Friday Five: Good Friday Five

Sophia has given us a wonderful Good Friday Five:

Adoramus te, Christe,
et benedicimus tibi,
quia per sanctam crucem tuam
redemisti mundum.
Qui passus es pro nobis,
Domine, miserere nobis.

We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you,
because by your holy cross
you have redeemed the world.
O Lord, who suffered for us,
have mercy on us.


1. How will you pray and worship today?

Today we will celebrate an ecumenical Seven Meditations at the Methodist Church in town. It is a time for the clergy to worship together. We are a pretty good group and we never get to do this except on Good Friday and Thanksgiving.

2. Share a powerful memory or memories of Good Friday past.

I was baptized at the Easter Vigil 40 years ago tomorrow. I spent this night in retreat and in prayer that what I was doing was God’s will for me. I spent it in a convent chapel overwhelmed with the service of Good Friday. It was the first time that the Crucifixion made any sense to me.

3. How have you grown and experienced God's love during this past Lent?

This Lent has been quite haphazard for me. It is the first Holy Week in this congregation and in this denomination. Learning how each denomination stresses and nuances this mystery of the Cross is fascinating. I feel that it has broadened my understanding of the God who was willing to die for me so that I might have life abundant.

4. In whom do you see the face of the suffering Christ most clearly?

I see the suffering of Christ in the families of those who were shot in my city, in those who came to the realization that there is no security even in their own hometown. I see the suffering of Christ in the faces of those who are bewildered by the violence that is in the world, because the world has told them that there is security in might and power. In other words, I see the suffering of Christ in almost everyone I meet.

5. Where do you find hope for resurrection?

I find the hope for resurrection in the absolute giving of my Christ. His emptying fills me with hope. I also see it in my congregation--people who in their day to day rather mundane lives trying to live the love that God has given them.

Bonus: Share a song, poem, or prayer that makes the paschal mystery come alive for you.

My Song is Love Unknown