And so we come to Good Friday and to the cross that we have been moving toward throughout this Lenten season. Here at the cross we meet the women who did not leave Jesus in his suffering and death. I think again of Etty Hillesum, with whom we traveled earlier in this season, and how she chose with such intention to share in the suffering of her people and to bear witness to what she saw and experienced.
As we linger at the cross, and as we move through the coming days, where do you see the presence of the broken body of Christ in the world? Where do you feel drawn or challenged to stand with him and remain present as you encounter him in those who are in pain? How will you bear witness to what you see?
Texts
Mark 15:40-41 and John 19:23-30
The Women Muse
We bore wit-ness
we bared with-ness
living by our wits
living by our withs
wit to press beyond the lines
wit to improvise these lives
with our deepest selves
with integrity, with heart
Now we stand here
at wit’s end,
with each other
and with him.
To wit: was it enough?
To with—did it suffice?
From Sacred Journeys © Jan L. Richardson
