As a child I often enjoyed paging through my family’s collection of the Peanuts cartoon books which focused mostly on a round headed kid, Charlie Brown, and his multi-talented beagle Snoopy. Of course those of us who remember Charlie Brown, or ‘Chuck’, as Peppermint Patty would call him, are familiar with his two word statement that seemed perfect anytime he encountered disappointment, frustration, or guilt. “Good Grief!” was his go to statement, and was perfect in terms of its simplicity and conciseness.

Of course, anyone whoever pondered this exclamation surely noticed that it is also paradoxical.  “Grief” is a profound sense of suffering associated with something that has been lost.  How can we ever consider this to be “good”?  ‘Good’ is something that is considered positive.  ‘Good’ is something we seek out.  How can a profound sense of suffering over lost ever be something considered positive which we might seek out.

And yet today, Good Friday, is a day in which all Christians should be like Charlie Brown and utter a collective “Good Grief!” as we commemorate what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did for us.  He became the one true sacrifice for all of our sins, and for that we should indeed grieve today.  And yet because we believe that by His death and resurrection, He has set us free, our grief can indeed be considered ‘good’.

“Yet it was our pain that he bore,

our sufferings he endured.

We thought of him as stricken,

struck down by God- and afflicted,

But he was pierced for our sins,

crushed for our iniquity.

He bore the punishment that makes us whole,

by his wounds we were healed.” – Isaiah 53:4-5

Good grief.  Good grief indeed.