Good Friday Prayer

by Kerry Greenhill

We prefer to stand at a distance.
      Only the fearless, the desperate, and the morbidly curious
      linger at the foot of the cross.
We do not want the gruesome details of death
to become too real, too undeniably true.
      Or we know all too well these sights and smells
      and cannot bear to relive the violent echoes of grief.
There he hangs:
flesh and blood,
sweat and tears,
dust and breath.
      One of us
      for all of us.
God, our Father, forgive us
when we don’t know what we are doing.
      Mothering Spirit, draw us close
      when we are certain we are all alone.
Brother Jesus,
let us learn from you
one more time
what love looks like.
      And let us, when we look away,
      be changed forever by what we have seen.
Amen.

Permission is granted for use in corporate setting. Copyright © 2012 The Upper Room. Used with permission.

Kerry Greenhill is a Deacon who serves as Field Coordinator for Imagine No Malaria in the Rocky Mountain Conference (UMC), and as Communications Manager for the health care advocacy organization Family Voices Colorado.