Good Friday’s Good News
Meditations for the Mean Meantime
Eric W. Gritsch
edited by
Bonnie A. Brobst and Elizabeth A. Yates
foreword by
Theodore F. Schneider
illustrated by
Othmar Carli
GOOD FRIDAY’S GOOD NEWS
Meditations for the Mean Meantime
Copyright © 2014 Bonnie A. Brobst and Elizabeth A. Yates. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
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ISBN 13: 978-1-62564-566-1
eISBN 13: 978-1-63087-377-6
Cataloging-in-Publication data:
Gritsch, Eric W.
Good Friday’s good news : meditations for the mean meantime / edited by Bonnie A. Brobst and Elizabeth A. Yates, illustrated by Othmar Carli, with a foreword by Theodore F. Schneider.
xxii + 52 p.; 23 cm.
ISBN 13: 978-1-62564-566-1
1. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America—Sermons. 2. Lutheran Church—Sermons. 3. Lenten sermons. I. Brobst, Bonnie A. II. Schneider, Theodore F., 1934– III. Cali, Othmar. IV. Title.
bv4277 g757 2014
Manufactured in the USA
Foreword
After a long day and a welcome dinner, I settled into my comfortable chair in Jerusalem and found on my tablet the manuscript of these seven Good Friday homilies by my late friend, teacher, and colleague, Eric W. Gritsch. I felt much too weary to start reading. “I shall be asleep for sure in five minutes,” I thought. Such had been the series of days in Jerusalem. “But, why not have just a taste?” And, I did!
I could not put it down! It was as if one were hearing Eric Gritsch in person. His grasp of human history and Christian theology, along with surprising insights laced often with good-natured humor, for which he is known to students and colleagues alike worldwide, were right here, on the page.
It is not often that spoken words can be transcribed into written text and yet have their spontaneity and humor, surprise and sparkle. Spoken words are enhanced by vocal inflexions, expressions, and gestures. One would not expect such things in a transcribed text. Perhaps they are imagined, but for those who knew him and surely for others, the sparkle, surprises, and appropriate humor are all here!
From the opening homily of this Good Friday series, the Reverend Dr. Gritsch has our full attention: “On this day, at about this hour, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged by the Nazis and burned so that nothing was left.” Here begins the history of another execution of one believed to be a prophet in our era. Then come the words from the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Dr. Gritsch then asks, “I wonder if the Nazis knew what they were doing . . . ?”
Then he was on to his theme. Christians are all about forgiveness, or ought to be, as was our Lord. The homily developed, touching Scripture, history, theology, and the experience of our own living together in Christ.
Well, I was hooked! On I read, no longer the least bit drowsy, but rather hungry to hear, to learn, or perhaps just to see what this great historian, theologian, writer, teacher, preacher, and colleague of so many of us in the life of the Church would do to exegete these precious seven words of our Lord. I would not be disappointed. I read five of the seven homilies that evening. I have reread these seven homilies again and again since.
He was a profound preacher and teacher, a lecturer in high demand in the United States and Europe even after his retirement following thirty years on the faculty of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. Anecdotal stories, both humorous and insightful, are yet appreciatively told on that campus.
Dr. Gritsch was a prolific writer, with one or two manuscripts in process on his desk right up to the last, when surprisingly his desk was clear for the first time. He appeared to have a quiet and confident understanding of the meaning of his time.
His spiritual life and piety were rooted in every expression of the church—from his active congregational involvement to his work on many fronts with his synod to his service on dialogue committees and task forces of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He was known to be able to untangle, with solid scriptural footing and with logic, some of the thorniest issues for the church in our time. His insight would be marked always with contemporary relevance, and always ecumenical in its vision.
If you knew Eric W. Gritsch, here is an opportunity to hear and experience him again as we wait together for that day when we shall be “together with our Lord.” (1 Thess. 4:17)
If readers are meeting Eric W. Gritsch for the first time in this little book of seven homilies on our Lord’s words from the cross, I suggest this book will inspire, teach, engage, surprise, and even cause a smile now and again at how it is that this great teacher can draw us into his own conversation and contemplation into Him who was the “Word [who] became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth, whose glory we have beheld as the only Son from the Father.” (John 1:14, RSV)
In both cases, this little book will hold a special place on our library shelves or even on the prayer desk or other places of our study and meditation. It already has these places for me. Moreover, I shall gift it to my friends.
The Rev. Dr. Theodore F. Schneider, Bishop Emeritus
The Metropolitan Washington DC Synod, ELCA
Preface
The text was transcribed from sermons delivered by Dr. Eric W. Gritsch at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, York, Pennsylvania, on Good Friday, April 9, 1993. The recordings were transcribed verbatim by Elizabeth Yates. This text was then edited by both Bonnie Brobst and Liz Yates. Together, by reading and listening, the sermons were edited for clarity and style. The final agreed-upon text intends to be faithful to the spoken words of Dr. Gritsch.
Dr. Gritsch’s quotes are often paraphrases of the words of speakers or texts so are not footnoted.
The titles of the Last Words of Jesus are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). The words used by Dr. Gritsch in the sermons are sometimes from the NRSV and sometimes from the King James Version (KJV).
The coeditors and illustrator have made this project a labor of love. All proceeds from this book will be used to memorialize Eric W. Gritsch.
Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of the audio version of Dr. Gritsch’s sermons printed as Good Friday’s Good News is invited to go to www.ericwgritsch.org for information regarding the ordering of the CD. This website provides information pertaining to the life and work of Eric W. Gritsch as well as a complete listing of his books.
Holy Cross Day, September 14, 2013
B.A.B.
E.A.Y.
Contributors
Author and Preacher
Eric W. Gritsch (1931–2012)
• Emeritus Professor of Church History, Lutheran Theological