But let’s resist our impulse to skip to Easter morning, to “brightside” everything. In seeing what actually took place before that morning, there is, for some of us, something deeply reassuring in knowing that Jesus, too, faced painful and difficult things. That Jesus knew how dark life could be, and that his resolve and his willingness to share even in the depths of our lives affirms in itself just how beloved we are.

And as I was reminded this week, there is something deeply important about the act of bearing witness. I was in conversation with a woman whose work concerns end-of-life issues for cancer and ALS patients. She cannot “fix” their situations, but she can be with them—bear witness to the realities of their lives. So let us bear witness to these final days of Jesus, honoring the work that Jesus does, even to the crucifixion. Easter will come, but first we have this week.

I invite you to our Good Friday service, if you can make it—in it, we will bear witness. And then, after the quiet of Saturday, we’ll celebrate the resurrection on Easter morning. I’ll see you in church—

Becky

Prayer

Gracious God, we thank you

For a love so deep and true that you refused to isolate yourself from our pain.

You stand with us,

Showing us that you know what it is to feel pain,

physically, emotionally, and even socially.

You seek us even when we turn away from you,

Even when we are the ones who hurt you.

We are grateful for your love

and for your persistence.

Enable our ability to respond to you.

Form us in ways that enable us to see you as you should be seen.

Teach us how to live in that awareness

and to return your love wholeheartedly,

And to share it with the world. Amen.