I'd Rather Be Laughing

"Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."
James 4: 8-10

     I prefer Easter over Good Friday. At church, the altar is bursting with trumpeting lilies. The congregants are fairly buzzing with excitement, well-coifed and arrayed in their Sunday best. Star soloists lead the exuberant procession as brass horns gaily announce the Lord's resurrection. It's as if the rocks themselves would sing for joy if no one else did. This I much prefer over the somber melancholy of Good Friday; the black cloth entombing the cross, the stark altar void of decor, the dim lights and hushed tones, all very funereal.

     Yet, to arrive at the point of jubilation, I must first trod through the valley of Christ's death, humble myself, mourn and wail over my sinful soul. I must envelope myself with the sackcloth and ashes of my original state in order to recognize my need of a Savior. The outpouring of Jesus' innocent blood should cause me to kneel in true contrition, showing me just how much I have fallen short of the glory of God.

     Dear God, as your holy light shines into the dark cobwebs of my heart, convict me as the sinner I truly am so that, when you lift me up, I may soar higher than I ever thought possible. Amen.

"And God will raise you up on eagle's wings,

Bear you on the breath of dawn,

Make you to shine like the sun,

And hold you in the palm of his hand."