He was buried. (1 Corinthians 15:4) All four Gospels make a scene of Jesus’s burial. And all four reveal the name of a man we otherwise would not know — an intriguing figure whom a prophet had foretold some seven centuries prior. That “he was buried” might seem obvious enough, and a small detail, but it’s emphatically not. Far from obvious, it was very unusual for a crucified body to be honored with burial. And far from small, the burial of Jesus blossoms with quiet, calm, world-rending weight — so great, in fact, that this act appears as a distinct step in the apostle’s threefold summary of the gospel that is “of first importance”: Christ died for our sins . . . he was buried . . . he was raised on the third day. (1 Corinthians 15:3–4) The burying of Christ crucified is not only the most important burial that ever occurred. This is why burial has existed throughout human history —

Every day is a good day to consider the cross. But Holy Week especially draws us to Golgotha. Each year, we join the church around the world, and through the ages, as we set apart Good Friday for focused contemplation of Jesus’s crucifixion. We recall Jesus’s haunting question in Gethsemane: “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?” (Mark 14:37). We don’t want to snooze through the annual remembrance of his suffering. It mattered to Jesus that his disciples would keep watch with him in his agony — not only in the garden but all the way to the end. He longed for their attentive company and their supporting prayers. Could that longing offer a clue as to what Christ desires from us this year? What if we used our imaginations to enter the scene described by Scripture? Perhaps we could walk alongside John and Mary, who stayed close to the cross while others fled. Maybe then we would feel the meaning of Good Friday more deeply and so love