O Sacred Head Now Wounded

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown:
how pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish which once was bright as morn!

What Thou, my Lord, has suffered was all for sinners' gain;
mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! 'Tis I deserve Thy place;
look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest Friend,
for this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever; and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for Thee.

"God sent His Son - they called Him Jesus,
He came to love, heal and forgive,
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living -
Just because he lives!"

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn's rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush;
of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there; I did not die.
~Author Unknown

Still He Walked

He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify" "crucify"...
He could hear the hatred in their voices,
these were His chosen people. He loved them,
and they were going to crucify Him.
He was beaten, bleeding and weakened...
His heart was broken,
But still He walked.

He could see the crowd as he came from the palace.
He knew each of the faces so well.
He had created them.
He knew every smile, laugh, and shed tear,
But now they were contorted with rage and anger...
his heart broke,
But still He walked.

Was he scared? You and I would have been
So His humanness would have mandated that He was.
He felt alone.
His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed him.
He searched the crowd for a loving face
and He saw very few.
Then He turned His eyes to the only one that mattered
and He knew that He would never be alone.
He looked back at the crowd,
at the people who were spitting at Him,
throwing rocks at Him and mocking Him and He knew
that because of Him, they would never be alone.
So for them, He walked.

The sounds of the hammer striking the
spikes echoed through the crowd.
The sounds of His cries echoed even louder,
The cheers of the crowd, as His hands and feet
were nailed to the cross, intensified with each blow.
Loudest of all was the still small voice inside His
Heart that whispered "I am with you, My Son",
And God's heart broke.
He had let His Son walk.

Jesus could have asked God to end His suffering,
But instead He asked God to forgive.
Not to forgive Him,
but to forgive the ones who were persecuting Him.
As He hung on that cross, dying an unimaginable death,
He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd,
But also, the face of every person yet to be,
and His heart filled with love.
As His body was dying, His heart was alive.
Alive with the limitless,
unconditional love He feels for each of us.
That is why He walked.

When I forget how much My God loves me,
I remember His walk.
When I wonder if I can be forgiven,
I remember His walk.
When I need reminded of how to live like Christ,
I think of His walk.
And to show Him how much I love Him,
I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to Him,
And I walk.