Good Friday 2025

I am struck this year by the following words in the Nicene Creed: “who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven…” Yes, He came down. The Incarnate Birth is part of that descent. His baptism at one of the lowest geographic points on earth is a part of it. So is His death and burial. He further descends to hell, the place of the dead. But this evening I want us to especially pay attention to the fourth word from the cross as a clue to just how far He came down. As I will note, He came all the way down to “God-forsakenness”… But for now, we will start with the first word…