Alliance for Catholic Education
Were You There verses 1 and 2
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?
Our minds are powerful. They can transport us across time and space to our most joyful memories – a child being born, a wedding day, precious moments with family and friends. Our minds can also whisk us back to moments that made us tremble. For us, most recently, it was saying, “Bye – have a good day at school” to our 17-year-old. Two minutes later, we heard the unmistakable sound of screeching tires, the crunch of metal on metal, then silence. Running down the stairs and out the front door to see the front of a car mangled – across the street on the neighbor’s lawn – and our son’s car safely in the driveway, unscathed. A hit and run. You think about what could have happened. You thank God that the driver was ok and that your son – a relatively new driver – was reminded of the awesome power and responsibility of driving, of being alert, of being present, and of God’s loving protection. We can close our eyes and be transported to a moment, like this one, months later with a completely visceral response – a racing heart, a churning stomach, muscles tightening in our neck and back, on the verge of tears – and an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Our mind is that powerful. So powerful that our bodies relive the moment as if it were happening in real time and space.
Unlike the carton of milk in our refrigerator, God’s word and the impetus to act does not have an expiration date. It does not spoil, it does not end. The Gospels are just as relevant today as when they were written and when the events occurred. In the first two verses of Were You There, we are asked, "Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?" Yes and yes. If you were to ask a child if they were there, it seems like a ridiculous question because of their tendency to think concretely, in chronos time (clocks and calendars; objective; quantitatively measured). How could we have been at the foot of the cross with Mary, how could we have witnessed the nails being driven into Christ’s feet and wrists, how could we have seen his side pierced? It’s 2022. The Guinness Books of World Records says the oldest living person is Kane Tanaka of Japan, born on January 2, 1903 – nearly 2,000 years after the crucifixion of our Lord. A child might believe that if Ms. Tanaka wasn’t there, it’s silly to think that any of us could have been there. But that’s childish thinking, narrow-minded, and a dismissal of God’s gift to experience the most significant moments of our faith fully with our minds, bodies, and spirit - regardless of chronos time. God’s time, kairos (an opportune time; a “moment”) is unlimited.
Lent, and every day, is a time to be transported in our minds and spirits to prior times and places – to reflect on our lives, to be grateful for God’s grace in miraculous and even less than stellar moments, to commit or recommit ourselves to previous or new ways of being. But it is also a time to be present – to take stock of where we are, and to deepen our faith. God has given us the gift of time – not just limited to our moments between birth and earthly death. We have our minds and our faith that allow us to transcend chronos time. So when we ask ourselves, was I there when they crucified my Lord, we can respond with a resounding yes and use this gift of God’s unrestricted and unlimited time – kairos time – to continue to become the person God intended us to be.