Holy Week: Journey With JesusSample

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

GOOD FRIDAY - In Judith Viorst's classic children's story, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, we follow along with this seven-year-old boy as he explains just how awful his day is going.

Among the many complaints of his day, Alexander gets gum stuck in his hair, trips on a skateboard getting out of bed, fails to find a toy in his cereal box, and disapproves of what his mom packed him for lunch. His teacher says he counts too loud, the dentist finds a cavity, and his mom doesn't buy him the right-colored shoes. He's forced to ride in the middle seat in the car and gets his clothes dirty falling in a mud puddle. He doesn't like the dinner he's made to eat or the pajamas he's made to wear. The cat won't sleep with him and he bites his tongue getting in bed. Life is so bad for Alexander, he thinks his only solution is to move to Australia.

We've all had days that felt like this, haven't we?

As Jesus journeyed from the Garden to Golgotha on that fateful day 2000 years ago, he was flogged, stripped, beaten, mocked, abandoned, and nailed to a tree. It's impossible for us to fully imagine his pain, his anguish, and his grief. For Jesus, it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

And yet we call today Good Friday.

His bad day is our good news.

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:6-8, NLT)

So as we reflect on the historic events of Good Friday, let us do so with solemn gratitude for all that Jesus endured for us and offer this prayer to the Crucified Christ:

“Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love upon the hard wood of the cross, that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you, for the honor of your name. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, p.101)