Day 219
Friday, April 7, 2023

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Scripture
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?  —Psalm 22:1

Wisdom
We are horrified when we think of what was done to Jesus. But are we equally horrified when this is done to others?…We are human so we know pain, as we know birth and death, but there is suffering that no human being should have to experience. This suffering is inflicted by others, needlessly, repeatedly, unmindful of any relation to the other as human, rationalized and sometimes blessed by a group, fueled by fear, indignation, insecurity, and nationalistic and religious arrogance. And Jesus knew this suffering. He faced it and in his life and suffering and dying by crucifixion he showed us how to live with it, and live in such a way that we spend our lives relieving it, atoning for it, trying to prevent it, and when it cannot be escaped, uniting it with [Christ’s own self]. —Megan McKenna, The New Stations of the Cross: The Way of the Cross According to Scripture

Prayer
Hold what is holy about this day and let us unite under the power of your storied sacrifice. Hold us this day. Amen. —The Reverend Dr. Katie Snipes Lancaster