyed yesterday with the cruelest of executions and ironies. Their friend and leader, a man who loved life, who preached love, who cared for people, who brought fresh life to religion, had been murdered by a mob of religious fanatics. Gone were the words and laughter and promises and hope he inspired in each of them. They were so alone.
Each had his own memories, perhaps of his teachings sitting on a hillside overlooking the Galilean Sea, or watching his kindness toward all sorts of sinners and lowlife, or praying  in a synagogue, or attending a wedding, or reclining around a table, laughing, telling stories, sipping wine and sharing bread. It was just so unjust and wrong and unfair. He'd never harmed anyone, and now...now what?
It was Sabbath, and supposed to be a holy day, a day for God. Surely they wondered where their God was, how their God could have permitted so much blackness to overcome goodness, as they kept asking "Why?" over and over, running the events through their minds, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. And the next day, they stayed huddled behind those locked doors, remembering the blood and suffering and agony, and wondering what they would do next, if they would ever live "normal" lives again.
They wouldn't.

"On the evening of the first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, ...."John 21:19

Interior of the Basilica, built about 277 years after the the crucifixion.