In her slim volume, Witnesses at the Cross, Amy-Jill Levine invites us to witness Jesus’ crucifixion from the viewpoint of the witnesses not just of his time but ours. How do we deal with the fact that innocent people are in prison along with the guilty? What does it mean to be with those we love who are dying? What does it mean to care for others in community? What does it mean to be a witness, but to witness to others?
Perhaps this day we call Good Friday is a day we should consider the meaning of sacrifice, not the blood sacrifice ancient theologians wrote about, but the real sacrifice we make when we take the focus off ourselves and care for others.
Jesus made some pretty heavy demands on us to care for others. He made it clear that caring, real caring means more than simply putting some money into the till, but being with people we normally wouldn’t consider those we care about. It also means working for a world where the hungry are fed, the homeless housed, the naked clothed, and the imprisoned redeemed.
Prayer for the Day
You know our inmost thoughts, our fears, our sorrows, O God,
And the weakness of will we often have in caring for others;
Help us move beyond the boundaries we set for ourselves,
So that we become witnesses not to death but to life.
Forgive us when we look inward instead of outward
And grant that we may have the courage to give what we are.
In the name of him who forgave, healed, and loved,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen
Thoughts for the Day
The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But...the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?
- Martin Luther King (1929-1968)