Silent Friday

Today He chose to be silent.

While hanging on the cross, they teased His, saying, "So, you can apparently save others but you can't save yourself?" He did not respond. He did not act on His own behalf. He chose not to save himself.

Earlier that same morning, when he had a chance to defend himself with the one person who could save him from death, he again said nothing.

"Herod asked Him many questions, but He made no reply. Meanwhile, the chief priests and the scribes stood by, continuing vehemently and violently to accuse Him. And Herod, with his soldiers, treated Him with contempt and scoffed at and ridiculed Him; then, dressing Him up in bright and gorgeous apparel, he sent Him back to Pilate."

I learned recently that the Latin root for the word "sacrifice" is to "make sacred". Through His silence, combined with His suffering, I can see how he made life sacred. I can see how he made life more sacred - not just through His death - but through the way He died. The catholics believe, through His choice to not save himself, that He also made suffering more sacred. His passion.

I know that many people suffer and die. Some longer and more brutally than 6 hours on a cross or two days of torment and death. Some suffer for years in severe pain. In Haiti, right now, there are thousands of people who had limbs amputated with nothing more than a hacksaw, with no pain medication. Their suffering continues to this day. None of them had the God-given power to say "Enough!". None of them could pull the God card, reversing their own fortunes in a moment of time, calling in the angels, and saving themselves. They have no choice but to suffer. It is so heartbreaking.

Lord, help me be more silent. Help me do what I can to relieve the suffering of others. Help me understand things that are deeper, sacrificial, and meaningful to those around me. Help me Lord.