church of the cross lenten guide 2016

The Way of the CrossChurCh of the Cross

Lenten Guide 2016

I N T RO D U C T I O N

God, out his abundant love and power, is restoring the whole of His creation. God has graciously invited us, frail human beings, to participate in this work. He has made our participation possible through the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ, who frees us from everything that keeps us from participating with God, and the sending of His Holy Spirit, who strengthens us to participate and to invite others into this glorious work.

More than the means that makes our participation with God possible, Jesus also shows us what that participation looks like. In the way he lived his life, we see what it means to walk in participation with God.

This guide is intended to help us consider and more fully embody Jesus’ way of life. Throughout the Lenten season we will look closely at some features of Jesus’ life and reflect on what it might look like to pattern our life after His.

Each entry in this guide consists of a passage of Scripture, a series of questions to prompt discussion and personal reflection, and a written prayer, mostly collects from the Book of Common Prayer, to prompt our prayers as we seek to follow Jesus.

As we begin, it is my prayer that you will know God’s delight in and acceptance of you, right where you are, hear his invitation to participate in his glorious work, and experience the strength and power of his presence by the Holy Spirit. May each of us be encouraged to more fully follow Jesus in the whole of our lives!

Peace,Peter+

Apprentices to Jesus

1

If you had to pick, who or what has been the most influential thing in the shaping of your life?

How has this shaping taken place?

Apprenticeship — Reproduction of a painting by Emile Adan (1839-1937)

In Matthew 5:3-12 Jesus lists a series of blessings; blessing a particular way of life. Rather than commands or ideals, Jesus statements are best read as a description of reality; on account of Jesus’ presence, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” and so on.

As you read these blessings, invite the Holy Spirit to illuminate the reality to which these words point.

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they shall be satisfied.7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons

of God.10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’

sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute

you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

How do Jesus’ statements about reality compare with your experience? Where do they match up? Where do they diverge?

Matthew 5:3–12

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What do these blessings suggest about reality? What would have to be the case for these blessings to true? Is that an attractive vision of reality or not?

When you consider Jesus’ life what are the characteristics, qualities, and actions that come to mind? How do you see the blessings of Matthew 5 embodied in his life?

As you consider Jesus life what is attractive to you? What dissuades you or might be unattractive to you?

If your life currently lived, in Austin in the 21st century, were to be patterned more fully after Jesus’, what might that look like? What would change? What would stay the same? What habits would cultivate this kind of Jesus-like life?

Close in prayer.

O God, who before the passion of your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“ Christianity has always insisted that the cross we bear precedes the crown we wear. To be a Christian, one must take up his cross, with all of its difficulties and agonizing and tragedy-packed content, and carry it until that very cross leaves its mark upon us and redeems us to that more excellent way which comes only through suffering.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr. (Strength to Love)

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The week of Ash Wednesday

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During this week, as groups are not meeting and the season of Lent begins, take some time to prayerful review

this Litany of Penitence, which we will pray together during Ash Wednesday services. Invite the Lord to reveal

where He might be calling you to amend your life.

Pieta — Reproduction of a painting by Giovanni Bellini

L I TA N Y O F P E N I T E N C E

Most holy and merciful Father: We confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.

Have mercy on us, Lord.

We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.

Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives,

We confess to you, Lord.

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people,


Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves,


Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and

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our dishonesty in daily life and work,


Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us,


Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,

Accept our repentance, Lord.

For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us,


For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us,


Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us;

Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.

Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,

That we may show forth your glory in the world.

By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord,

Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

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Intimacy with the God Jesus Knows

3

If you had to pick, who or what has been the most influential thing in the shaping of your life?

How has this shaping taken place?

Christ in the Wilderness — Reproduction of a painting by Ivan Kramskoy

When you think about your deepest friendships, of those who know you best, what are the activities and experiences that have forged these relationships and bonds?

Read Mark 1:9-13 and invite the Holy Spirit to help you to see Jesus and God the Father more clearly.

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” 12The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. 14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Take a moment to read this passage a second or third time. What sticks out to you? What do you notice from this passage that speaks to Jesus’ relationship with the Father and the pattern of his life?

Immediately following His baptism and just before his public life began, Jesus is in the wilderness. Throughout the Gospel of Mark Jesus’ public work is punctuated by points of solitude (1:35, 1:45, 3:13, 6:45-46, and others), where Jesus withdraws to be alone in prayer or with a small group of intimate friends. How might these times of solitude and prayer have been connected to Jesus’ actions and work in the world?

Mark 1:9-13

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What effect do solitude and prayer have? How do they foster intimacy with God?

What does this passage suggest about Jesus’ relationship to God? What connection might exist between Jesus’ relationship to God and His way of life? How might hearing what the voice says in verse 11 have impacted Jesus’ life and work?

Consider your ideas of who God is and His heart toward you. How might these thoughts impact the way that you pursue intimacy with God?

What role might solitude and prayer play in recalibrating your vision of God, helping you to see and know Him as Jesus does? What other practices might help you in this?

Close in prayer.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Service

4

When have you most clearly experienced someone else putting your needs and desires ahead of their own?

What was this experience like?

Crucifixion — Reproduction of a section of the Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grunewald

1So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from self ish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In verses 4 and 5 Paul connects looking to the interests of others with the mind of Jesus. Where do you see this mind played out in Jesus’ life?

In verses 6 and 7 the apostle Paul contrasts Jesus’ action of emptying himself with grasping equality with God. How does “emptying oneself” connect with service? How does “grasping” inhibit looking to the interests of others?

Where do you see the temptation to grasp in the life of our city? Where do you experience it in your own life? How does this affect your life?

What kinds of service come easy to you? What kinds of service are difficult? What kinds of people are easy or difficult for you serve? Why might this be the case? What

Philippians 2:1-11

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keeps you from service? What inspires and encourages you in serving others?

This week, consider the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Place yourself in the role of the different characters: the man set upon, the priest, the Samaritan himself. What might God be saying to you through this parable? Where might God be inviting you into service in your life more fully?

“ God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work which He has not committed to another….I have a part in a great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall love as Christ loved, I shall do his work.”

– John Henry Newman

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but f irst he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life, and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

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Celebration

5

What is the best party or celebration you’ve ever experienced? What made it the best?

Lead Us Not — Reproduction of a Lenten poster by Susanne Cruikshank

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

What was the joy set before Jesus? How might this joy have encouraged him in his journey to the cross?

Where, if at all, do you see signs of joy and celebration in Jesus’ life in the Gospels?

Elsewhere, Jesus is described as “a man acquainted with grief” (Is. 53:3), and James implores Christians to “consider it joy” when they encounter trials ( James 1:2-4). What might it mean to authentically continue in joy and celebration while encountering trial and grief? Is there anything in Jesus’ life that points to how he is able to do this? What practices might sustain us in this?

Hebrews 12 points us to a “great cloud of witnesses” and also to Jesus as “the founder and perfecter of our faith”. What affect might these facts have on us as we pattern our lives after Jesus? How could they contribute to our joy?

Do you find it easy to celebrate and rejoice over the good things of life? Why or why not? sustain us in this?

Hebrews 12 points us to a “great cloud of witnesses” and also to Jesus as “the founder and perfecter of our faith”. What affect might these facts have on us as we pattern our lives after Jesus? How could they contribute to our joy?

Do you find it easy to celebrate and rejoice over the good things of life? Why or why not?

Hebrews 12:1-2

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O heavenly Father, who has filled the world with beauty: Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all thy works; that, rejoicing in your whole creation, we may learn to serve thee with gladness; for the sake of him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

G.K. Chesterton

You say grace before meals

All right.

But I say grace before the play and the opera,

And grace before the concert and pantomime,

And grace before I open a book,

And grace before sketching, painting,

Swimming, fencing, foxing, walking, playing, dancing;

And grace before I dip the pen in ink.

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Humility

6

Would you characterize yourself as a humble person?

Why or why not?

Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet — Reproduction of a painting by Ford Madox Brown

Read John 13:1-14, ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you through this passage and the example of Jesus serving the disciples.

1Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

John 13:1-14

Read this passage a second time. What sticks out to that speaks to the topic of humility?

How else did Jesus manifest humility in his life?

In verses 1 and 3, John makes reference to Jesus’ knowledge of His identity in relation to God and of His mission. How might this knowledge be connected to His humility?

How might knowing who we are in relation to God enable us to walk in humility?

A common Christian definition of humility is “self-forgetfulness”. Do you agree with this definition? Why or why not?

In what ways might our humility bless others and bear witness to the Gospel?

How does someone grow in humility?

Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

With Company

7

Do you enjoy working with a team, or do you prefer working alone? Why?

Simon of Cyrene — Reproduction of a painting by Vecellio di Gregorio

36Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the f lesh is weak.” 42Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

In this passage, Jesus calls his closest followers and friends to be near to him in an hour of great need. What other examples are there of Jesus’ dependence upon others in His life in the Gospels?

How does seeing Jesus’ need for others affect your perspective of him?

In verse 38 Jesus invites his friends to “watch” or “stay awake” with him. How might this have been a comfort to Jesus in this moment? What might it mean to “remain” and “watch” with others as they follow Jesus?

Matthew 26:36-45

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Or as they encounter sorrow? What might it mean for others to “watch” with you?

Preacher and scholar Thomas Long has suggested that Jesus words in v. 38 can best be understood as “urging them to watch alertly for the coming of the kingdom.” He goes on “when evil in the world holds sway, the children of the kingdom are watchful for the coming of God’s deliverance (Matt. 24:44); even though the hour is late and the gloom is deep, they stay awake expecting salvation to arrive with a joyful shout out at any minute (Matt. 25:13)” (Matthew, Westminster Bible Companion, 300). What would it look like for you “to watch alertly for the coming kingdom”? What role might others play in helping you to maintain this posture?

As you think about patterning your life after Jesus, in what ways do you feel you have others with you on the way? What does it mean to “have company” as you follow Jesus?

How might God be calling you to come alongside others as they follow Christ?

Pray for your Neighborhood Group and for Church of the Cross, that we would truly share life together and encourage and build one another up in following Jesus.

Blessed God, who makes all things new: Grant that this young community of Word and Sacrament may be leaven for the world’s bread, and wine of delight for hearts in need; a gathering strong for service and glad in praise; and a people listening and responding to your presence in their midst; through Jesus our redeemer and steadfast companion. Amen.

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The Way of Life

8

What activities bring you the most joy and life?

What do you think this suggests about you?

Resurrection — Reproduction of a section of the Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grunewald

24But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not f ind the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words,9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

What difference, if any, does Jesus’ resurrection make in your life? What differences does it make as you think about following Jesus on the way of the cross?

Luke describes the f irst witnesses to the resurrection as perplexed, frightened, and f inally marveling. How do you identify with these reactions?

In Luke’s telling, Peter only marvels after stooping to look in the tomb. Stooping is a posture of humility. In what ways might humility be essential to experiencing the way of the cross as the way of life?

Luke 24:1-12

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After Jesus’ resurrection, he claimed all authority in the earth and promised to be with his followers always (Matthew 28:16). How does this claim and promise affect how we follow Jesus?

Where do you most need to experience Jesus’ presence with you as you follow after Him?

In this season of Eastertide, pray for a deeper understanding of the reality and hope of the resurrection, and for a profound sense of the way of the cross as the way of life.

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Most gracious God, we give you thanks for your tender love in sending Jesus Christ to come among us, to be born of a human mother, and to make the way of the cross to be the way of life.

— The Book of Common Prayer, The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage

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“ He was not merely a man so good as to be ‘like God’ – He

was God. Now this is not just a pious commonplace; it is not a

commonplace at all. For what it means is this, among other things:

that for whatever reason God chose to make man as he is – limited

and suffering and subject to sorrows and death - He had the

honesty and the courage to take His own medicine. Whatever

game He is playing with His creation, He has kept His own rules

and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that He has not

exacted from Himself. He has Himself gone through the whole

human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the

cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst

horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death. When

He was a man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and

died in disgrace and thought it well worth while.”

—Dorothy Sayers

Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary — Reproduction from a painting by Raphael

church of the cross lenten guide 2016

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