The good news is not absent on Good Friday, even in the middle of heartbreak, betrayal, and violence. In one of the darkest moments of the gospel story, Jesus reveals the heart of God with stunning clarity. When swords are drawn, Jesus says, “No more.” When violence erupts, he offers healing. When betrayal comes with a kiss, he does not answer with revenge. When he is mocked and crucified, he prays, “Father, forgive them.” Good Friday reveals both the worst of human violence and the unshakable mercy of God. Even as everything seems to be falling apart, Jesus shows us that love does not surrender to hatred, and peace does not give way to retaliation.
That is part of what makes Good Friday so powerful and so uncomfortable. The cross exposes us. It reveals what fear, power, mob mentality, and cruelty can do. But even more, it reveals who God is. In Jesus, we see a God who refuses to answer violence with violence. We see a Savior who keeps loving, keeps healing, and keeps forgiving all the way to his final breath. The good news on Good Friday is not that suffering is good. It is that even in suffering, the love of God remains present, clear, and unbroken.
And then Easter morning comes.
The good news that seemed interrupted by death is alive again in the world. The stone is rolled away. The earth shakes. The angel announces, “Do not be afraid.” The women run from the tomb, filled with awe, and Jesus meets them on the road with the same good news. “Do not be afraid.” Then he sends them forward with a calling, “Go and tell.” Easter reminds us that death does not get the final word. Fear does not win. Violence does not have ultimate power. The risen Christ is alive, moving, calling, and revealing himself in the world.
This is the hope of Easter, Christ is not only risen, Christ is still present. He is still ahead of us in Galilee and beyond. He is still alive in acts of compassion, justice, mercy, and courage. He is still present in neighbors and strangers, in communities of care, in churches that dare to love boldly, and in ordinary moments where grace quietly appears. Resurrection is not only something we celebrate, it is something we are invited to witness and embody.
As we move from Good Friday into Easter, we carry both truths with us. We remember the God who met violence with nonviolence, hatred with mercy, and death with love. And we rejoice in the Christ who is alive in the world, still calling us not to be afraid, still sending us to share good news. So may we go looking for signs of resurrection all around us. May we notice what is alive, what is healing, what is rising, and what is being made new. For the good news is still alive, and it is still moving in the world.
Grace and peace because grace always goes before peace,
Pastor Sharon