The Last Hours of Jesus' Life and his Burial
Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Series II, Cycle A Gospel Texts
Print these statements at the beginning of the order of worship: We are here to discover the meaning of death so that we, on Easter, will experience the joy of life. We will experience resurrection only after we experience crucifixion. We cannot have one without the other.
After ten minutes of silence, read, slowly and deliberately, Jesus' last words from the Cross. After the reading of each, give two minutes of silence; during the silence, ask the congregation to write down their thoughts and feelings. Following the silence, ask those who choose to share their insights and awarenesses. Prior to worship, you may want to ask three or four people to be prepared to share. Include children and young people in the experience. Give permission to everyone not to respond verbally. Also, ask someone from the back of the sanctuary to pound nails into a piece of wood, only during the reading of Jesus' words.
If you offer a meditation, consider these ideas: a) "One of the most solemn facts in all of history is the fact that Jesus was murdered, not merely by hooligans on a country road, but also he was condemned by everything that was most respectable in that day, everything that pretended to be most religious -- the religious leaders of that time, the authority of the Roman government, even the democracy itself, which shouted to save Barabbas the killer in preference to a manifestly good and innocent man" (Henry Butterfield). b) Jesus plainly says that "you will recognize me in the gaunt faces of the hungry, the parched throats of the thirsty, the shivering bodies of the naked, the feverish brows of the sick, the concealed masses of the imprisoned; and when you respond to such people, you are resurrected in my name" (author unknown).
Print these words in the bulletin: a) What, for me, is holy about Holy Week? b) How do I contribute to today's crucifixions with my time, resources, money, energy? c) Do I have anyone from whom I am alienated? What am I willing to do about that so I can pray, truthfully, the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive me my debts as I forgive my debtors"?
Conclude worship by singing, quietly, several of the Good Friday hymns; conclude the singing with "He Never Said a Mumblin' Word" (African-American spiritual).
Leave the sanctuary in silence.
Meditations
1. "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle" (author unknown).
2. "Common to all Christians and Jews and any creature created by God is the great commandment of love. True charity admits of no substitute. If we prostitute our love by admitting some and excluding others from our affections because they differ from us in race, religion, color, political beliefs, then we are counterfeit religionists and traitorous Americans" (Bishop Mark K. Carroll).
After ten minutes of silence, read, slowly and deliberately, Jesus' last words from the Cross. After the reading of each, give two minutes of silence; during the silence, ask the congregation to write down their thoughts and feelings. Following the silence, ask those who choose to share their insights and awarenesses. Prior to worship, you may want to ask three or four people to be prepared to share. Include children and young people in the experience. Give permission to everyone not to respond verbally. Also, ask someone from the back of the sanctuary to pound nails into a piece of wood, only during the reading of Jesus' words.
If you offer a meditation, consider these ideas: a) "One of the most solemn facts in all of history is the fact that Jesus was murdered, not merely by hooligans on a country road, but also he was condemned by everything that was most respectable in that day, everything that pretended to be most religious -- the religious leaders of that time, the authority of the Roman government, even the democracy itself, which shouted to save Barabbas the killer in preference to a manifestly good and innocent man" (Henry Butterfield). b) Jesus plainly says that "you will recognize me in the gaunt faces of the hungry, the parched throats of the thirsty, the shivering bodies of the naked, the feverish brows of the sick, the concealed masses of the imprisoned; and when you respond to such people, you are resurrected in my name" (author unknown).
Print these words in the bulletin: a) What, for me, is holy about Holy Week? b) How do I contribute to today's crucifixions with my time, resources, money, energy? c) Do I have anyone from whom I am alienated? What am I willing to do about that so I can pray, truthfully, the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive me my debts as I forgive my debtors"?
Conclude worship by singing, quietly, several of the Good Friday hymns; conclude the singing with "He Never Said a Mumblin' Word" (African-American spiritual).
Leave the sanctuary in silence.
Meditations
1. "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle" (author unknown).
2. "Common to all Christians and Jews and any creature created by God is the great commandment of love. True charity admits of no substitute. If we prostitute our love by admitting some and excluding others from our affections because they differ from us in race, religion, color, political beliefs, then we are counterfeit religionists and traitorous Americans" (Bishop Mark K. Carroll).
