Every year on Good Friday, our church holds a special service that goes through Jesus’ dying words on the cross and reminds us of his death and resurrection. Seven candles are set up and after a reading of each section of what Jesus said, three verses of a very long song (21 verses) are sung, one candle is extinguished, and the lights are dimmed slightly.
The last candle represents Christ, and when it goes out the lights are turned off entirely. The Elders exit the sanctuary, the church bell rings seven times, and a loud earthquake noise is made. Then the Elders return with the last candle relit. We sing O Sacred Head, Now Wounded and then everyone leaves in silence, reflecting on the work of our Savior.
Usually we don’t make it to this service, but today I decided to take the older four children while George stayed home and watched the two little ones. Well, Georgie didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay home with Daddy and so gave me a bunch of grief, to which he received the reply, “Too bad; you’re going.”
By the time the service was completed, his reaction was somewhat different. “Wow!” was his remark upon leaving the sanctuary. Hehe. Mommy: 1; Georgie: 0. By the time we pulled in the driveway he had reflected a bit more. “The effect of the bell and earthquake was amazing!” he said. “Before the earthquake I was thinking of everything except for Jesus, and by the time it was done I couldn’t think of anything else.”
And now we know why God created art.
Fiendish friend for effusive fun!
2 Comments
Wow! What an amazing experience for all of you but especially Georgie. I pray for opportunities like that for our kids!
I really liked watching how the bell and the earthquake effected the kids. Mine were too little to understand, but they got that something serious was up.