When I stand at the foot of the Cross...

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When I stand at the foot of the Cross,

    under the wings of his outstretched arms,

dare I look up into the eyes of him

    who has loved me this much?

When I stand at the foot of the Cross,

    do I hide in its shadow,

lest I see how my sins

    pinned him to his tree of suffering?

When I stand at the foot of the Cross,

    and drops of his blood caress my cheeks,

do I feel the rain of mercy

    he showers down upon me?

When I stand at the foot of the Cross,

    what do I see?

    what do I try not to see?

    what do I refuse to see  ?

    what am I afraid to see?

           

And do I see how, from the Cross,

    he sees me and looks upon me

    with only love in his eyes?

When I stand at the foot of the Cross,

    what do I pray?

Does my heart find the words I want to say?

    the words I need to say?

Do my lips find the courage to speak

    my  need for his mercy,

    my desire for his pardon,

    my hope for his forgiveness?

When I stand at the foot of the Cross,

    do I see in his tired body

        the strength I need to live the truth?

Do I see in his blood

    the life for which I thirst?

Do I hear in his last gasp

    my first breath of hope for life - for ever?

When I stand at the foot of the Cross,

    do I see all those gathered there with me?

Do I see sinners like myself and even saints

    who need him just as much as I do?

Do I see all humankind of every race and time

    standing with me,  me with them,

all of us in this war-torn, terrorized world

all of us one in our hunger and thirst

    for the truth, love and mercy

offered in the Body and Blood of Jesus:

    our Brother, our Lord, our Savior?             

When I stand at the foot of the Cross,

    do I look up and turn my face to his?

Do I let his eyes meet mine and come to know

    in the depths of who I am

        that I am loved,

        that I am forgiven,

        that I am saved,

        that I am redeemed?

This day, we stand together

    at the foot of the Cross.

And together, 

   we look upon Jesus, the Lamb of God,

        our Passover and our lasting peace.

We gaze on Jesus

    who takes away our sins,

        who takes away the sins of the world,

            who gives us peace.

This day, 

    we stand at the foot of your Cross, O Lord,

        in the shadow of your wings.

Gather us together in your outstretched arms:

    you who loved us unto death

        with the gift of your life,

    you who love us even now

        with an everlasting love

    that we might live with you forever

        in everlasting peace.

 

Amen. 

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