Today is Good Friday — the ultimate misnomer. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it just never seems right that today should be called Good Friday. It seems it should be called Bad Friday… I think maybe the the Germans describe it better — in German, the day is called Karfreitag or Sorrowful Friday.
Again, as I’ve mentioned before, the term “good” as applied to Good Friday is an Old English expression meaning holy. It is also referred to as Holy Friday sometimes.
As to the question of why it’s called “Good,” we’re consistently reminded that Good Friday is always tied to Easter Sunday — a joyful celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. He could not have been resurrected if he had not died first.
I read something from a Dean at Samford University (Timothy George) that summed it up nicely: “Theologically, we must keep Good Friday and Easter together. Good Friday without Easter is doom and despair. Easter without Good Friday is empty sentiment and sentimentality. We have to remember what Jesus did on the cross, which is the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan for the whole world. It has cosmic consequences. It’s a day to be silent, it’s a day to remember, to focus on who Jesus is and what He meant for humanity. It really was a bad Friday, a horrible Friday, but when it is seen as leading to the Resurrection, it was indeed a Good Friday.”
So Good Friday it is — regardless of the name, it’s a very significant day, and maybe a reminder, especially this year, that things often seem darkest just before the light. Someone said that today marks the day when wrath and mercy met at the cross. That’s why Good Friday is so dark and so Good.
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