Good Friday, April 22
Holy Week Devotional
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When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.
At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, eloi, lema sabachthani?"
which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" -Mark 15:33-34
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From the cross, Jesus uses the opening line of Psalm 22 to express his anguish.
Though he only voiced one line, the entire Psalm gives us deeper insight into Jesus'
pain and sorrow. Psalm 22 continues,

Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?  O my God, I
cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest. Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted,
and you delivered them. To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted,
and were not put to shame.

Amazing. Even in the depth of Jesus' excruciating torment, when the landscape was
shrouded in darkness, when Jesus' words sounded of despair, there persisted in his
spirit the word, yet.Yet you are holy. Yet in the past you, o God, have come through
for your people. God may not be done just yet.

A tiny light of hope.

Try this experiment. Go into a room without windows. Cover every crevice through
 which light could enter. Flip the switch and turn off the light. Then, in complete
darkness, light a match or switch on a little keychain flashlight. What you will
 find is that the most miniscule source of light is able to chase away the darkness.
Seemingly impenetrable, oppressive darkness cannot stand against a tiny light.

On Good Friday, the darkness can feel overwhelming. May the light of hope see you
through.

God is not through just yet.
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Prayer

O God, be my light today. In this midst of my sorrows, may Jesus' undying hope be
mine. With the little light I have, reveal to me where you are still at work, chasing
away the darkness. Amen.
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Rev. Andy Lewis