The Reproaches: A convicting Good Friday dialogue with God

How a 9th-century lament stirred my heart.

Our Good Friday service at Good Shepherd Anglian Church was quiet, solemn and deeply meaningful.

The altar had been stripped the night before during our Maundy Thursday service. The mood was contemplative, inviting worshippers to reflect on the suffering and sacrifice of Christ.

The Gospel reading came from John 19:1-37, which recounts Jesus’ scourging, mockery, crucifixion, death, and the piercing of his side, fulfilling scripture and revealing him as the true Passover Lamb.

The sermon focused on Hebrews 10:22-24, which urges believers to draw near to God with sincere faith, hold firmly to their hope, and encourage one another toward love and good deeds.

But what impacted me the most was our recitation of “The Reproaches,” which is a moving dialogue between God and his people, highlighting human unfaithfulness and divine mercy.

The Reproaches (Improperia in Latin) dates back to at least the 9th century, but I don’t remember ever reciting it in the past.

The Reproaches are presented as a lament from God to his people, echoing Micah 6:3:

“O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me!”

Each stanza recalls God’s saving acts (such as the Exodus), juxtaposed with the rejection Christ suffered — culminating in the crucifixion.

I heard the sorrow in God’s voice as he recalled his acts of love and deliverance — met not with gratitude, but with betrayal. The gulf between his grace and our rejection is staggering.

I was most convicted by the phrase — used twice in The Reproaches — “you have prepared a Cross for your Savior.”

It’s a piercing indictment, as it confronts us with the paradox that the very people God loved and rescued responded by crucifying him.

Here is the version of The Reproaches that we recited. Our pastor read the part of God, and six times we in the congregation recited this refrain: “Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, have mercy upon us.”

The Reproaches

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Testify against me. I brought you forth from the land of bondage, and led you through the waters of salvation, and you have prepared a Cross for your Savior.

People: Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.

I led you through the desert forty years, and fed you with the bread of heaven; I brought you into the land of promise, and you have prepared a Cross for your Savior.

People: Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.

What could I have done for you that I have not done? I planted you, my vineyard, to bear sweet fruit; but you have become very bitter to me, and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

People: Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.

I passed over your first-born and delivered them from death, and you have delivered me into the hands of my enemies; I led you in the pillar of cloud, and you have led me into the judgment hall of Pilate. O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Testify against me.

People: Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.

I struck down the kings of the Canaanites for your sake, and you struck my head with a reed; I gave you a royal inheritance, and you have crowned my head with thorns. O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Testify against me.

People: Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.

I opened the rock and gave you to drink from the water of life, and you have opened my side with a spear. I raised you on high with great power, and you have hanged me high upon the Cross. O my church, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Testify against me.

People: Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us.