What's with "It's Friday but Sunday's Coming"?

The Dramatization of the Church Calendar

Have you heard a Christian friend, family member or colleague say, “It’s Friday but Sunday’s coming”? This well-turned line refers to Good Friday on the church calendar, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Most observances are somber and reverent as Christians desire to understand and feel the sufferings of the Christ. Sunday refers to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead early Sunday morning following his crucifixion. Easter Sunday is a joyous celebration, perhaps the high point of the church calendar.

Some Christians are uncomfortable with the solemn style of Good Friday observances, while being right at home with the exuberance of Easter. Such has taken this well-turned line to diminish the despair of Friday by inserting into Good Friday observances the exuberance of Sunday.

This well-turned line has sprung from S.M. Lockridge’s 20th century classic sermon preached at Calvary Baptist Church in San Diego, California. (If you have never listened to this sermon, it’s worth your 3 and a half minutes on Youtube… African American gospel preaching is inspiring!) The sermon is a balance and contrast between the despair of Friday and the hope of Sunday.

In the 1980’s Tony Campolo picked up this well-turned Christianese and spread it far and wide throughout the Christian global community. In this Youtube clip of Tony, he illustrates how this well-turned phrase, like wildfire, spread through the Black Gospel church’s preaching. Little did Tony know, that his reference and mimicking of it would spread like wildfire through the larger Christian community.

Tony Campolo

The origins of “It’s Friday but Sunday’s coming” are in keeping with the dramatization of the church calendar. The intent of the church calendar is to promote a personal experience and commemoration of God’s work to restore all creation. During the Lenten Season, Christians are called to reflect upon their dire need of repentance and restoration. During Holy Week Christians are encouraged to feel the despair of evil against God’s Messiah. On Easter Christians are moved to celebrate divine victory over death. Lockridge’s sermon nails it. Tony’s mimicking of it nails it. Sadly, North American evangelicalism misses it.

North American evangelicalism finds it difficult to include anything negative, despairing, hopeless and dark. It’s way too “happy clappy.” Lent is out. Good Friday is not scheduled. Easter is the big and only deal, an opportunity to increase Sunday worship attendance statistics. The church calendar is religious ritual madness. But, there is no Easter without Good Friday. Hello!? The resurrection of Jesus is the resurrection from the DEAD. Victory over sin and death is victory over SIN and DEATH. The church calendar encourages Christians to walk through the pageant of the history of redemption.

A few descriptions of my present community:

Two days ago, I was rehearsing Good Friday and Easter music with one of my congregation’s worships bands. For Good Friday, we are singing the old spiritual, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord.” The leader asked me why we were not including the final verse, “Were you there when he rose up from the grave…” I said, “Because of Good Friday we are focusing upon, ‘Were you there when they laid him in the tomb…” He said, “Oh, I get it!” It’s Friday but Sunday’s coming. On Good Friday, we pause on the death and despair of Jesus’ death.

In my small town, the Lion’s Club, for over 40 years has celebrated it’s charter party on the Saturday before Easter, you know, “Black Saturday” before the resurrection, when the disciples were fearing for their lives and despairing the death of their rabbi, Jesus. This year the theme is tourism. We are to show dressed like tourists, having posted our favorite travel photos. The church calendar invites us to feel the despair of Jesus’ disciples a day after his crucifixion, in silent meditation on the sacrifice he has suffered for the restoration of the entire creation. It is the final day of the Lenten Season promoting our need and desire of new and eternal life. But we club members must show to a garish celebration of our personal recreations, traveling the world as wealthy members of an economically successful society. Reluctantly, and with the protest of my partner, I have submitted eight travel photos from Ethiopia to Spain to Mexico, planning to sport my Fiji patterned short-sleeved shirt, straw hat and sunglasses and sandals with socks. I feel violated but I also desire to be a part of my community.

The only way that I can see through the cultural haze is this: All of my participation in my present cultural malaise is part of death - the death of all that separates us from an infinitely holy God and his infinite love.

Over the years of raising our five children, my partner especially has made Easter the high point of our calendar year. The celebration and gifts have exceeded birthdays and Christmas. But this celebration is rooted in Good Friday, the day Jesus died on the Roman cross for the atonement of the sins of the world. Life springs from death. As Jesus said, “ Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”