The story of Good Friday

Good Friday in the Christian tradition is the day Jesus of Nazareth was killed. He was killed, so the story is told, for a variety of reasons, but my understanding is that He was killed because he was perceived as going against the grain, of upsetting the apple cart, of disturbing the status quo. He threw the money changers out of the temple and was giving talks that called the religious authorities of the day hypocrites.

This is not an unusual phenomenon when a person takes unconventional positions and stands that upset the group. In my lifetime, Gandhi was killed, Malcom X was killed, Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, John Kennedy was killed, Robert Kennedy was killed, and millions of people are excommunicated every day from their churches and their families because of their unconventional thoughts and opinions, or their unwillingness to toe the party line. We have seen Americans threatened with unpatriotic branding if they don't agree with the current administration's hawkish, militaristic policies.

So Jesus is not alone. Most of us human beings have been punished, if not killed, for taking unpopular stands and positions that go against the conventional wisdom held by the group. One of the few faith communities, if not the only one, that celebrates its heretics, is Unitarian Universalism. However, for most of the world, following the party line, complying with the program, is a requirement for acceptance and belonging. Perhaps the theme song of Good Friday is John Cougar Mellancamp's great song, Authority. But before you get too discouraged and depressed, remember that there is Easter.