GOOD FRIDAY TENEBRAE MEDITATION 2009
I saw God die today,
Said the centurion walking home.
He spoke to anyone who would listen.
I saw God die today.
The Jews did not hear him,
A Roman, they stayed far away,
No one but Mother Mary heard him,
I saw God die today.
What do you mean?
What do you mean? In anguish she cried out.
You believe in many gods,
What’s different about this one you’ve seen?
Lifting up his helmeted head,
He said again, I saw God die today.
You stood by my side, she whispered,
And watched my Son die today.
Did you see what I saw? Said he.
He took his cross upon his back
Blood of God spilling along the pathways,
Flowing down that tree at Calvary.
You saw God die today, said the Mother Mild
Yes said the soldier, eyes flashing wild.
My son, my son, she cried, my child.
You are his mother, he said, with a ghost of a smile.
We saw God die today, they said,
As the heavens opened, and the winds roared,
The torrents fell and the earth broke forth,
Mourning the one who was dead.
The weeping woman, the wondering Roman
heard the earth sighing, the very sea crying,
Over the death of God, over the death of a man
Now in the tomb, his body lying.
I saw God die today, said the centurion,
And now my gods are gone,
The One on the Cross cannot stay dead,
For the true God lives forever on.
Yes, said the mother, touching the one,
The man in charge of the murder of her Son.
And he held her there for a moment long,
Till hope was born, and grief was done.
erb (Good Friday 2009)
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