Good Friday: The Revelation of the Cross

Transcription

1 Good Friday: The Revelation of the Cross

2 The season of Lent, and this prayer walk, are meant to be a spiritual journey between you and God alone. And as such, we don t want to fill in all of the blanks for you. Instead, this booklet exists to provide language that might help you draw closer to God, and to understand the struggles within yourself. Consider turning your cell phone off, and asking God for a revelation, as you take your time walking, praying, and listening, to really hear what Christ has been trying to whisper to your heart. Begin by reading the first reflection, Jesus Prays In The Garden. As you walk around the building, or on the path at the back of our property, read the following pages. Take time between each reflection to consider the emotions or pictures that stuck your mind. Perhaps ask Why is that standing out to me? Is there a course or action I am supposed to take? Now. Before you begin, take a moment now to empty your mind of all that plagues you. Let go of work struggles, of family trouble, of financial concerns, of worrying illness.and just focus on the breath coming in and out of your lungs...breathe in peace and rest...breathe out stress and worry. Resurrection Sunday Is Coming We know that this is not the end of the story. But there is a period of waiting a time to feel the emptiness and space between death and life. Take a moment to mentally retrace your steps What raised questions for you? What impacted you most and why? What do you most want to say to Jesus during this time of waiting? What do you most want Jesus to say to you? Is there something that needs to be resurrected in you? Take the last few minutes before you go back to your busy day, to ask God to reveal the dry bones in your own life.breathe in the Goodness of our Father....Breathe out the distractions of this world..take as long as you need to center yourself on Him before you continue on the walk ahead. Enjoying the peace that comes with being silent in the presence of God, walk until you find a good stopping point. Then read the section titled Jesus Prays In The Garden. If you do not wish to keep this booklet, please replace it in the box where you got it, so that it may be recycled.

3 Jesus Crucified, Dies When the throng finally reaches the top of the hill called Golgotha, Jesus is stripped of his remaining clothing. He is stretched on the cross. Roman soldiers drive spikes into his wrists and feet, pinning him to the crudely fashioned wooden cross. They hoist up the cross, bearing the Savior of the world, and fix it in place. On either side of Jesus are two thieves also condemned to die. How incredible is it that he is even still alive. Each breath is a struggle, as Jesus must leverage himself slightly up on the cross so that his lungs may expand. A sign is affixed on top of the cross which reads King of the Jews Within 3 agonizing hours, Jesus shouts It is finished! He breathes his final breath...jesus is dead. Later, Jesus lifeless body is taken down from the cross. In secret, one of the religious leaders who believes in Jesus receives permission from Pilate to bury Jesus in his own prepared tomb. The weeping women from his walk to Calvary wrap Jesus body in cloth. They wish to do more to prepare his body for burial, but it is dark and late and the Sabbath is beginning. Jesus is hurriedly laid in the tomb. The one sent from God is dead. His cold body lies alone in a borrowed tomb. Hope is gone. Confusion reigns. All indications are that Death has won Stop and close your eyes...enter into the darkness of the tomb. Resist the urge to flee quickly. Spend time in death with Jesus. Jesus Prays In The Garden After sharing a final meal with his disciples, Jesus leads them to a hillside garden outside the city of Jerusalem. He has one task in mind: to pray. Before the noise, stress and confusion of His arrest, trial, and crucifixion, Jesus takes time to pray in relative quiet. He tells His disciples His spirit is heavy. He feels crushed. He needs conversation with His Father. Jesus knows the next 12 hours will result in His bloody, painful, disgraceful death. So He makes one final plea to His Father: If there is any other way to do this, please let this cup pass from me! It is a cry of desperation. His disciples fall asleep. His closest friends will not be able to help. Jesus begs. But his desperation turns to quiet resolve and submissiveness to his Father. He ends his prayer, Not my will but your will be done Pray the following prayer you are praying with Jesus. Father, this night of dread and betrayal and denial causes a pause in my busyness. I do not understand Your ways, God. Even so, You give me the freedom to reposition myself in modest, vulnerable places. Just like Your son has done, and is doing. Like Jesus, I ask for the courage to move out from my nicely arranged patterns of security, and into dangerous places of newness where I fear to go. Not my will, but Your will be done Father. Amen

4 Before continuing, take a few moment to walk and reflect on what you ve just read and prayed...listen for God s whisper in the quiet. When you re ready, stop and read the next section: Jesus Is Arrested And Put On Trial. Jesus Is Arrested And Put On Trial While still in the garden, an angry mob arrives and Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss. Jesus is arrested by the guards of the religious leaders and subsequently put on trial. As you read the following, picture yourself at the scene you are present at Jesus trial In all that is transpiring early this Friday morning before Pilate, only the enemies of Jesus are participating. His many friends either do not yet know of his night arrest and early morning trial, or are in hiding lest they also be apprehended and judged worthy of death because they believe Jesus' teachings. Jesus appears before the court clothed in his usual garments and with his hands bound together behind his back. The entire court is startled and somewhat confused by his majestic appearance. Never have they gazed upon such a prisoner nor witnessed such composure in a man on trial for his life. More than a score of false witnesses are on hand to testify against Jesus, but their testimonies are so contradictory and so evidently trumped up that the Assembly themselves are very much ashamed of the performance. Jesus stands there, looking down benignly upon these perjurers, and his very countenance disconcerts the lying witnesses. Throughout all this false testimony Jesus never says a word; he makes no reply to their many false accusations. If you are able, kneel where you are, imagining the sounds of the crowd...the sounds of the women weeping. You are with Jesus as He falls under the weight of the cross Take time in prayer for those in our community who are under the strain of carrying their own crossbeam. Pray that they may feel the strength of Christ who has volunteered to help them carry the weight. Pray that they might feel the love of Christ who weeps for them and intercedes on their behalf. (Rise, and continue walking and reflecting...when you re ready, stop and read the next page.)

5 Before continuing, take a few moments to walk and reflect on what you ve just prayed...listening for God s response. When you re ready, stop and read the next section: Jesus Carries The Cross And Speaks To Friends Jesus Carries The Cross And Speaks To Friends Jesus is forced to carry the crossbeam of his own cross from the center of Jerusalem to a desolate hill a few miles outside the city gates. Already drained, beaten, bloodied, and weary from a sleepless night, Jesus struggles to carry out this task. He falls numerous times. The Roman soldiers eventually force a volunteer to help Jesus carry the crossbeam. After one of his stumbles, Jesus sees some of his followers in the crowd. These women are weeping, crushed by this tragedy. Jesus speaks to them, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. But Caiaphas, a High Priest who helped organize the plot to kill Jesus, can not longer endure the sight of Jesus standing there in perfect composure and unbroken silence. He suddenly thinks of one way in which the prisoner might be induced to speak. He rushes over to the side of Jesus and, shaking his accusing finger in the Master's face, says: "I adjure you, in the name of the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Deliverer, the Son of God." Jesus answers Caiaphas: "I am. Soon I go to the Father, and presently shall the Son of Man be clothed with power and once more reign over the hosts of heaven." When the high priest hears Jesus utter these words, he becomes exceedingly angry, and rending his outer garments, he exclaims: "What further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now have you all heard this man's blasphemy. What do you now think should be done with this lawbreaker and blasphemer?" The angry crowd answers in unison, "He is worthy of death; let him be crucified." Pilate finally stands and says "I find no fault in this man. Which, therefore, would you prefer that I release to you, this Barabbas, the murderer, or this Jesus of Galilee?" The chief priests and the councilors all shout at the top of their voices, "Barabbas, Barabbas!" And when the people saw that the chief priests were of a mind to have Jesus put to death, they quickly joined in the clamor for his life while they loudly shouted for the release of Barabbas. Give us Barabbas! (continued on the next page...)

6 Then once more Pilate says: "Why would you crucify this man? What evil has he done? Who will come forward to testify against him?" But when they hear Pilate speak in defense of Jesus, the crowd only cries out all the more, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Then again Pilate appeals to them regarding the release of the Passover prisoner, saying: "Once more I ask you, which of these prisoners shall I release to you at this, your Passover time?" And again the crowd screams, "Give us Barabbas!" Then says Pilate: "If I release the murderer, Barabbas, what shall I do with Jesus?" And once more the multitude shouts in unison, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Pilate is afraid of a riot, and he dare not risk having such a disturbance during Passover time in Jerusalem. The mob cheers when he orders the release of Barabbas. Then he orders a basin and some water, and there before the multitude, he shakily washes his hands, saying: "I am innocent of the blood of this man. You are determined that he shall die, but I have found no guilt in him. See you to it. The soldiers will lead him forth." And then the mob cheers and replies, "His blood be on us and on our children."......here stands the Son of God incarnate as the Son of Man. He was arrested without indictment; accused without evidence; judged without witnesses; punished without a verdict; and is now condemned to die by an unjust judge who confessed that he could find no fault in him. (continued on the next page...) Spend a few moments in the following prayers, taking time to listen for a reply between each phrase. Consider taking a few steps between each prayer as you allow the simplicity and truth of the words to wash over you Father, may my pursuit of happiness never come at the cost of someone else s freedom to do the same...may love and forgiveness for others be less and less optional...may I have enough faith in the truth that I happily abandon the temptation to sell it...even in conflict, may I see people as Beloved instead of problematic...may I be the same in character and posture regardless of my circumstances...father may I have vision and courage to join You in the places You re already working rather than feel responsible for bringing You. Amen.