God Saw All That He Made, And It Was Very Good…Friday

I spend my life’s work making things. I consider myself an artist so it’s no surprise that I love the creation narrative. In Genesis, God makes everything on earth and after each time He creates the writer states, ‘and it was Good.’ Today we see the Church using the word good to refer to the Friday of Christ’s passion. This time around it’s a little harder to see why it is good.

In the Gospel reading, we hear of one of Christ’s closest confidants betraying Him. In one of the few occasions we have as Mass goers, we participate in the Gospel by crying out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” We read the crown of thorns mockingly placed upon His head piercing through Jesus’ skull. And of course, we learn of the final moments of Christ on the cross and the Gospel ends by laying the crucified Lord in the tomb to rest.

This doesn’t sound like a Good Friday. And it wouldn’t have been, if it weren’t for (spoiler alert) Easter. We get a hint of this in the first reading, “If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through Him” (Isaiah 53:10).

Good Friday is good for the same reason God called creation good in Genesis. This is the beginning of a new creation. Oh happy fault. We say these words on Easter Vigil because through Christ’s sacrifice He brought us greater good than if man had never sinned. We are raised above the angels because of this one day.

During the Easter Vigil Mass, we will read the creation story and be reminded of this connection. For now, we fast, we pray and we give. But our eyes are on the horizon because today is the beginning and not the end, and I for one find that very good.

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Cory Heimann is the creative director at Likable Art. He studied Theology and Catechetics at Franciscan University of Steubenville. A desire to stir up beauty drives his love for collaborating and creating. His favorite creations are his 3 boys in collaboration with his wife.