Good Friday, April 18—Day 45

Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. And they crucified Him, and divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take. It was the third hour when they crucified Him.  The inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.” Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.” Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”  
Mark 15: 22-39

Prayer from a Stryker Frame
E. Margaret Clarkson

Lord, I lie here,
            Strapped down, motionless, almost insensible,
      Skewered to this strange board
      By the cruel, incredible pain;
      Unable to move hand, foot, or head
              Because of pain’s intensity
          And the exigencies of the Stryker.
        Pain wracks my body through and through;
              I lie on a bed of pointed, red-hot nails,
        Invisible forces pressing, pressing me down
              Harder, harder into them. . . .
           I scarcely knew such pain could be.
        Once You lay on a bed of coals,
             Spiked to a stake by pain
        Far beyond anything I experience now
             Or can possibly imagine.
        They lifted You up
        Till the nails must have seared Your very soul,
        Tearing Your body with the awful thud
             Of a cross dumped roughly deep in a pit,
                 And You impaled upon it.

I lie here of my own necessity,
       Hoping to be made well in time
By mystery of surgery;
    Willing to be purified by pain
          For my own advantage.

You hung there
      Out of pure love,
Willing to be crucified, to die
      For my sake;
Hoping to gain nothing for Yourself
But Heaven for me.

Your anguished cry, “Forsaken!”
      Wrung from parched, sinless lips,
Goes echoing down the ages; finds me here
And meets my need.
No “Why?” torments my fevered brain today
For I am not alone:
   You answered all the questions
    Of tortured human hearts
Once and for all.
Your risen life
      Within, around, above, beneath,
      Supports me
      In my pain,
And in Your peace I rest.
They turn me over now. Circulation
And other physical requirements dictate
    This painful thrust
Three times each day.
Here I lie, prostrate,
Throbbing, rigid,
Face to the dust,
 Humble before Your feet.
Face to the dust, I worship You, my Lord,
In this strange, love-lit sanctuary,
Bowed by compulsion, true,
But also by new love
Freshly born of pain,
Adoring You in wonder and in awe
Who for my sake
Hung on Your cross.

Clarkson, E. Margaret, The Country of the Risen King: An Anthology of Christian Poetry (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1978), p 42-43

Prayer
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Amen.