Good Friday

"He is not here: for he is risen..." (Matthew 28: 1-15, Luke 24: 1-12, John 20:1-10)
Good Friday: The day Christians believe Jesus was crucified by order of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. Following his death, Jesus' body was wrapped in a shroud and placed in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea.

"The gift of immortality to all is so choice a gift that our rejoicing in these two great and generous gifts should drown out any sorrow, assuage any grief, conquer any mood, dissolve any despair, and tame any tragedy.

Even those who see life as pointless will one day point with adoration to the performance of the Man of Galilee in the crowded moments of time known as Gethsemane and Calvary. Those who now say life is meaningless will yet applaud the atonement, which saved us all from meaninglessness.

Christ’s victory over death routs the rationale that there is a general and irreversible human predicament; there are only personal predicaments, but even from these we can also be rescued by following the pathway of Him who rescued us from general extinction.

A disciple’s “brightness of hope,” therefore, means that at funerals his tears are not because of termination, but because of interruption and separation. Though just as wet, his tears are not of despair, but of appreciation and anticipation. Yes, for disciples, the closing of a grave is but the closing of a door that will later be flung open.

It is the Garden Tomb, not life, that is empty!"

Neal A. Maxwell, Wherefore Ye Must Press Forward, pp. 132-3