NOT FOR THE first time, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart said recently that we need to have a Good Friday occurrence in order to enjoy the glory of an Easter experience.
His most recent pronouncement was delivered to a group of long-faithful visitors to Barbados, an assembly that he seems to engage even more frequently than the long-faithful taxpayers of Barbados.
Stuart’s repetition of the Good Friday story amply reinforces his religious conviction and his belief in it, and aptly so, for it is fundamental to the Christian principles he so uprightly supports.
The story he tells is his practised way of suggesting that we in Barbados in particular need to appreciate that our suffering will endure only for a season. But for many, it is has been a longer season than most anticipated.
Stuart’s message is hardly lost on a Barbadian population steeped in the teachings of the Christian faith, whose foundation is indeed the Easter story; the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Barbadians hardly need any reminder of that story and certainly it would be of little interest to vacationing visitors enjoying the rare opportunity to visit the official residence of the Prime Minister of Barbados to be wined and dined.
But the nature of his speech was his choice.
And we get his message: In order for the good news of Easter to have meaning for us, we first have to fathom the severity of the bad news we earned as censured sinners. The good news of deliverance only makes sense once we perceive and value our hopelessness as a subjugated people.
But Stuart’s reference to the value of recognising the reality of Jesus’ Good Friday travails before His Easter Sunday triumph fails to acknowledge that the crucifixion was pre-ordained and that Jesus willingly suffered and died a cruel death for a most worthy cause.
The first Good Friday, which we sorrowfully commemorate tomorrow, marks the spectacular consummation of God’s plan to save sinful people. It was swift and immediate and did not force a long process of discomfort and lasting agony as has been the lot of Barbadians before Stuart’s first Good Friday pronouncement and continues beyond his most recent.
In addition, his lectures on the topic seem to miss the fact that traditionally the day represents the end of a period of voluntary denial, even fasting and penance, and not one of expiation imposed through the external force of poor financial management, as has been our lot for more years than we want to recall.
Tomorrow will pass as other Good Fridays have, and Barbadians will await the appearance on the cross, symbolic of the culmination of suffering.
In the meantime, a number of questions can legitimately be asked of Prime Minister Stuart: “How long is the Barbados Good Friday?” and “Will our Good Friday end before next Good Friday?” and “Will we need a general election to end our Good Friday and deliver the glorious celebration of Easter to the people of Barbados?”
May righteousness, mercy and peace be our portion.
