For several years I've posted a weekly Lenten series on a selected topic. This year, on the Fridays of Lent, I'll be featuring songs we sing to honor the Cross of Jesus. (Here are links to the first, second, third, and fourth posts in this series.) The very fact that we sing of
the Cross on which Jesus died is a testimony to our faith and belief
that in his suffering we find our healing and our life... Tonight's selection is Michael Garrepy's stunning arrangement of Were You There? performed by Ensemble Altera. This hymn takes us beyond the Cross to the Resurrection which reminds us that here in Lent we do not pretend that Christ hasn't risen from the dead - much less deny that it's our faith in his rising that helps us to grasp and understand the mystery of the Cross...
I suggest you pray with the song first, and then move on to my Night Prayer...
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?
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Were you there when they pierced him in the side?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Were you there when he rose up from the dead?
Sometimes I feel like crying, "Glory, glory!"
Where you there? Were you there? Were you there?
Night Prayer
Was I there, Lord?
Was I there when they crucified you?
when they nailed you to a tree?
when they pierced you in your side?
when they laid you in the tomb?
No I wasn't there 2,000 years ago,
not in person, not in the flesh,
not in the crowds that witnessed
your suffering and death...
But I was there in my sins, Lord...
I was there in the sins that I own:
in my thoughts and ill will,
in my prejudice and bias,
in my willful, unyielding stubbornness,
in my bitter envy and jealousy,
in my over-blown self-estimation,
in my cunning, conniving designs,
in my hard-hearted spite,
resentments and grudges
- all of my sins were there, Lord
and they hung you on your Cross...
I was there, too, in the sins I own
in the words that fall from the lips of my mouth:
harsh, cutting and unkind words,
half-truths and lies, gossip and rumors,
epithets, put-downs and nasty digs,
whispers, threats and false accusations,
curses and swears and expletives (not deleted),
insults and slander, taunts and slurs
and the silence I kept
when I could have, should have spoken up
- all my sins were there, Lord
and they pierced you in your side...
And I was there in the sins I own
in what I've done and failed to do:
in my actions, deeds and slick maneuvers,
in my foolish capers, stunts and larks,
in wishing ill or harm on my neighbor,
in betrayal, theft, cheating and fraud,
in supporting what's evil, sinful and wrong,
in seeking success whatever the cost,
in my unfair, unjust practices,
in sins of the flesh and sins of the soul
- all my sins were there, Lord
and they laid you in the tomb...
I wasn't there in person, Lord,
I wasn't there in the flesh,
I wasn't counted in the crowds
that watched you suffer and die,
but I was there, Lord, in my sins,
I was there, Lord, when you died...
So I pray that when my own time comes,
you'll be there for me, Lord
with your saving grace and mercyto save me from my sins
and raise me from the dead
to the life you've won for me...
And then, Lord, I'll cry "Glory!"
I'll cry, "Glory to my God!"
Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep rest in your peace...
Amen.
Would you like to pray with the song again?
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