St George's Cathedral, Cape Town

A Meditation preached by the Reverend Bruce W. B. Jenneker on Good Friday, 21 March 2008, in St George's Cathedral, Cape Town

O holy Lord
is there any loneliness like your loneliness
the heaven of heaven was your home
the Creator of the Universe your loving parent
the hosts of heaven your family
O holy Lord
O holy Lord
is there any loneliness like your loneliness

Away from the intimate gaze of God
on a mission to be God's face
intimate with men and women in the world
is there any loneliness like your loneliness

Unnoticed
unrecognized
disregarded
ignored
misunderstood
is there any loneliness like your loneliness
Sent to be ultimate nearness
to those who are unaware of your approach
your name and your significance

Sent to touch those
whose calloused skins don't register your caress
whose skin is hardened against the tenderness of your touch

Sent to lift the eyes of those
who won't look beyond their noses
whose blind eyes are shut against the light of your presence

Sent to speak words of life to those
who shut out the music of the spheres
whose deaf ears refuse the sound of your voice

O holy Lord
is there any loneliness like your loneliness

God-in-human-form
away from God to do God's bidding
not received by men and women,
not welcomed, not understood, not honoured
unaccepted
is there any loneliness like your loneliness

God-in-human-form
not clinging to equality with God
empty now
empty of everything
gone is eternity's closeness
gone is infinity's security without measure

Here
finite in your solitude
isolated in the uniqueness of your person
and the peculiarity of your mission
alone, alone alone
is there any loneliness like your loneliness
But harder still than the loneliness of your incarnation
is the loneliness by which you are separated
from those you choose
from those you seek to save
from those you love

Can you not watch one hour with me?

Unaware of the vastness
of your mission
untouched by the enormity
of these moments in the garden
oblivious to the gracious magnanimity
of your self-offering
ignorant of the meaning of your prayer
If it be your will
let this cup pass from me
yet not what I want, what you want
those closest to you
fall asleep, unable to watch with you in your hour of need.

O holy Lord
is there any loneliness like your loneliness
when those you choose don't choose you
when those you serve are unmoved
when those you love don't notice
O holy Lord
O holy Lord
is there any loneliness like your loneliness

As we gaze upon you in agony on the cross
we come to know that every ache of isolation
that has ever cut through our hearts
is etched on yours

As we stand at the foot of your cross
we understand that every wounding exclusion
that has left us behind, cast us out,
left us alienated and estranged
is a thorn to stab your brow

As we watch your friends run away
deserting you
forsaking you for more attractive options,
greener pastures, richer gains
we learn that every lonely experience of ours
is carried by you onto your cross

O holy Lord
your loneliness is the sum total of all the loneliness
of the world
the loneliness of the orphaned child, the childless parent
the loneliness of the lost, the last and the least
the loneliness of the displaced person, the refugee, the unemployed
the loneliness of the brave whistleblower, the advocate for justice
the witness for peace

The pain in my heart is for the loneliness you bear
hanging there on the cross
you the world through whom all things were made
you who are all things, in all thing and in whom all things exist
you -
the Love that Holds the Universe together
you are alone
taking on to yourself all the loneliness of the world
so that never again
will anyone be forced
into the loneliness that crushes and overwhelms and destroys
never again will anyone be held captive
by the depressing chains of loneliness
because you

Holy, crucified and dying Lord
have broken through all that cuts us off, shuts us out, holds us back
and your victory
brings you so near
that never ever again
will we be lonely
for we
all of us
everywhere
are forever held in your love.

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