Christian Reflection and Prayer

Were You There?

Scripture:

As his body was taken away, the
women from Galilee followed and
saw the tomb where they placed
his body. Then they went home
and prepared spices and ointments
to embalm him. But by the time
they were finished it was the Sabbath,
so they rested all that day as required
by the law. Luke 23:55-56 NLT

Hymn:

Were you there when they crucified
my Lord? Were you there when they
crucified my Lord? O! Sometimes it
causes me to tremble, tremble,
tremble! Were you there when they
crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they laid Him
in the tomb? Were you there when they
laid Him in the tomb? O! Sometimes it
causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble!
Were you there when they laid Him in
the tomb?
Were You There? Traditional spiritual

Reflection:

Experience the "tremble"

This favorite hymn comes from the
rich American spiritual tradition,
probably developed in the early 1800s
by African-American slaves. As in
most spirituals, the words are simple,
seizing on one central theme or concept.

Spirituals tend to have a lot of emotional
appeal. As a result, this hymn, like few
others, puts the singer there. We
experience the "tremble" as we sing it.
And in the triumphant final stanza, we
experience the glory of a risen Lord.
We are called out of the cold analysis
of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection
into the moment of living it. We are called
out of the theological debate and into the
stark reality. We hear the nails pounded
into the cross, we see the onlookers
wagging their heads, we smell the burial
spices, and we feel the rumble of the stone
rolling away. And we tremble… tremble…
tremble.

Our Holy Week readings are adapted from
The One Year® Book of Hymns by Mark
Norton and Robert Brown, Tyndale House
Publishers (1995). Today's is taken from
the entry for March 21.