Any God who would wander into the human condition, any God
who has this thirst to pursue us, had better not be too put off by pain, for
that's the way we tend to treat our saviors. Any God who tries to love us had
better be ready to die for it.
William
Willimon
____________________________________________________________
Sometimes it seems
as if hate is going to win
as if all that right
all that is good
is coming to an end
as on that Friday so long ago
when in the heat of the afternoon
jeers echoed
lashes fell
thorns pierced
hammer blows reverberated
and love took its last breath
or did it?
perhaps love is made of tougher stuff
perhaps
just perhaps
on that day
God looked in the face of hatred
and brutality
into the face or judgement and rejected
into the face of power and wealth
and said
“This Stops Here”
and that is why we call it
Good
On this Good Friday
I refuse to believe that love can be killed
Yes, there are those who believe that money
Is more important than people
And power more important than justice
And ratings more important than truth
Yes there are those who
In times of crisis flock to the gun stores
To buy instruments of death
And are those who wil abandon the vulnerable
And count those who they deem as being
“on their last legs” as expendable.
But the cross proved (and proves)
That love cannot be killed
That when we put on the robes of love
And think of others, not just ourselves
Clothe our passions with kindness and truth
Act with compassion and generosity
We overcome
Oh, there is no question
That just as on that Friday, so long ago
It seemed as if hate won
As if the right wing politicians
And right wing religious leaders
Won
It sometimes feels,
even now,
even though we know ‘the rest of the story’,
as if evil wins
but this is the truth of Good Friday
(and Easter)
Love cannot be killed
It will always rise
Just when we think it has taken its last breath
It will rise
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