“Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.” And the reason we tremble is because we wonder, “Would I have taken part in nailing him to the tree?” “Was I there when they crucified my lord, and maybe I didn’t do anything about it?” That certainly is cause to tremble tremble, tremble, tremble.

So the song asks, were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, we were. And we still are. We are there every day, because Jesus continues to be crucified every day.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, every time people are hungry and we don’t give them something to eat, the Lord gets crucified again. Maybe the food isn’t the kind we put on the table. Maybe people are hungry for love. Maybe they have hug-hunger. Maybe they hunger for a kind word.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, every time people are thirsty and we don’t give them something to drink, the Lord gets crucified again. Maybe the thirst is not for water. Maybe the thirst is for forgiveness. Maybe what they thirst for is you, for a little of your time.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, every time someone is in prison and we don’t visit, the Lord is crucified again. Prison isn’t always jail, because walls don’t make prison. Maybe someone’s prison is home, and they ache for a visit. Maybe they just want someone to ask, “How are you today?” and listen when the story is told.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, every time people are homeless and we don’t give them shelter, the Lord is crucified again. Does that mean we open our homes to every person on the street? It might, but so often people aren’t looking for a place to lay down their heads; they’re looking for a place to lay down their hearts.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, every time people are naked and we don’t give them clothes, the Lord is crucified again. The clothes may not be the clothes for the body. Maybe someone needs to be clothed in acceptance, clothed in tolerance, clothed in forgiveness.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, every time someone is sick and we don’t visit, the Lord gets crucified again. The sickness may not be physical. Maybe the person is heartsick and cannot find the strength to go on even … one … more … day.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, every time someone dies and we don’t bury that person, the Lord gets crucified again. Did we kill any of those people with our animosity, our hatred, our grudges, our intolerance? Let those die; bury them.

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree? Yes, every act of unkindness is another hit of the hammer on the nail that secures him more tightly to the tree.

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb? Yes, every time we knowingly hurt another, every time we deliberately cause another pain, every time we know we must say, “I’m sorry,” and we don’t … Jesus is again being laid in his tomb.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Oh yes, every day he gets crucified and every day we are there.

The haunting question is not, “Were you there?” Rather it is, “What did you do about it?”

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FCM member Carole Brennan received her M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary and her master’s and doctorate degrees from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. She taught theology at Seton Hill University.