Why "Good" Friday?

A friend asked me why the day that Christ died is called “Good” Friday.  It is a great tragedy, that Christ had to die, not for doing something bad, but to atone for our sins,  the evils of the world.  Yet it is precisely because of Christ’ sacrifice, that we can have hope, of redemption from sin and evil.  That is the reason why this Friday can be considered  “Good”, even though Christ’s death is a horrible, horrible thing.

For us the Chinese, Good Friday-Easter comes right after Ching Ming Festival, when we remember our dead, our ancestors.  It is a great combination, as if by design. Chinese tradition calls us to honour our dead, believing that they continue to exist somehow.  Ritual says we should provide them with - through burning - food, clothes, houses, money, …, (all made with paper) so that they can have a comfortable afterlife. That is why so many go to sweep the graves on Ching Ming Festival. Yet some lingering uncertainty remain.  What happens if their descendants are no longer around, or otherwise incapable, or unwilling to provide for them? Do they suffer then? Do the dead continue in this form of existence, forever?  What is going to happen to them in the end?  The fierce and intense fire that consumes all the sacrificial stuff is both mesmerising and seemingly indicative of something.  What is that something?

Christianity believes that the bad things, evils even, of this world cannot be redeemed through our own efforts.  The evils of this world are so terrible that it is beyond human ability to redeem.  On this point I believe there is general agreement.  Christianity teaches further that such great evil requires great sacrifice, from Christ Himself, to redeem.  Now that Christ has paid the ultimate price with His own suffering and death, followed by resurrection, thus overcoming evil and death itself, we can also hope to rise with Him in the end.  

Many Christians believe there is nothing for us to do except to believe in Him.  Except that Christ did ask us to follow His example, to suffer with Him, to the extent of dying with Him.  Many Christians emphasise the “believe” part but conveniently forget the “suffer” part.  On Good Friday, people go to church, sing, pray, perhaps even fast, … and, after that, just go on living as before.  There seems to be nothing to do but to remember Him. To enjoy life in the mean time, and just wait to go to heaven.  This is ritual piety, otherwise known as “going through the motion”.  Is that all there is?  Is that what piety is about?  What about the “follow me” part?  The “suffer for righteousness” part?  What about the “do unto the smallest among you” part?  The “when I am hungry/thirsty/in jail/… you provide for me” part?  What about those?  Is faith all about hope for the future, but nothing about this world?  What about hunger, thirst, exploitation, selfishness, meanness, oppression, injustice?  If faith has nothing to say about those, what good is it?