Good Friday 2011
There were a number of suggestions thrown around, but the final decision was to call this day “Black Saturday”.
On Saturday February 7th, 2009, Victoria experienced the worst bushfires that Australia had ever known. 173 lives were taken, 5000 people were injured, 2,029 homes destroyed, thousands of animals died and 4,500 square kilometers of land was burnt. As I lived just 20 minutes drive from one of the worst affected areas, it had a huge impact on our community. It seemed that everyone was either directly affected by the fires or knew someone who had been. In the days after the fire, as communities reeled from the destruction and grief, the authorities started to think of a name for such a horrific day. There were a number of suggestions thrown around, but the final decision was to call this day “Black Saturday”. What a fitting name for such a dark day.
Another truly dark day in our history was the day that Jesus was nailed to the cross and received the punishment for all those who had, and would, sin in this world. Jesus, the Son of God, a man who had done no wrong, was abused, beaten and crucified in the most horrific way. And what do we call this day? Good Friday! Seems strange, doesn’t it? How wrong to call such a dark and horrible day “Good”. And yet, the difference about Good Friday is that we know it won’t be long until we are celebrating again. On the third day, we remember that Jesus rose again and conquered the ugly death He experienced. It’s important to acknowledge all that happened on this Friday, but we have the hope of the “Good” to look forward to the Sunday.
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.
3 comments:
U really inspire me carry on with the good work
I saw this on Facebook and had no idea it was written by the same Linda from LightFM. What a lovely surprise.
Glad you like it and yes this is written by Linda from LightFM. Make sure you “like us” and if you would like a devotion emailed everyday subscribe to the email at the top right of the page.
Cam