On Monday, March 17, the Courier News published a front-page story about Good Friday. I’m sure that the newspaper had good intentions. I also suspect that someone there must have been embarrassed. At least I hope someone was embarrassed. On the front page, picture and all, was a lead story describing how churches were planning to add an “entertainment value during Holy Week.”
The primary headline in bold letters, just above that lead-in, read, “Have a rockin’ Good Friday.” Now I don’t know your thoughts on this matter, but I think I can safely say that Jesus had anything but a “rockin’ Good Friday.” Even the non-religious would probably agree that hanging on a cross for endless hours is not conducive to the best of times. The Romans themselves thought this form of punishment to be so extreme and cruel that it was outlawed for all Roman citizens.
I’m not a prude, and I’m well aware of the statistics which show that most traditional, mainline Christian churches have lost millions of members in the last few decades. I support the notion that Christian denominations should do all they reasonably can to attract new membership. But reducing the description of one of the most sacred days in the Christian calendar to a “rockin’ Good Friday” is not the way to get there.
Despite that, I think that some prudent editor must have caught this awkwardness, because the online edition of the same story did not carry the print edition’s designation. Thank goodness for good sense.
Let’s reserve the rockin’ celebration for Easter.
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