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Reflections on Good Friday

By Carole Brennan

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, we were. We are there every day, because Jesus continues to be crucified every day.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord" Yes, every time people are hungry and we don't give them to eat, the Lord gets crucified again. Maybe the food isn't the kind we put on the table. Maybe the people are hungry for love. Maybe they have hug hunger. Maybe they hunger for a kind word.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, every time people are thirsty and we don't give them to drink, the Lord gets crucified again. Maybe the thirst is not for water. Maybe the thirst is for forgiveness. Maybe what they thirst for is you, for a little of your time.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, every time someone is in prison and we don't visit, the Lord is crucified again. Prison isn't always jail, because walls don't make prison. Maybe someone's prison is home and we visit. Or maybe we ask if we can pick up something at the store. Maybe we just ask, "How are you today?" and listen when the story is told.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, every time people are homeless and we don't give them shelter, the Lord is crucified again. Does that mean we open our homes to every indigent on the street? It might, but so often people aren't looking for a place to lay down their heads; they're looking for a place to lay down their hearts.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, every time people are naked and we don't give them clothes, the Lord is crucified again. The clothes may not be the clothes for the body. Maybe someone needs clothed in acceptance, clothed in tolerance, clothed in forgiveness.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, every time someone is sick and we don't visit, the Lord gets crucified again. The sickness may not be physical. Maybe the person is heartsick and cannot find the strength to go on one more day.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, every time someone dies and we don't bury that person, the Lord gets crucified again. Do we bury our animosity, our hatred, our grudges?

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree? Yes, every act of unkindness is another hit of the hammer on the nail that secures him more tightly to the tree.

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb? Yes, every time we knowingly hurt another, every time we deliberately cause another pain, every time we know we must say, "I'm sorry," Jesus is again being laid in his tomb.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Oh yes, every day he gets crucified and every day we are there.

The haunting question is not, "Were you there?" Rather it is, "What did you do about it?"