Today I am thinking about how crucifixion was a way for the Roman Empire to assert control over oppressed people. How they slowly killed the enemies of the state in public places and left them as visible decaying signs of what would happen if you crossed the powers of the world.

Growing up, Good Friday was a solemn day for me to be sure—but it was almost excruciatingly focused on my individual sin being the reason Jesus was killed. Little, if any, connections to the political/religious/economic reality of Jesus being executed by the state.

Now I find a strange solace in understanding the terrible reality of Jesus on this day. His solidarity with all who suffer under unjust systems, his love and sacrificial mercy too powerful for our human methods of oppression, control, and violence.

I think the ways we teach and are taught about Good Friday say so much about our social-political locations. The older I get the more I realize how desperately I need the entire church witness in order to start to see the significance of today.