Take time to be quiet, perhaps light a candle.
Be still and know that I am God
Let us pray
Loving God, be with us as we join in fellowship in our own homes. Open our hearts to awesomeness of your love, made real for us through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. May we never lose the wonder of the cross. Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Hymn verse
And love that freely entered
The pit of life’s despair,
Can name our hidden darkness And suffer with us there.
Words from the cross
“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
(Luke 23: 46)
Reflection
Today is the day when we remember that Jesus gave up his life for our sakes. Fully human, fully divine—perfect in every way. And yet he willingly took all the sin of the world into the darkest pit of despair. And he did that for you, for me and for everyone.
Just think about that.
We hear how, during some of the terror attacks, parents have laid across their children to protect them from the attack—and some have died as a result.
Would you do that for your loved ones?
Would you do that for people who didn’t love you?
How would you feel if you had been the one protected from the attack? What would you want to say to your saviour? What would you be prepared to do for them?
Our only response to Christ’s sacrifice and to the love of God which allowed his son to be sacrificed in that way is to offer our lives completely to him. Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit, my life.
Action
Spend time in silence, taking yourself slowly through the 14 Stages of the Cross, and re-living Christ’s journey to death. Death for your sake.
Not all the stages are based on scripture (most are), but they paint a vivid picture of what Jesus must have gone through on Good Friday.
Pause after each stage and take time to reflect.
Jesus is condemned to death
Jesus carries his cross
Jesus falls for the first time
Jesus comforts his mother
Simon helps Jesus carry his cross
A woman offers comfort to Jesus
Jesus falls a second time
Jesus meets and comforts the women of Jerusalem
Jesus falls a third time
Jesus is stripped of his clothes
Jesus is nailed to the cross
Jesus dies on the cross
Jesus is taken down from the cross
Jesus is laid in the tomb.
Let us pray—a personal prayer
Christ, my Saviour,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking this lonely and frightening journey of suffering to the grave; all for my sake. Help me always to remember the power of the cross; that I can stand at its foot, fully forgiven and completely whole.
May your Spirit show me the ways I can offer my life, as you offered yours, in full obedience to God.
Through you, Christ Jesus, I offer my prayer.
Amen.