Today is Good Friday, the day that Jesus was crucified on a cross 2000 years ago just outside Jerusalem. What then is ‘good’ about Good Friday?

From a popular point of view it is the start of the Easter Holidays but ‘the reason for the season’ is both historical and religious. Neutral sources in first century Palestine attest to the crucifixion which fixes it in an historical context of religious and civil unrest. From a Christian point of view the day is ‘good’ because it shows one man taking on the powers of jealousy, fear, violence and the fact of death to claim a victory for the world. Yes, it resulted in the death of one man but three days later something mysterious happened which convinced people – Jesus’ friends and others – that he had risen from the dead in order to prove that hostile powers do not have the last word. So the resurrection of Jesus ushered in new possibilities for life which The Church has taken forward and developed creating huge cultural, spiritual and social changes throughout the world. As Archbishop Justin said in his enthronement sermon last week, ‘Slaves were freed, Factory Acts passed, the NHS and Social Care established’. All this stems from that cruel death on that barren hill outside Jerusalem 2000 years ago.

Today, as Christians journey together through Lent, they have the cross in their minds eye. It is a sign of selfless sacrifice, the ultimate gift which few of us dare offer. We try to emulate that sacrificial life every day but during Lent we are encouraged to reflect on our past record and explore other means of living a sacrificial life-style. Giving up chocolate is not entirely vacuous but giving up beer or fags would be a severe challenge to some of us. In doing so however, we can realize just who or what dominates our lives. Is it Christ or is it some greater slavery?

Yesterday, Maundy Thursday, I had the privilege of washing 12 feet in The Cathedral as the Christian community there remembered the actions of their founder on the day before his death when he gathered with his friends for a celebration supper in the upper room of a pub. Before that I went to The Market Hall to clean shoes – a similar gesture to remind others, but me most of all, that the good news of Good Friday is humble service to one another and to God.

Giving up chocolate during Lent or taking on some greater discipline is just a token, a sign of our commitment to the way of Christ, the way of the cross. But like many signs they take us over, consume us and change us. That is my prayer this and every Lent – for I too need changing.

Christopher Armstrong, Dean of Blackburn