The Seminary closes for Good Friday through to Easter Monday. We pause. We mark the momentous significance of this day. Central to the Christian message is that God was in Christ hanging upon a cross. We should see in this moment God’s identification with all those who suffer. In the face of the tortured Christ, we should see displaced people, victims of torture and violence, and all the victims of cruelty. We pause and kneel before the cross.

Then on Sunday, we celebrate resurrection hope. The grave cannot hold the Incarnation of God. And in rising to life, Jesus opens up the possibility for all of us rise to life. It is a triumph over death. It is the promise that ultimately the kingdom of God will come. Justice will overcome injustice.

May we live the journey of this weekend. May God bless you and your families as you enter into the journey. The commentary is not written when the Seminary is closed; so I will see you next in the Easter season.

The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and President of The General Theological Seminary