Good Friday, at its core, is not a church service. It is the memory of a state execution \u2014 of a teacher labeled a threat, eliminated in the name of law and order. Its raw meaning can be unsettling, even for those sitting in a pew.<\/p>\n
As a professor of church history and former pastor, I often remind students and congregations that the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, stripped of ritual familiarity, is difficult to face: a public execution carried out by authorities against someone who challenged both religious and political power. In the context of his time, Jesus was considered a traitor \u2014 an enemy of the Roman Empire. His capital offense was not primarily theological but political: refusing to pledge ultimate allegiance to Caesar over God. His death on a Roman cross, alongside countless others condemned by the state, was brutal.<\/p>\n
And yet Christians call this day \u201cgood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not because of the violence, but because they believe something larger broke through it: a radical vision of love and sacrifice that refuses to draw tight circles around who belongs \u2014 and who is left out.<\/p>\n
That claim raises a question that feels urgent in San Diego, and across the nation, this week:<\/p>\n
Who did Jesus die for \u2014 and who do we ignore?<\/p>\n
On Good Friday, April 3, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 10 local congregations will take that question to the streets with a second annual \u201cStations of the Street\u201d walk along Sunset Cliffs Boulevard \u2014 Ocean Beach\u2019s historic \u201cChurch Row.\u201d The one-mile, self-paced pilgrimage begins at St. Peter\u2019s-by-the-Sea Lutheran Church (Point Loma Avenue and Sunset Cliffs Boulevard) and concludes at Resurrection OB Episcopal Church (Brighton Avenue), with groups departing every 15 minutes or participants walking on their own.<\/p>\n
Along the route, nine stations will offer brief moments of reflection, prayer, and meditation on the Cross, each completing the same sentence: \u201cJesus died for \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Some answers will sound familiar: for the poor and vulnerable; for the overlooked and marginalized; for children and animals; for all creation.<\/p>\n
Others are more provocative: for the rich; for those who doubt; for your neighbor who may not share your views; for those living through wars far from our shores \u2014 especially in the Holy Lands; for the healing of the nations.<\/p>\n