Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck. Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can’t find a foothold. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me. I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me. Psalm 69:1-3

Our Lenten Journey ends on Holy Saturday – a day of keeping vigil. Waiting… Waiting for God to help. Waiting for the pandemic to end. Waiting for justice to finally be rendered. Waiting for the walls to finally break down. Sometimes, life feels like the time after crucifixion, when it is so hard to hold on to hope and lean into the promise of a better future; when we are so tired of the struggle and we want to give up. People who have been excluded live in this waiting space constantly—afraid to hope, and terrified if nothing changes. Today, live in that space and cry out to God. Tomorrow is a new day. A new journey begins.

Prayer: O God, Creator of heaven and earth:  Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

On this Good Friday, take time to read the prophecy of Isaiah and/or the story of Jesus’s crucifixion from the gospel of John. Where you do you see yourself in the stories? What part of the story especially captures your attention?

Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12

John 18:1-19:42

Prayer: Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. John 13:14-15

As we have gone through this Lenten season, we have confronted the walls that have been built to exclude groups of people from the fullness of God’s love. Race, Gender, Ethnicity, Orientation and Identity, class, status and more. Which wall was the biggest struggle for you to break down? How does the fact that Jesus washed the feet of Judas, who would soon betray him, challenge your ideas about who should (or shouldn’t) be included in your acts of kindness and service?  What act of “foot washing” can you do today?

Prayer: Almighty Father, on the night before Christ suffered, he showed his disciples the full extent of his love by washing their feet.  May we now follow his example, taking up the towel and serving those who are the “last and the least” in his name.  May our love, like the love of your dear son, not be reserved for those that are like us or those the we selectively choose to like, but be lavished freely on each person we meet on our journey.  We ask this for your glory. Amen. 

As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. Luke 9:51

Jesus was aware of what he would face in Jerusalem. On several occasions he had predicted his rejection and death at the hands of those who rejected his message of the kingdom of heaven.  Yet, he did not let that change his course. He still set out for Jerusalem with resolve. Breaking down walls is difficult work—and it is often met with opposition from those who prefer the status quo. But Jesus reminds us that the cause of the kingdom is greater than our personal comfort and safety. What cause are you passionate about? What would you be willing to “lose” for that cause?  How does Jesus’s resolve give you strength in the struggle? 

Prayer: Lord, we live in a world filled with inequality that causes deep pain and anguish. You showed us by your life that you are committed to God’s new creation no matter the cost. Fill us with a passion for your justice and mercy. Renew in us a commitment to the mission of the gospel – releasing captives, ending oppression, breaking down walls.  Help us to resolutely follow in your footsteps on your way through Jerusalem to the reality of the kingdom of heaven, when God’s will WILL be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. Mark 11:15-16

One of the most provocative acts of Jesus was to disrupt the economy of the temple, flipping tables and chairs of money changers and those selling animals for sacrifices. His direct action not only drew attention to the oppressive economic system, but was primarily done to advocate for the proper use of the Court of the Gentiles – the only part of the temple mount that was accessible to them for prayer. Who can you think of that doesn’t have access to the physical, mental or spiritual resources they need? What could you do to draw attention to their exclusion? How could you advocate for them?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, as you fearlessly confronted the forces of injustice – even turning over the tables of those who profited from oppression and acting boldly for the inclusion of outsiders in God’s reign – so grant us grace to courageously contend against evil and to make no peace with oppressors. Help us to employ our freedom to maintain justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name. Amen. Adapted from BPC (For Social Justice)

Then the Lord told [Moses], “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians….” Exodus 3:7-8a

Passover began at sundown on Friday, March 27 and will conclude at sundown on Sunday, April 4. This week, people of Jewish and Christian faith around the world will remember God’s liberation of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt – and the liberating work of God in the cross of Christ – the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. As we begin this final week of Lent, give thanks for the gift of freedom and deliverance from every power that enslaves us—including the “isms” that bind us from enjoying the fullness of God’s kingdom.
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Prayer: Faithful Midwife, as you delivered the Hebrews safely out of the long labor of slavery, so, morning by morning, you draw us forth into God’s new day. Surround us with a cloud of witnesses, and sustain us by your powerful word, that, in the night of loneliness and fear, we, being weary, may not lose heart but push toward the joy that is to come, laboring with Christ to give birth to your promised kingdom where all your children will be delivered from slavery to the powers of death and brought into the fullness of life eternal. Amen.