Pontius Pilate: You should have listened to your wife

From Lindsay Hardin Freeman-

The story of Jesus’ life and death could have turned out differently, had Pontius Pilate listened to his wife. Kind and intuitive (and unnamed), she is known for these few words:

“Have nothing to do with that innocent man [Jesus], for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” Matthew 27:19

Allow me to paint the story. Perhaps it happened something like this…
___________

As the morning light spills into her room, Pilate’s wife jolts awake, her eyes stretched like saucers. “No! Don’t do it! No!”

Hearing her distress, servants tumble into the room. And there they see a strange sight: their disheveled and shaking mistress scrawling words onto a linen napkin used at dinner the night before.
More here-

http://www.lindsayhardinfreeman.com/pontius-pilate-you-should-have-listened-to-your-wife/

Since 1993, I Have Learned to Observe Good Friday on My Knees

From Patheos-

On Good Friday, 1993, around noon, I slipped into the chapel of the nearby Episcopal church where I prayed weekly for an hour or so and was surprised by something I saw. Someone had positioned a low table before the altar. On it was set a linen cloth, a small crucifix, a pottery chalice filled with wine, and an earthenware plate holding Communion wafers.

A woman bustled in the nearby sacristy.

I called out to her, “What a wonderful aid to prayer!”

Often when my mind is wandering, it helps to have some token on which to fix my eyes. Postcards sent by friends are tucked in my desk organizer, a fixed point of beauty from which to build a center for concentration.

“Did you arrange this?” I asked.

Still finishing her tasks, she paused, calling back that the Communion elements were brought from the previous evening’s Maundy Thursday service as a reminder to keep vigil over the broken body of Christ. Then, her work completed, she left me to the silence.


Read more at

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/gospelforasia/2018/03/since-1993-i-learned-to-observe-good-friday-on-my-knees/#LHUuKCkzXgyfVdkh.99

Oh, all those religious calendar features! But here’s a good bet for Good Friday

From Get Religion-

News scribes face the perennial task of devising features pegged to major dates on religious calendars.

Due to the somber and difficult theme, perhaps the most challenging is Good Friday – Great and Holy Friday for Orthodoxy, whose date of April 14 coincides with other Christians’ in 2017. One rarely sees a fresh, first-class media article about the day Christ died.

Relief is on the way this year, thanks to “The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ” by Fleming Rutledge, proclaimed the “2017 Book of the Year” by Christianity Today magazine and newly reissued in paperback by Eerdmans. Sample chapter headings: “The Godlessness of the Cross.” “The Question of Justice.” “Condemned into Redemption.”

More here-

https://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2017/3/20/oh-those-religious-calendar-features-but-heres-a-good-bet-for-good-friday

Why is it called Good Friday?

From Alabama-

Today millions of Christians worldwide observe the somber holy day of Good Friday, which commemorates the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus.
The faithful often act it out by carrying a large wooden cross and crown of thorns symbolic of the suffering of Christ.

In the streets of Jerusalem, and even in the streets of Birmingham, Alabama, people will be carrying wooden crosses to remember Jesus carrying his cross to his own crucifixion.

At first glance, Good Friday seems like the ultimate misnomer. If Jesus suffered and died on this day, then why is it called Good Friday?

More here-

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2016/03/why_is_it_called_good_friday.html

Highland Park church takes different approach to Stations of the Cross

From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-

For Christians, Easter celebrates the symbolic meeting of heaven and Earth. And this year, as Good Friday coincides with Earth Day, the connection is all the more divine.

The Open Door church in Highland Park is celebrating the holiday crossover with "The Earth Groans," a Stations of the Cross exhibit that features pieces made from recycled or re-purposed materials.

Held at the Union Project in Highland Park, the display calls the faithful to reflect not only on their relationships with Christ but also on sustainability efforts to ensure a healthier planet.

"As Christians, it's important for us to be good stewards of the Earth ... that God gave us to be caretakers over," said B.J. Woodworth, pastor of the Open Door. "It's just a natural outgrowth of our faith."

"The Earth Groans" includes 14 pieces that chronicle Jesus' final hours, from his condemnation under Pontius Pilate through his death on the cross.

Unlike traditional Stations of the Cross -- where like images of Jesus' journey are displayed chronologically on a wall -- the exhibit offers 14 unique works that extend beyond the wall for new interpretations of the Passion.

Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11113/1141419-53-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml#ixzz1KN1bHFie