This is my favorite picture of Good Friday. A painting by the African-American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937).
The disciples and the Marys are coming back from the Crucifixion, that terrible event on that horrible day, and they’re walking away from Calvary, the crosses in the background, their faces shadowed with sorrow and fear.
But behind them there is this gorgeous sky, all the hope of the Resurrection and they can’t see it, they’re so wrapped up in their emotions. You want to say to them, “Turn around. It’s not always going to be like this. Something amazing is about to happen.”
It could be words I need to tell myself again and again. “Don’t stay with the Good Friday moments in life. Remember there’s hope. Look ahead. It’s not far off.”
They only had to wait for three days for Easter.
Read Holy Week devotionals on our Lent page.
