Tenebrae: a Latin word meaning darkness or shadows.
Tenebrae also connotes a Christian religious service celebrated on the evening before or early morning of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, which are the last three days of Holy Week. The distinctive ceremony of Tenebrae is the gradual extinguishing of candles while a series of readings and psalms are chanted or recited.
But we do not observe this day as a people without hope. We know how the story ends and begins again...
Making Good Friday and Easter morning real requires an awareness of God's presence regardless of the storms of life, accepting a practice of ruthlessly trusting in Him. Brennan Manning writes:
Ruthless trust is an unerring sense, way deep down, that beneath the surface agitation, boredom, and insecurity of life, it's gonna be all right. Ill winds may blow, more character defects may surface, sickness may visit, and friends will surely die; but a stubborn, irrefutable certainty persists that God is with us and loves us in our struggle to be faithful.
No matter how well or poorly you are doing, God is present. No matter the nature of the tragedy, God is present. In the sweet moments of joy, God is present. In the darkest and most embarrassing moments of life, God stands close.
God's presence shows us the tenacious nature of Good Friday and Easter. It is God's mercy, which follows us, whether we realize it or not.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Yes...
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