The Spears Were Real

Every year on Good Friday, I come back to the same narrative, involving one of my favorite poets, W.H. Auden. It may not be very spiritual that it's not a scripture or a Puritan prayer, but this moves me.

The great English-American poet W. H. Auden once heard a lecture in which, as Edward Mendelson recounts the scene, the speaker said, “Jesus and Buddha were the same in effect: they were both attacked by spears, but in the Buddha’s case, the spears turned into flowers.” Auden bristled at this, shouting from the back of the lecture hall, “ON GOOD FRIDAY THE SPEARS WERE REAL.”

The spears were real. His friends' betrayal, Peter's denial, the unjust trials, the crown of thorns, the nails... all real. Jesus was alone, and in great, agonizing pain. But because of His willingness to endure the real spears, He is with us as we endure too.

I first read this narrative here. This post is also a beautiful reminder of Jesus who is with us in our pain.