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Preaching: Rev. Dr. Kathryn G. N. Campbell

Text: Luke 22:47-53; 23:33-38, 44-46

Good Friday is the day we want to fast-forward and we’re convinced that’s exactly why we shouldn’t. We start with prayer and Luke’s Passion narrative, then we tell a true-to-life story that exposes our impatience with the cross: a church that scheduled “Easter Sunday” on Friday night. The reactions are almost automatic, but the question underneath is serious and personal: what happens to Christian hope when we try to reach resurrection without sitting with death?

We talk about Holy Week as formation, not just tradition. Good Friday names what is real in us and around us: betrayal, fear, public cruelty, and the urge to meet violence with violence. Yet Luke shows Jesus stopping the sword, healing the wounded, and praying forgiveness while he is mocked. We linger on what that means for anyone searching for a Good Friday sermon, the meaning of the crucifixion, or a Christian response to suffering. The waiting is not weakness. It’s a revelation of the heart of God: love to the end, mercy stronger than violence, forgiveness deeper than hatred.

The central image is the waiting room, that “hurry up and wait” space we all know from hospitals, airports, and repair shops. Good Friday is that hallway between promise and fulfillment, where we expect one outcome and receive another. If you’re carrying grief, anxiety, anger, or unanswered prayers, this message invites you to wait attentively with a Savior who does not rush past pain but sits with it and transforms it.

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