Rev. Kristen Hawley welcomes congregants at St. David’s Episcopal Church on Good Friday and invites them to sit with darkness and suffering without resorting to clichés about God. Drawing on her experience accompanying people through grief and addiction, she challenges common atonement theories that portray Jesus’ death as a required payment to Satan or to an angry, transactional God, asking what such beliefs imply about God’s character. She proposes an atonement understanding rooted in solidarity: Jesus dies not in place of humanity but with humanity, embodying restorative justice and God’s desire to be present with creation in all things. Through stories of a parishioner who bristled at cross-centered messaging and a clergy friend overwhelmed by liturgical details, she emphasizes that Good Friday proclaims God’s nearness in suffering and that there is nowhere in life or death beyond God’s presence and saving love.00:00 Welcome to Good Friday00:41 Facing Darkness Together03:33 Why Did Jesus Die07:40 Transactional vs Restorative Justice09:38 Joe and the Cross11:39 Rejecting Cliches About Suffering13:41 Created for Light and Love15:09 A Text About Being Present16:49 Reclaiming the Cross
