Good Friday (Excerpted and adapted, with permission, from the Rev. Bart Smith)

I appreciate what the Jesuit liberation theologian, Jon Sobrino, wrote about the cross:

What does Jesus’ cross really say? It says that God has irrevocably drawn near to this world, that he is a God “with us” and a God “for us.” And to say this with the maximum clarity he lets himself be a God “at our mercy… There can be no logic, only faith.”

This story—the whole story, all parts of it—hold up a mirror to us. In its harsh light, we see the truth of what humanity is capable. We can see ourselves in Pilate washing his hands saying, “I’m just doing my job.” We can see our reflection in Peter’s betraying a friend because of his fear. We can see ourselves in the other disciples, as they flee; in Mary, who faces the agony of losing a child. We can see our reflection in the fickle crowds who shout “Hosanna!” one day and “Crucify him!” a mere few days later. It’s all there: disloyalty, dodging responsibility, mob rule, persecution, blaming, bloodshed… you name it.

I’ll quote Jon Sobrino again: “the cross of Jesus points us to the crosses that exist           today.” The cross points to other crosses. Like other deaths, Jesus’ death says, “Don’t     look away.”

§  Don’t look away from the crosses that our mission partners down at Frontera de Cristo lift up along the border Tuesday evenings at sunset, shouting “Presente!” after the names of people who have died crossing the desert are read aloud.

§  Don’t look away from our coworker or classmate who is constantly made to feel like an outsider, to the sneers of others.

§  Don’t look away from the face of that person holding a cardboard sign by the exit ramp.

§  Don’t look away from the young women who are victims of human trafficking, around the globe and down the street

§  Don’t look away from the statistics of disproportionately incarcerated people of color or young men of color who are killed with impunity.

§  And thinking specifically about this week, don’t look away from the photos of Syrian children killed by chemical weapons, the same faces of children who wouldn’t be welcomed as refugees to the country that fired missiles in their defense. Don’t look away from the dark irony of that.

Examples of other crosses are limitless. There’s no need to name them here; we know     them all too well. We don’t want to look into these “mirrors” because they’re             overwhelming, and shameful. The cross gives us an unvarnished look, not at sin in the abstract, but at the specific harm we cause one another, the violence of our systems of domination, the scapegoats we have the need to blame. I’m speaking of this in a collective sense, but it applies to our interpersonal lives as well.

The cross is a mirror for all the ways that we break God’s heart—a heart that still, somehow, has enough love in it to try to coax the world into being better than it is.Yet, somehow, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.”

It’s Friday…and we shall not look away,

Brad Munroe