Lipscomb family gathered to observe Good Friday
Students, faculty and staff gathered in Allen Arena to remember the death of Jesus in a special Good Friday service.
Anna Moseley |
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
With all 11 a.m. classes canceled today, Lipscomb University students, faculty and staff gathered in Allen Arena to recount the events that took place on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion at a special Good Friday service..
The phrase, “It's Friday, but Sunday is coming,” was repeated throughout the Good Friday chapel service signifying that although today represents a day of mourning, there is still hope because Sunday is coming, and with it, rejoicing.
Good Friday is a day of intentional sorrow, explained Ken Durham, Batsell Barrett Baxter Chair of Preaching at Lipscomb University, and featured speaker at the service. He explained that Good Friday offers an opportunity to mourn and experience sadness over the death of the bravest and kindest person to ever live.
“Today is a chance to experience the sadness of our world that requires divine atonement,” said Durham. “To mourn together over human injustice and inequity. Over abuse and bigotry over poverty and hunger, over violence and war. A day to pray and mourn and yet, Sunday is coming.”
Al Sturgeon, vice president for student life, said he has often been asked why we continue to have class on Good Friday even though we are a Christian school
“At church, we would often celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, but we would skip over Good Friday, meaning we’d skip over the cross,” said Sturgeon. “The cross is what everything in the Old Testament is pointing to and what everything in the New Testament points back to. So it is important as a community that we come together and commemorate this significant day together.”
As Sturgeon lead the crowd through Luke chapter 23, he made note of the burial of Jesus, a piece he said is often overlooked.
“It was fairly late on a Friday afternoon when Jesus finally died after six excruciating hours on the cross,” said Sturgeon. “He was bloody, messy and he needs to be buried before the day ends.”
Even though there were only a few hours of daylight left, those caring for Jesus’s body preparing him for burial still showed significant respect to Jesus, said Sturgeon. He then pointed out the women in the last verse of Luke 23.
“It was the women in a highly patriarchal society who hurry home to prepare the spices and perfumes for a proper burial even though there is not time for it yet,” said Sturgeon. “Then the last verse reads, ‘And then they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the command.’”
Sturgeon wondered how the women rested after what just happened.
“I think they rest on the sabbath according to the command because that is an act of trust in God,” said Sturgeon.
He conveys his message by sharing what he learned from his last moments with his mother before her death in 2012. During her last days, as the time for Sturgeon to leave his mother and return to work came he began sobbing at the thought of leaving her.
“I tried to get ahold of myself and as I walked toward my mother I just lost it,” said Sturgeon. “I collapsed in my mother’s weak arms, balling like a baby. She rubbed my head and in a quiet, raspy voice said, ‘it’s going to be okay.’”
Sturgeon recalled that moment, as he got up from his mother’s embrace and said goodbye to her for the last time, and he realized the women in Luke chapter 23 heard the same message from God.
“I believe now that what my mom was saying was the same thing those women were doing,” said Sturgeon. “The same thing that Jesus did as he trusted that God is going to make things okay. It is Friday, and Sunday is coming, but on Friday we watch those women and watch Jesus lay down to rest, to wait trust and hope.”