Words of Reflection
What words are sufficient for this day? What can possibly be said in response to the cross of Christ? Preachers have proclaimed its power, theologians have debated its meaning, artists have represented its mystery, and disciples have abided in its sufficiency for almost 2000 years, and yet we have only scratched the surface of everything the cross represents.
We do not undertake a Lenten journey in order to study, even though study can be part of our journey. We make our way through these 40 days so that we might enter into the truth and reality of what God has done for us. We walk with Jesus in order to know him better, and to better know the depth of his sacrifice for us. A Lenten journey is experiential. It is surrendering ourselves to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, inviting him to impart deeper and deeper levels of understanding of what took place at Calvary.
And now we have arrived. We have come to the darkest day in humanity’s history, as the Son of God willingly offers himself up to death on our behalf.
What can we say?
One thing we can offer is a request: “Lord, let me not avert my eyes,” for the temptation to do that is strong. We don’t want to watch. It’s too much. If we want to finish our Lenten journey in a way that honors every other step we’ve taken with Jesus along the path to Jerusalem, we need to take the final step and confront the cruelty, the pain, the suffering, and ultimately the majesty of the cross. It is God’s greatest declaration of love, and we stand in awe.
Or as the spiritual puts it, “Sometimes it causes me to tremble.”
As well it should. And so the invitation today is to embrace the trembling reality of the cross, for only there can we begin to grasp the breathtaking reality of God’s love. We may not have been there, but we can still linger there as we mark this holiest of days.
Scripture for Meditation:
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
—1 John 4:10 (NIV)
Song: Were You There
Were you there when they crucified my Lord
Were you there when they crucified my Lord
O sometimes it causes me to tremble tremble tremble
Were you there when they crucified my LordWere you there when they nailed Him to the tree
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree
O sometimes it causes me to tremble tremble tremble
Were you there when they nailed Him to the treeWere you there when they laid Him in the tomb
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb
O sometimes it causes me to tremble tremble tremble
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb
Frederick J. Work | John W. Work Jr.
© Words: Public Domain; Music: Public Domain
Praying at the Foot of the Cross:
For our reflection today, you are invited to enter into a spiritual discipline called “Praying With Imagination.” It is an ancient practice that invites us into a Scripture text in a way that engages our whole being: soul, mind, and spirit. It is a powerful reminder that the word of God is “living and active” (Heb. 4:12), as we prayerfully imagine that we are right in the midst of it.
In the novel Sensible Shoes, retreat leader Katherine Rhodes gives very simple instructions for praying with imagination:
—Listen to the story.
—Imagine you are there.
—What do you see? Hear? Feel?
—Where are you in the story?
—Then talk to God about whatever you notice.
Begin by asking the Holy Spirit to let this story from the Scriptures come alive for you in a new way. Then read the story out loud, slowly, perhaps a couple of times. After reading it, sit with the questions, and finish by talking to God about what you notice. You might want to consider having a journal handy to record your reflections and reactions. After the text below you will find a closing prayer for Good Friday.
Our text is the Good Friday story from the gospel of Luke 23:33-49:
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
The Death of Jesus
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
A Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, you carried our sins in your own body on the tree,
You came so that we might have life.
May we and all who remember this day find new life in you,
Now and in the world to come,
Where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever. Amen.