log off and read one of these Good Friday-inspired works of literature.
The Dream of the Rood
This 7th-century Old English poem tells the story of the Crucifixion from the perspective of the Cross itself ("Rood" is Old English for "pole" or crucifix), blending Christian themes with Anglo-Saxon warrior culture.
A fascinating work.
East Coker, from The Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot
One of the most arrestingly beautiful meditations on the meaning of the Passion.
It's Eliot at his best, grappling with the modern world while reaching for the transcendent.
It's Eliot at his best, grappling with the modern world while reaching for the transcendent.
Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward, by John Donne
Donne's poetry is always worth reading, and his spiritual poems in particular are sublime.
I've attached one that is especially apropos today.
I've attached one that is especially apropos today.
The Wife of Pilate by Gertrud von le Fort
A brilliant novella, written from the perspective of a servant in Pilate's household, about the dream of Pilate's wife (told in Matthew 27:19) and the ramifications for her life.
The Man Born to be King by Dorothy Sayers
Originally written as a BBC radio drama on the life of Jesus and broadcast during the darkest days of the Battle of Britain, Sayers elevated the work beyond her commercial assignment.
Good Friday by Christina Rossetti
A list like this would be incomplete without a Christina Rossetti poem.
Sit down and read all her stuff, but especially the poem I've attached here.
Sit down and read all her stuff, but especially the poem I've attached here.
The Grand Miracle from "God in the Dock" by C.S. Lewis
One of Lewis's finest essays, it reframes the Incarnation, Descent, and Resurrection as the great missing chapter in humanity's story -- it'll make you look at it all in a new way.
Death on a Friday Afternoon by Richard John Neuhaus
This book isn't an old one, and it isn't "literature" per se, but it's one of my favorites.
A beautiful and thought-provoking meditation on our suffering world, through reflecting on the last words of Christ.
The Grand Inquisitor by Fyodor Dostoevsky
This lengthy passage from Dostoevsky's masterpiece, The Brothers Karamazov, can stand alone as a novella, exploring the question of how the world today would respond if Christ returned.
A searing, humbling indictment.
The Bible
Great literature can point us toward the Truth in creative and surprising ways, but it's always good to go to the source.
Start at the 27th chapter of Matthew, the 23rd of Luke, the 15th of Mark, or the 19th of John, and keep reading.
Start at the 27th chapter of Matthew, the 23rd of Luke, the 15th of Mark, or the 19th of John, and keep reading.