crucifixion

Save Yourself

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / 2 Comments

And the people stood by watching, but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” – Luke 23:35

I sometimes ache for your pain, O Savior,
tortured there upon the cross,
and I, without the mocking, echo those
cruel words of long ago, and urge you, “Save yourself!”

But when I do, you hold me close
with misted eyes. My lips go silent, as
I strain to hear your soft reply:
“Instead, I will save you.”

A poem/prayer based on Luke 23:33-43, the Revised Common Lectionary Gospel Reading for Year C, Reign of Christ, Proper 29 (34).

The image is Crucifixion with Darkened Sun by Egon Schiele (1907) – Unknown source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5105294.

Holy Week 2020: Good Friday

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / 2 Comments

Why am I here?
Why are we here?
Why watch and ache with anguish?
Why watch and hear your anguish?

My heart skipped every time
the hammer fell. One hand. Two.
Place a nail against your feet.
Beat (no beat). Beat (no beat). Beat (no beat).

Then as the upright rose I held
my breath. The rough beam stopped
and swayed and fell abruptly.
My lungs seized at your groan.

Since then… Jeers, then silence.
Rattling dice. My God, the guards
are making plans for dinner
as above them you hang dying.

Silence, then jeers. A little
conversation now between
the three who hang and groan
and breathe their lives away.

Why am I here?
Why are we here?
Mary and Mary and Mary
(our parents shared a common taste):

We share a common taste.
We know what true love is.
We know what healing is.
We know it hangs a-dying there.

Why are we here?
Why are you there?
See, that’s the reason in the end:
Where else could you or I be?

The image is a photo of “The Three Marys” by Master of the Rimini Crucifixion, found in the National Museum in Warsaw – Photo: Own work (BurgererSF), CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20397119.