O God and Father: How can the light of the sun pierce the terrible darkness of this day and its events? Your only Son, the true light, in the darkness of his ordeal, was pleased to embrace in his humanity the sufferings he could not endure in his divinity. And to what purpose, if not to prove that he considered us worthy of salvation! The crowds that had so admired him at first, were now overcome with aversion for him, in spite of the good he had done. In their outrage that the master of the sabbath should break the sabbath, they sneered at him and derided him. He suffered all sorts of indignities for us: He was spat upon and slapped and ridiculed. He was scourged by the soldiers and, finally, he was hanged on that tree of shame. And we, as usual, remain vacillating and ambivalent. Without your help, O Father, we can never see the honor that is ours in his voluntary shame.
By the grace and mercy and love for us of your only Son, with whom you are blest, together with your all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
(A prayer of Fr. Laurence)
God considers you so worthy of salvation that He goes willingly to His voluntary and life-giving death. And not a quick death, but a death that embraces all of the fallenness of our human rebellion.
At this hour, O Lord, as even nature hides it’s face from the spectacle of Life being swallowed by death, let us creatures enslaved by death rejoice in Your marvels. For You are the Only Lover of Mankind, and You are the Savior of our souls.
Blessed Great and Holy Friday to you all, and l pray that we once again embrace the journey to become Orthodox on Purpose.
