Thinking about Jesus and the sacrifice he made this Good Friday..In doing so, its noted that he was chased down, unfairly prosecuted and crucified. And while we all know the story of his resurrection in which there is joy, the question for us as Christians, who are we chasing down, unfairly prosecuting and symbolically, literally crucifying??

Is it the poor and homeless who we point fingers at and scorn because they do not have the material trappings and economic security we have been blessed with, so we chase them out of our neighborhoods?

Do we recognize their humanity and try to be blessings in their lives by helping them find relief from hunger, cold and sickness? Or do we find them to be an inconvenient annoyance who we throw Bibles at as we call the police and tell them they need Jesus vs being Christ-like in our direct actions to them?

Are we crucifying those who are weary and desperate, who cross borders seeking relief from economic despair or are we telling them that only a chosen few are allowed access to a country that many claim is rooted in Christian principles and blessed by God? Is there a limit to the blessings of this land and her resources?

Are we standing silent, turning a blind eye or enthusiastically supporting and justifying crucifixion that take place in our name in far off lands via harsh policies and actions ranging from drone strikes and bombings where innocent people die or efforts to unseat rulers who we deem unfit, while simultaneously supporting ruthless despots, claiming their support is the only way we can survive??

Knowing that Christ died on our behalf and we as Christians have been blessed, is our continued survival hinged upon support of despots and despotic actions or the firm belief that we can reject evil actions because we will be provided for? What was this crucifixion and resurrection about if we don’t believe via our actions?

Today we live in a country where one of seven live in poverty. One out of four children our in poverty.. That’s here in the US. Around the world in many countries those figures are dramatically worse..On this Good Friday as we reflect, lets ask ourselves; do our individual and collective actions as Christians reflect oppression or reflect the liberation of the suffering many are enduring? Our we allowing imperialism, exploitation and colonization to be done in our name or are we standing sound Christian principles that withstand such forces and atrocities?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkEgMKar0iw