It is Good Friday but Sunday is coming<\/p>\n
By Grace Segran<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud
\nvoice, \"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?\", records
\nMatthew in his gospel. Jesus was alienated from God because God
\ncould not stand sin.<\/p>\n
Christians believe that as he hung on the cross that first
\nGood Friday 2000 years ago, Jesus, the Son of God, took upon
\nhimself the judgment for mankind's wrongdoings. He became the
\nsubstitute, receiving the judgment man deserved from God -- the
\ndeath penalty. He who knew no sin bore the punishment for man's
\nsins. With justice having been meted out on Jesus, as the
\nrepresentative of mankind, God now reaches out in love to draw
\nmankind to himself.<\/p>\n
Soon after the ninth hour, he committed his spirit to God,
\nbreathed his last and died. He was buried in a tomb. When women
\ncame to embalm his body with spices on Sunday (the third day),
\nthey found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they
\nremembered his words: \"I must be delivered into the hands of
\nsinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again,\"
\nand realized that they were looking for the living among the
\ndead. Jesus had risen, and repentance and forgiveness of sins is
\nnow preached throughout the world. What a glorious meaning Easter
\nhas!<\/p>\n
What comes to mind this Good Friday and Easter is not hot
\ncross buns and Easter bunnies, but truth and reconciliation.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is at the crossroads and it has chosen to take the
\npath toward reform. But it bears a heavy burden with the excesses
\nof the past. There is a dire need for truth and reconciliation
\nbefore the country can move on.<\/p>\n
The story of Good Friday is the story of God reconciling man
\nto Himself. Men in sin had rebelled against God. And there was
\nnothing men could do to earn God's favor, but God came down to
\nreconcile man to Himself. And in that reconciliation, man can be
\nreconciled to his neighbor. At the heart of all war and enmity
\nbetween people is a heart that is at war with itself. The message
\nof Good Friday is a message of reconciliation between God and
\nman, and between men and men.<\/p>\n
Look at South Africa and what it did when it was in a
\nsituation similar to the one Indonesian now finds itself. Upon
\nthe dismantling of apartheid, Bishop Tutu was commissioned to
\nhelp the country come to terms with the past as the head of the
\nTruth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The people of South
\nAfrica were encouraged to talk about the past so that the country
\ncould heal its wounds. And they did.<\/p>\n
Countless hours of evidence, seemingly endless testimony and
\nmassive reams of documents were all assiduously plowed through.
\nThe purpose of the exercise was not recrimination and vengeance.
\nIt was to seek closure, to deal with the past and to forgive, so
\nthe country could move on.<\/p>\n
Today the South African TRC has finished its task. The past is
\nby no means buried, but the country has at least made a start at
\ndealing with the past. The message of Good Friday has been taken
\nseriously.<\/p>\n
No one is above the law. There is no need to seek revenge, but
\nto forgive one another for their wrongs. Sometimes restitution is
\nnecessary, but the important thing is to deal with the past, be
\nreconciled with your neighbor and get on with rebuilding lives
\nand the country.<\/p>\n
Likewise current violence must cease. Man must be reconciled
\nwith his neighbor. All faiths preach peace, and there is great
\nhypocrisy in citing religion as a reason to kill our fellow man.<\/p>\n
The source of our problems is men at war with men. And the
\nroot cause of this is that man is at war with God. The Easter
\nmessage is that God came down to make peace with man, and as a
\nresult man could be at peace with himself and at peace with God.<\/p>\n
But the story of Good Friday is meaningless without the climax
\nof Easter. Christians believe that Jesus, who died on the cross
\nas a sacrifice for our sins on Friday, rose again on Sunday, to
\ntriumph over death and to bring hope and salvation to the world.<\/p>\n
The story of Easter proclaims that death is not the end; it is
\nthe beginning of a glorious new life.<\/p>\n
The twin stories of Good Friday and Easter are reconciliation
\nand hope. These are the same truths that are so necessary at the
\npresent hour, here and now. The need for peace is desperate. The
\nneed for hope in the current trials is critical.<\/p>",
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