Holy Week in the Shadow of Empire: “This Is a Good Friday Moment”
Good Friday Devotion by Bridget Cabrera
After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
— John 19:28-30 (NRSV)
We find ourselves again in the shadows of empire, where Jesus whispered his last words, “I am thirsty,” and “It is finished,”—Love meeting the full weight of oppression.
As we move through Holy Week—through betrayal, mock trials, public executions, and systemic violence—we are not merely recalling an ancient story. We are witnessing it unfold in real time.
In a political climate marked by growing authoritarianism, anti-immigrant policies, anti-Black and anti-POC violence, anti-trans legislation, voter suppression, and the coordinated rollback of hard-fought civil rights, we recognize the signs. This is a Good Friday moment.
It is a moment when those in power crucify truth and compassion in the name of control. When the vulnerable are scapegoated, stripped of dignity, and forced to carry crosses not of their choosing. When those called to speak out—faith leaders, communities of conscience—too often remain silent or complicit.
Jesus’ crucifixion was not inevitable. It was the outcome of a system—religious, political, and social—that protected power at any cost. He was executed not because he preached love, but because he lived it in ways that threatened the status quo.
So we ask: Who is being crucified today?
We see it in the immigrants detained or deported. Separated from their family and communities.
In the trans youth targeted by cruel legislation.
In the unhoused person criminalized for surviving.
In the LGBTQIA+ clergy denied ordination, even after harmful policies are removed.
In all those pushed to the margins and nailed there by systems meant to serve only a few.
And yet, even here—in the sorrow and silence of Good Friday—God is not absent.
The curtain is torn. The truth is exposed. The empire may seem to win, but it is unraveling. The God who suffers with us is already at work breaking open tombs.
Holy Week asks us not only to witness suffering, but to stand in solidarity with those bearing its weight. If we claim to follow Jesus, we must walk with him into the places of pain, of state violence, of betrayal and abandonment—and dare to believe that love will rise again.
Who is carrying a cross in my community right now, and how can I show up for them?
What silence am I being called to break?
What unjust systems am I complicit in, and how can I begin to dismantle them?
Good Friday faith doesn’t gloss over suffering—it names it. It stays at the foot of the cross. And it dares to imagine that resurrection is possible only if we are willing to go through the grave.
This is a Good Friday moment. But Sunday is coming—not through passivity, but through faithful resistance, courageous love, and solidarity with the crucified. Let us not rush to resurrection. Let us linger long enough in the pain to let it transform us.
Crucified Christ,
You know what it means to be betrayed, silenced, and brutalized by empire.
In this Good Friday moment, when injustice feels overwhelming,
give us courage not to look away.
Stay with us in the pain.
Break open our hearts and tear down every curtain we’ve used
to shield ourselves from the suffering of others.
Let your cross be our call to action,
and your resurrection be our roadmap to justice.
Amen.
Bridget Cabrera (she/her/hers)
is the Executive Director of Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA). With over 17 years of non-profit experience, Bridget has served as Deputy Director of the Reconciling Ministries Network, a leader in the Love Your Neighbor Coalition, and Executive Secretary for National Ministries with United Methodist Women (UMW) national office. She holds a Bachelor's in Science in Music Education from the University of Alabama, a Master’s in Divinity from Emory University (Candler School of Theology), and an Executive MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology.