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Talking with some Junior Hi students the other day, they remarked that Good Friday is both good and bad.

From our perspective, on the other side of two millenia, we see and understand the good.  There is forgiveness of sin and a sacrifice that was made.  There is a surety in the sacrifice for all time – with a resurrection of the one who was sacrificed.

But, for those in a place of not knowing the future.   For those who stood at a cross and saw a death, life was finished.  And now another chapter needed to begin.

That chapter would spell grief in big letters, and then who knows?

Hide away for a while?  Your first night without that person is spent in shock, and then the society’s approach to grieving kicks in.  You do what needs to be done, and hold the questions until later.  The second night you sneak a peek at the future and just want to be close to the one who died.

Day three?

Last night was the double header for our choir.

The community group has practiced for the last few months.  Unfortunately my schedule meant I was only present for 1/2 the practice time.

In that time, I had seen most of the music, although our first concert on Sunday showed that I had missed singing one of the songs in full.

Sunday’s concert went well.  The room was somewhat dull, but the microphones were helpful.

Last night was in an acoustically primed room.  The sounds of human voices just bounced and returned, reverberated and resounded.  As you caught a breath for the next phrase, you could hear the whole choir breathe.

Now, that is what makes for unified singing.  Being able to hear each other even to the extent of sensing the next heartbeat of the music.  The men’s chorus hit their stride.  The Easter cantata was exhilarating.  The sense of the power of music to touch the inner person was there.

That’s when doing music is more than just an activity, it is a joy!

In a weeks time I will be taking some days off.

I’m not quite sure what the agenda will be yet.  Certainly finding a way to put distance between work and myself.  The consuming nature of a job you love makes time off a difficulty.

Difficult, not in the sense of others who are willing to step in and step up.  That can and will be done.  Difficult in the sense that my own heart feels the need to cover just a few more things.  A protection needs to be in place for all the efforts that are currently being undertaken.

That is my heart.  On one hand this is a compassionate gesture.  On the other hand there is a need to trust those to whom things are delegated.

And so, for the next few days I will see what can be done to blend compassion and delegation.  And next Monday I will begin days that are set aside (holy) days.

I have lived in the church for 60 years.  Since I was born, I have been taken to church.  I expect I will be taken to church in my old age.

The church calendar sees today as Palm Sunday.  I remember that palm branches that children waved on “the way.”  They are lined up at the back of the church and process, with some ohs and ahs, to the front.  An appropriate song about the little children is sung.

I wonder, now that I am older, if there were not older people waving palm branches as well.  What would a Palm Sunday service look like if it was just the seniors?

Or, more rightly, as some churches have done – the procession is filled with all generations.  Mothers scolding children for getting too close to the pews on either side.  Teens looking at each other to be sure they “were doing this right”.  Seniors being pushed in wheel chairs, directing their helpers to watch out for the person in front.

And then we realize this is about Jesus and not us.  And the whole thing becomes chaotic.  Shouts erupt and we don’t know where else to look – because there is only one look and that is to Jesus.

Maybe, just maybe . . . that’s not too far off the first triumphal entry.