It is the Lord’s great love for us that gives birth to our Good Friday question: “Who are You?”
It is similar to Pilate’s question to Jesus, “Where are You from?”–a question that the governor had asked out of awe and almost in spite of himself.
But ours is also a question of surprise: The breadth and depth of Jesus’ love, demonstrated so powerfully on the cross, surprises us and surpasses our every expectation and imagination.
The death our Lord chose defined Him; it tells us who He is. At his death, Jesus had no fortune, fame, or power. Crucified helplessly like a common criminal, deserted by His disciples and friends, and rejected by His own people, Jesus tells us that, more than anything else, He belongs to His Father. Because He has done all this out of love for us, He is also telling us that He belongs to us.
At the end of the day, the best way to answer the question “Who are You?” is “Whose are You?”
As for us, the lives we choose to live will define us, and will tell the world who we are and whose we are. Shall we join the world and let fortune, fame, and power define us? Or do we desire to choose something else, someone else, to shape our lives?
This song, “If I Ain’t Got You,” first recorded by Alicia Keys, captures this desire for what will define one’s life, a search for what really matters.
Listen to it prayerfully and let it provoke you into your closing prayer and reflection.
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