Silent

From as far back as I can remember Good Friday has been marked as a day of silence.
What can we say? What should we say in the light of this stunning display of God's love?
We go silent!
As a youngster that meant minimum words used, no radio and eventually no television.
Church services were at nine in the morning. We heard the Scriptures but, of course, back then, they were in Latin. Over and over again we responded to the invitations, "Oremus." "Flectamus genua." "Levate!"
Up we stood and then down on our knees and then up once again.
And we prayed and prayed and prayed.
And then came the cross.
And lines of faithful of every age queued forward to bow, to reverence, to acknowledge the instrument of our salvation.
And finally the Mass of the Presanctified.
No Mass on this day.
Only some brief prayers and Communion for the presider.
And in those days there were signs in almost every business establishment.
White background, black bold letters.
We will close 12:00 to 3:00 Good Friday!
For that  brief time life stopped.
Closed!
Time to pause.
To reflect.
To remember.
To be surrounded by the silence.
And the wonder of the cross.
And when three o'clock arrived, it seemed as if life itself resumed.
And that was then.
And now . . .
This year.
Life will pause again.
In fact it already has.
It has been put on hold not just for three hours but for days now and weeks.
And even when three o'clock arrives, life will in so many ways still remain on hold.
Things are so different this year.
If we enter the rituals and ceremonies, it will be through the modern marvel of streaming. We will watch and pray from the isolation of our homes. If we take time, and we do now have plenty of time, we can truly let our minds and hearts get to the very heart of this day.
He suffered . . . as do so many today . . . the victims of this pandemic, the ones who seek in their own ways to respond and help . . . those who simply sit alone and lonely . . . those who are frightened . . . those who have no home in which to take shelter and find safety . . . those who run not only from this scourge but from the others they have known - war, persecution, violence, discrimination, hate, hunger, poverty.
So many!
So much suffering.
And that is why we need the silence of Good Friday.
We need to wrap our minds around this truth.
Jesus Christ was in control.
Jesus Christ is in control.
He did not die until He gave permission for it to happen.
"It is finished!"
He controls death . . .
and life . . .
and through Him we shall overcome.
We can overcome!  
Hear Him tell us that . . .
In the Silence.