Voices – What would you say?

I can be very quiet in a crowd.
When listeners are in short supply, my introverted side rises up.
I slip into the silent gap with ease.

But sometimes being quiet makes me feel like I’m boring company.

And then when I do think of something to say, I wonder:
Would I bring any value to what’s already been said?

Voices
If I had been with Jesus in his final hours, would I have brought anything new to the conversation? What would I have said?

• Judas kissed him and said, “Rabbi!”
• Annas, the high priest, drilled him with questions.
• The assembly of the elders said, “If you are the Christ, tell us.”
• An officer accused him, “Is that how you answer the high priest?”
• Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews? What have you done?”
• Herod provoked him, hoping to see a sign.
• The soldiers taunted him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
• The Jews blasted him, “Crucify, crucify him!”
• The rulers scoffed at him, “He saved others; let him save himself!”
• Bystanders derided him, “Let us see whether Elijah will save him.”
• A neighboring hanging criminal railed at him, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
• The other neighbor said, “Jesus, remember me in your kingdom.”
• Jesus cried out with a loud voice, yielding up his spirit.
• The centurion confessed, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
• And God said...nothing.

Our words?
What would I have said? What would you have said?
What kind of company would we have been on that day?

Perhaps no words would have come.
My lips might have been sealed in fear, shock, confusion.
I would have added nothing of value to the conversation.

But now...
Easter is upon us again.
What will I say now?
What will you say now?

* * *

What would you have said to Jesus on that day?

Now is your opportunity. What will you say to him today?

REVISED FROM THE ARCHIVES
ORIGINALLY POSTED APR 21, 2011