Because He Stood
Because He Stood
1. Because he stood in the places where it mattered
There to expose and challenge the unjust
He was a threat to the guardians of power
And he was silenced with a cross
Because he called for the sharing of abundance
Where God invites the homeless to the feast
He was a threat to those wallowing in priv’lege
And he was silenced with a cross. (ch)
Chorus:
And we pray, “What now?”
Loving God, “What now?”
Oh, we pray, “What now?”
What for those now left
Standing at the cross
of silence?
2. Because he preached on the mountain, “Love your enemy.”
And said God’s rain treats friend and foe the same
He was a threat to the campaign of division
And he was silenced with a cross
Because he would not adjust his proclamations
Though he was threatened with a dire cost
His form of love was a danger to the empire
And he was silenced with a cross. (ch)
3. Oh, but the silence of death would not be final
His voice of truth still echoes through the land.
And we, who’ve heard what a cross could never silence,
Are called to places we must stand.
Let us awake at the ripping of the curtain
And leave behind our worship at the tomb
Not wait in hope someone else picks up the mantle
But follow Jesus out to the world
Last Chorus:
Now we pray, Empow’r us.
Loving God, Empow’r us
Oh, we pray, Empow’r us
Strengthen us to stand
Where it matters now
like Jesus.
Words by Bret Hesla and Paul Batalden. Music by Bret Hesla.
© 2016 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.
Getting away from atonement, getting away from sacrificial death, getting away from the glorious cross as God’s plan, and just looking at a simple view: Jesus was killed for what he was doing in his life, publicly challenging injustice. The cross as a method by which the powerful can silence dissent. And … then what?
A hymn for any season. But if you use it at the close of Palm/Passion Sunday, or on Good Friday, I’m thinking you might sing only verses 1 and 2 at that point. Then maybe add the third verse and final chorus on Easter, or Easter vigil, or weeks after Easter.