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(Is.50:4-7;\xa0\xa0 Ps.22:2,8-9,17-20,23-24;\xa0\xa0 Phil.2:6-11; Mt.26:14-27:66\xa0 or\xa0 Mk.14:1-15:47\xa0 or\xa0 Lk.22:14-23:56) \xa0 \u201cHis blood be upon us and upon our children.\u201d \xa0 \u201cThe whole people\u201d cry out for the death of Jesus.\xa0 \u201cLet Him be crucified,\u201d they shout ever more loudly.\xa0 The sins of us all demand the death of the Son.\xa0 And though He would have us not bear such guilt \u2013 \u201cMy Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me\u201d \u2013 and though even after we have succeeded in our lust for innocent blood, He forgives\u2026 yet bear such a burden we must, to find release from its punishment under the shadow of His cross, where, upon the opening of our eyes in the fear of our crimes and the power of Him whom we have crucified, we shall proclaim, \u201cTruly, this was the Son of God!\u201d Yes, it is an irony that the blood of this \u201cKing of the Jews,\u201d the Chosen of the chosen, the Messiah, the Son of God, is upon our souls both for condemnation for the great crime all commit in crucifying the Lord always by our sins; and, of course, for our salvation by its cleansing the same sin from our souls through our belief in Him Who Is. And so He accepts our mockery.\xa0 And so He remains silent before our accusations against Him.\xa0 And so He \u201cset [His] face like flint,\u201d enduring \u201cbuffets and spitting\u201d; as \u201cmany dogs surround\u201d Him and \u201ca pack of evildoers closes in,\u201d He endures all for our sakes, knowing only this will bring us to open our eyes and see the light that is the love of God.\xa0 \u201cThey have pierced my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones.\u201d\xa0 Could more of a sacrifice be made for sinful man?\xa0 Could greater than this be accomplished in the name of God?\xa0 What more need you to believe?\xa0 O let His blood pour upon you! Brothers and sisters, Christ Jesus \u201cemptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness\u2026 becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.\u201d\xa0 God has come among us and suffered all for our sake, that we might be washed clean of all the evil within us by His gentle acceptance of all our hatred, of all our doubt and fear, of all the violence we could mount, saying to our heart: \u201cI love you still, and my Father, too,\u201d that we might return to the grace that is ours in Him.\xa0 Let us not be ashamed to bend the knee \u201cat the name of Jesus.\u201d\xa0 Let \u201cevery tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.\u201d \xa0\u201cYou who fear the Lord, praise Him; all you descendants of Jacob, give glory to Him; revere Him all you descendants of Israel.\u201d\xa0 Let His blood pour upon your soul. \xa0 Written, read & chanted, and published\xa0by James Kurt. \xa0 Music: "My God. My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?" (first half) from Bearing the Birth Pangs, tenth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, your Son humbles Himself to die on a cross for us, and we can but lay Him in a tomb \u2013 how shall we be saved?\xa0 YHWH, your Son is led to death, even to crucifixion, but He turns not His face away from the buffets and the spitting, from the mockery of sinful men.\xa0 He sets Himself to undergo all the suffering that is rightly ours to bear \u2013 and all the while we sleep, we take our rest. All abandon your Son, O LORD; He is left quite alone.\xa0 None is able to defend Him, to stand with Him in His place upon the Cross.\xa0 No, we betray Him by our faithlessness, and so now must endure the sight of His bloodied corpse splayed upon the Cross. O LORD our God, let us not fail to repent of our sin, of our crucifying the Son of Man.\xa0 Let us not fail to recognize who He is and what He has done for us in His Person and death.\xa0 This day let us partake of His Body and Blood that we might be taken with Him from the Skull place to your right hand in Heaven.