Meditation in Lent ~ Holy Week: Good Friday ~ An Ending that isn't over... '24

March 29, 2024 ~ Holy Week: Good Friday

The Gospel of John 18:1-19:42

     In Wilmington, Delaware USA on Good Friday, for several years prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, my Episcopal Parish and choir of Sts. Andrew and Matthew (SsAM), with members of other congregations of various denominations, gathered to walk the city streets in procession, stopping at 8 different places that were designated as our Urban Stations of the Cross for that particular year. Some of the places chosen over time were community centers, shelters, food distribution organizations, the State Building housing criminal courts and State Offices, and neighborhood sites of prior and recent violence and death.

    Traditionally there are 14 Stations but in the interest of time and coordinating with the City for assistance in crossing busy streets, etc., 8 were chosen each year. The procession returned to SsAM for the 8^th Station and a concluding prayer service. It was a humbling privilege to be asked to write the prayers for these Urban Stations each year being joined with the others who wrote for and planned these powerful experiences. The following was my contribution to the walk of 2017.

    If you have never experienced the Stations of the Cross, or even if you have many times, follow along as if on the walk in this year, in a personal meditation, through the last hours of the earthly life of Jesus.

 

1.      Jesus is condemned to die – Truth

Jesus, Scapegoat of Cowards, Messiah of Humanity, You were condemned to earthly death by the will of the self-interested, who, fearing loss of their local power, fueled and manipulated the rage of the discontented. As we walk through our human time, let us look deeper into Your Gospel to find our guidance, seeking the True Life of eternity with You.

Christ, Lord of Life, Now and Forever

Grant us courage to follow and stand fast in Your TRUTH

2.      Jesus takes up his cross – Fortitude

Jesus, Messiah of Humanity, with courage and determination, You took on the cross, bearing its worldly weight upon your scourged and weary shoulders. Help us, in everyday moments and our deepest darkest times, to see Your cross as a symbol of survival, on our way to the never-ending joy of Life without shadow in Love’s Pure Light.

Christ, Lord of Life, Now and Forever

Strengthen our hearts to persist in this life with Your FORTITUDE

3.      Jesus falls for the first time – Perseverance

Jesus, Messiah of Humanity, even in a most weakened physical state, You are our model of endurance, an example of pushing on through excruciating pain ~ physical, emotional, and spiritual ~ even in the most brutal stages of Life. As our Perfecter of Faith, reinforce our willingness to get up again and again and again, whenever we fall down in our faith in You.

Christ, Lord of Life, Now and Forever

Empower us to run with PERSERVERANCE the race to everlasting peace.

4.      Jesus meets His Mother – Tenderness

Jesus, Messiah of Humanity, this exquisite yet tragic image of Mother-Son love reaches profoundly into the essence of us all. Infuse our souls with the instinct to protect and shelter each other in the midst of Life’s traumas – loved ones and strangers alike – as we are sheltered by Your Saving Grace.

Christ, Lord of Life, Now and Forever

Inspire our hearts to reflect and offer the TENDERNESS of Your perfect love.

5.      The Cross is laid on Simon of Cyrene – Hope

Jesus, Messiah of Humanity, as even the strongest need a helping hand in a difficult time of Life, relieve us of our reluctance to give aid to another in trouble, for whatever the burden and whatever the cost.

Christ, Lord of Life, Now and Forever

May the infinite HOPE of Your Sacrifice dwell deeply in our souls.

6.      Jesus and the women of Jerusalem – Compassion

Jesus, Messiah of Humanity, in Your most difficult moment in human Life, You show us an extraordinary example of empathy for others. Assist us as we strive to follow Your Commandments to love God, and to love others as if they were ourselves.

Christ, Lord of Life, Now and Forever

Grant us the COMPASSION to know ourselves and others as Your very own.

7.      The Crucifixion – Acceptance

Jesus, Scapegoat of Cowards, Messiah of Humanity, as Your mortal time waned upon the cross, Your steadfast spirit gave way to accepting this price for the redemption of every single human Life. Let us take a moment to be still, to breathe deeply, to ponder the depth and breadth of emotion, the wonder and awe, of the moment that Your being transformed from lifeless Human to Eternally Divine.

Christ, Lord of Life, Now and Forever

Empower our souls to know Repentance, Faith, Trust, and ACCEPTANCE of the trials of our Earthly time, caring for others as we care for ourselves, as our vehicle to Heavenly Glory. In the Shadow of Death there is Life, everlasting.

8.      Jesus is laid in the tomb – Life

Jesus, Messiah of Humanity, let us wait in quiet solitude, in the silence of the Tomb, for a radiant awakening in the dawn of New Life. Grant us a peaceful transition at our own time, being serenely willing and unflinchingly ready to rise again in Glory, free of sin and strife, through the magnitude of the Sacrifice by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Christ, Lord of Life, Now and Forever

Transform our mortal sojourn by the way of Your Truth, Fortitude, Perseverance, Tenderness, Hope, Compassion, and Acceptance, as we await Your Glorious Resurrection and the LIFE of the World to Come. AMEN.

 

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