"The Via Dolorosa"
The Way of Suffering
Lord,
As you make your way,
as we follow you on the way,
you lead us
through pain, betrayal, abandonment,
suffering, false accusations, defamation,
injustice, whipping, torture,
all the way to the lynching tree.
In your suffering and death,
In your suffering and death,
we witness the worst of our own humanity -
the evil one human does to another human.
Lord,
I would have hoped
we would have learned to turn from such evil.
However,
Concentration camps were still built.
Lynchings still continue.
Gynocide is still a reality.
Humans still do evil to other humans.
And even more troubling,
the church, your church,
the embodiment of Jesus Christ on earth
has been complicit
explicitly or silently in all of it.
Lord,
I wouldn't blame you
if you walked away from it all.
But amazingly you don't.
You keep walking the way of pain;
you keep leading us;
you keep beckoning us to follow you.
Forgive us, Lord.
Redeem us, Lord.
Do not give up on us, Lord.
Transform us, Lord,
so that we will embody your reconciling love
that brings about peace, justice, and well-being.
Make it so today
and in every day of my life.
Amen.
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