Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

The hymn “Were You There?” is one of many African-American spirituals and we do not know who wrote it. It is believed to have been born out of the communal slave experience sometime in the late 1800s. It is a call to remember and to make the passion story a part of our story, bringing Jesus, suffering, death, and resurrection into the present and transform us. It is at the heart of the human experience- the pain we experience at the hands of others, and the freedom and peace we experience from God.

The 40 days of the season of Lent is the time in which we intentionally look at our spiritual disciplines and make adjustments to lives so that we grow closer to God. This week, as I continue to reflect on Jesus’ words “Father, forgive them,”  I dive into the spiritual discipline of self-examination.

I shared with the bible study groups this week that we are why Jesus died on the cross. It is our saying or doing things that go against what we profess to believe. It is our failing to stand up for what is right and justifying what we do wrong. It is failing to think about how our words and actions affect others, putting our own interests above them, and failing to grasp the ways we hurt those we love.

In short, it is the “everyday betrayals of Jesus”[1] that led to Jesus’ gruesome death. I was there. I am there. And so are you.

Jesus says, “Father, forgive them.” Not to the crowd that surrounded him that day, but to me today. And, to you. Today.  

We all have hurt. We all cause hurt- some intentionally, some unintentionally. We all fall short of the glory of God. The question is, will we seek forgiveness from those we have harmed. Will we accept the forgiveness from God, and “in the process, accept God’s invitation into a life marked by love, mercy, and grace.”[2]

When Jesus says, “Father, forgive them,” he is not just praying for those who have hurt him. He is not shifting his definition of who they are from “harm-bringers” to “children of God.” He is not just showing us that actions we think to be unforgivable, are forgiven. Jesus invites us to forgive, and to pray for those we can’t.

This week, I chose to reflect on who I need to forgive, who I need to seek forgiveness from, and what I need to confess and repent of so that I might experience the true freedom that comes with God’s grace. I invite you to do the same.

Comment your thoughts below!

Blessings friends,
Pastor Nicole

[1] Robb, Susan. Seven Words: Listening to Christ from the Cross. (Abingdon Press: Nashville, TN) 2020. page 7

[2] Robb, page 11

Image source: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-were-you-there