Pastor's Corner: Good Friday's goodness

Twice a year, I lead worship by candlelight in a dark sanctuary: Christmas Eve and Good Friday, the Incarnation and the Crucifixion. These two commemorations have more in common than just the use of candles instead of electricity, though. Both of these days center around the body of Christ. I don't mean "body of Christ" the way we usually use that phrase, as a way to talk about the whole church. The Incarnation and Crucifixion center around the actual, physical, flesh-and-blood body of Jesus of Nazareth.

On Christmas Eve, we celebrate the body of a newborn baby, with his tiny lungs just fillin...