20 1

Good Friday Meditation Service ‘The Things He Carried’

“The dark nails pierce him and the sky turns black We watch him as he labours to draw breath.

He takes our breath away to give it back, Return it to its birth through his slow death.

We hear him struggle, breathing through the pain, Who once breathed out his spirit on the deep,

Who formed us when he mixed the dust with rain And drew us into consciousness from sleep.

His Spirit and his life he breathes in all, Mantles his world in his one atmosphere,

And now he comes to breathe beneath the pall Of our pollutions, draw our injured air

To cleanse it and renew. His final breath breathes and

bears us through the gates of death.”

-Malcolm Guite - ‘Word in the Wilderness’

2

This is how the Gospel writers recorded Jesus’ Crucifixion

The soldiers assigned to the governor took Jesus into the governor’s palace and got the entire brigade together for some fun. They stripped him and dressed him in a red toga. They plaited a crown from branches of a thornbush and set it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand for a sceptre. Then they knelt before him in mocking reverence: “Bravo, King of the Jews!” they said. “Bravo!” Then they spit on him and hit him on the head with the stick. When they had had their fun, they took off the toga and put his own clothes back on him. Then they proceeded out to the crucifixion.

The Message Bible Matthew 27 v 27 - 31

The soldiers took Jesus into the palace (called Praetorium) and called together the entire brigade. They dressed him up in purple and put a crown plaited from a thornbush on his head. Then they began their mockery: “Bravo, King of the Jews!” They banged on his head with a club, spit on him, and knelt down in mock worship. After they had had their fun, they took off the purple cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they marched out to nail him to the cross.

The Message Bible Mark 16 v 16 - 20

When they crucified him, the Roman soldiers took his clothes and divided them up four ways, to each soldier a fourth. But his robe was seamless, a single piece of weaving, so they said to each other, “Let’s not tear it up. Let’s throw dice to see who gets it.” This confirmed the Scripture that said, “They divided up my clothes among them and threw dice for my coat.” (The soldiers validated the Scriptures!)

The Message Bible John 19 v 23 - 24

As you meditate in silence perhaps you will hear him whisper:

“I did it just for you”

19

For every sin on Him was laid Here in the death of Christ I live, I live There in the ground His body lay Light of the world by darkness slain Then bursting forth in glorious Day Up from the grave He rose again And as He stands in victory Sin's curse has lost its grip on me For I am His and He is mine Bought with the precious blood of Christ No guilt in life, no fear in death This is the power of Christ in me From life's first cry to final breath Jesus commands my destiny No power of hell, no scheme of man Can ever pluck me from His hand Till He returns or calls me home Here in the power of Christ I'll stand Let us close our worship time with a closing response -

Glory to God JESUS IS RISEN. ALLELUIA!

Glory to God

WHAT MORE CAN WE SAY?

Glory to God YOUR LIFE IS OUR STORY

Glory to God

YOUR LOVE IS OUR WAY

Ruth Burgess ‘Fire and Bread’ Wild Goose Publications

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord In the name of Christ. Amen

18

We commend ourselves, and all for whom we pray, to the mercy and protection of God. Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

C of E website

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation, to you be praise and glory for ever. As once you ransomed your people from Egypt and led them to freedom in the promised land, so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son. May we, the first fruits of your new creation, rejoice in this new day you have made, and praise you for your mighty acts. Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Blessed be God for ever.

Common Worship

Before we end this act of worship, let us either sing, or say, ’In

Christ Alone’, another favourite Easter hymn In Christ alone my hope is found He is my light, my strength, my song This Cornerstone, this solid ground Firm through the fiercest drought and storm What heights of love, what depths of peace When fears are stilled, when strivings cease My Comforter, my All in All Here in the love of Christ I stand In Christ alone, who took on flesh Fullness of God in helpless babe This gift of love and righteousness Scorned by the ones He came to save 'Til on that cross as Jesus died The wrath of God was satisfied

3

Good Friday Meditation Service ‘The Things He Carried’

Welcome and introduction Welcome to our Good Friday meditation service. This is the most solemn day in the Christian calendar and we are going to reflect upon some of the things Christ carried with him to his crucifixion

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of Glory died My richest gain I count but loss And pour contempt on all my pride See from His head, His hands, His feet So much sorrow and love flow mingled down Did e'er such love and sorrow meet Or thorns compose so rich, so rich a crown Were this whole realm of nature mine That were a present far too small Love so amazing, so divine Demands my soul, my life, my all My life, my soul, my all God help us There is a time for asking questions But there is also a day for decision. There is a time to discuss who Jesus is, But there is also a time to take up your cross and follow Him. There is a time to weigh the issues carefully, But there are issues that will not wait until tomorrow. If we wait until we understand everything We will wait for ever. If we do not follow the light which we do see, We will receive no more light. If we, today, miss this opportunity Then God help us.

Ian Cowie ‘Eggs and Ashes’ Wild Goose Publications

4

The Cross ‘but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!’. (NIV Philippians 2 v 7 - 8) He carried a large wooden beam - one half of a cross. They handed it to him like it was nothing. Like it could be thrown away: like they were going to throw him away, this thing of terrible beauty. He held the rough wood in his hands; gripped it, felt its shape, tested its weight, imagined the plane upon it, the axe striking the base of the trunk, the weight of the leaves upon the branches fluttering in the air of a spring day, breathing their last, gasping, falling, crashing down. He saw it dragged away, cut open, dissected, used. It was half a cross. He didn’t carry the whole thing, though that was how it would usually be remembered. Just the cross piece which his hands would be nailed to: he carried it. And he knew that when he reached the place of execution a stake would be ready, and the beam attached to it; and his hands nailed to it - actually his wrists, in - between the bones, so that the flesh would not tear, and he could hang there longer. He would be hoisted up. It would make a cross; and then his feet would be nailed into place.

‘The Things He Carried’ Stephen Cottrell Meditate on the cross and ask yourself how it feels to be overburdened? What is your heaviest load, greatest pain? 17

resound not only in these walls but touch the lives

of all we meet and forever be

the truth of which we speak. Your love,

once sown within a garden, tended for your own people,

neglected and rejected, now spreads its sweet perfume

in this place and wherever it is shown.

Alleluia!

Jesus is risen! He is risen indeed!

For the health and well-being of our nation, that all who are fearful and anxious may be at peace and free from worry: Lord, hear us, Lord, graciously hear us.

For the isolated and housebound, that we may be alert to their needs, and care for them in their vulnerability: Lord, hear us, Lord, graciously hear us. For our homes and families, our schools and young people, and all in any kind of need or distress: Lord, hear us, Lord, graciously hear us.

For a blessing on our local community, that our neighbourhoods may be places of trust and friendship, where all are known and cared for: Lord, hear us, Lord, graciously hear us.

16

Even now, even after Easter, Still we insist on trying to find you among the tombstones; among long - dead dogmas, in old, decaying fears and hurts, in the guilts and resentments we inhabit like a coffin. But the angel said: Why do you look for him among the dead? He is not here! Lord Jesus, help us to lay down the graveclothes. roll away the stone, and come out into life, here and now. We will find you, among the living, ahead of us, going to Galilee we seek. You have wrestled death to the ground, and now there is nowhere we can go, no darkness we can enter, which is not God - encompassed

Ruth Burgess and Kathy Galloway ’Fire and Bread’ Wild Goose Publications

Have a period of quiet and think if you are looking for Jesus in the wrong places and if so, will you now begin looking for him in different places?. Let us pray to the Lord, who is our refuge and stronghold.

Love poured out, and into these hearts,

who drink from a stream that never runs dry

Alleluia! Jesus is risen!

He is risen indeed!

May this declaration

5

A Crown of Thorns ‘They plaited a crown from branches of a thornbush and set it on his head.'

(The Message Bible Matthew 27, v 29) He carried a crown of thorns. The soldiers’ logic had a brutal simplicity. A cruel, schoolboy logic. He had said he was a king, so dress him up as one. A purple robe. Some twisted thorn. A makeshift crown. Briers and acacia. The barbed wire of the bush. Harvest it gingerly. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. Stack him up. Salute him. Stretch him. Strike him. Scratch him. Scar him. Skewer him. Scoff and kick him. And afterwards the grazed hands of the harvesters plunged into basins of cool water for relief. And smiling at each other, wink and reminisce. A good cracking joke. They made him a kind of pantomime king. Something to laugh at. Something to scorn. They bowed before him and grinning they worshipped him. Then they beat him. They made fun of him, in the way bullies easily do when there is someone defenceless in their midst. Someone who won’t fight back. Someone who’s a bit different. Someone who makes claims that are easy to mock. His silence convicts him. That’s how they see it. A loser. They could crush so easily. He was a grasshopper under their feet. They would stamp him out.

‘The Things He Carried’ Stephen Cottrell Meditate on the soldiers and their actions and to ask yourself what it feels like to be ridiculed and what does it mean to say Jesus is King?

6

A Seamless Robe He carried a seamless robe. It was a thing of delicate beauty and of great craftsmanship, robust and at the same time light, woven in one piece from top to bottom; like the robe a high priest would wear as he went about his duties. Like everything else, it to would be taken from him. Freshly made, it billowed from the loom as it was released, completed. The freshness and the newness of it made you want to bury yourself in its folds. Or put it on. But there was a breeze that day. The air seemed to hang in the sky like a great, leaden weight; somewhere a fire was crackling. Dogs barked. Children cried out in fear or stared in bemused amazement. His sweat and blood stained the cloth. It hung to him, and where he had been lashed, the fibres of the material stuck to the congealing wounds. Around the hem, where the stitching was plain to see, the material was starting to fray. Something was unravelling, becoming undone. And he carried the seamless purposes of God: that was what he was carrying at this moment, though exhaustion and terror and the raw, uncomplicated torment of dying meant that he did not need to know he was carrying it, he just had to do it. He had arrived at a point where there were no choices left, except the one to utter words of forgiveness to those who were dealing with his death.

‘The Things He Carried’ Stephen Cottrell Meditate on the seamless robe by imagining a most beautiful piece of cloth, who made it, how was it made and how would you feel if you had something most precious taken away from you?

15

Through the ache of my tears, I feel wonder and joy. I wanted that moment to last forever, but he gave me a job to do, he sent me to tell the disciples what was happening. I saw angels this morning…. Angels and Jesus Now I know something of their glory and joy.

Ruth Burgess and Kathy Galloway ’Fire and Bread’ Wild Goose Publications

Have a period of quiet and think when you may have seen an angel and how it felt. Prayer (Looking in the wrong places) Lord Jesus, we are always looking in the wrong places, among the good and respectable people, when we should know you are to be found with the poor and disreputable and outcast. Lord Jesus, we are always looking in the wrong places, at a safe distance, but you come so close to us nearer to us than breathing. We look for you in churchy things but we are more likely to find you among the pots and pans. or around the kitchen table…. We look for you in buildings, But you walked the crowded streets, And shorelines …. And mountains…..

14

We fear your resurrection, unfathomable Lord, To follow you will cost us more than we dare afford. But yet the Gospel fires us: the price of love is paid, And we will not keep silence - though we are still afraid.

Liz Varley ‘Eggs and Ashes’ Wild Goose Publications

Love poured out

on that cruel cross, a blood offering

so we might go free.

(Pause)

Love poured out, infusing this world with rivers of grace and hope of rebirth.

(Pause)

Ruth Burgess ’Fire and Bread’ Wild Goose Publications

Mary’s story I saw angels this morning, in the garden. Angels asking me why I was crying - do angels understand sadness? do angels know what it’s like to lose someone you’ve loved, to not know where they’ve gone? Through my tears, I saw a man standing there in the distance. I thought he was the gardener. I asked him if he’d moved the body of Jesus and he spoke to me. He called me by name: ‘Mary.’ I turned to him… I answered him: ‘Teacher.’

7

His Followers’ Disappointments He carried his followers’ disappointments. They thought he was going to be a different kind of king. Heaven knows, he had tried. He had tried to etch eternity into the stubborn humanity of those who followed him, but now nearly all of them have abandoned him. Through eyes smarting with grief and narrowed by pain he looks out to see who will listen to the truth that is revealed in his death but there is hardly anyone there: just John, faithful, beloved John. He is still standing. He can also see his mother. She is bent over in grief, her body shaking with tears. Now and then her eyes reach upwards and he looks at her, but for once, he cannot tell what she is thinking. His disciples have gone. The shepherd has been struck and the sheep have been scattered. Even Peter, he had seen who Jesus was and was going to stand by him, but he denied him. They had followed him so far, but then they had fled. Jesus carried with him the knowledge of the moment: looking into Peter’s eyes and seeing the betrayal. And sharing bread with Judas and knowing what he was intending to do. And now, almost alone, almost accomplished, wondering: will they ever get it.? They wanted a different kind of Messiah. He had confounded them, and now they were embarrassed by him, endangered: and so they left him. They were in the shadow of darkness, the darkness you create when you turn your back on the light.

‘The Things He Carried’ Stephen Cottrell Meditate on the actions of the disciples and how does it feel to be let down?

8

The Hopes of God He carried the hopes of God God had spent everything - through covenants, through prophets, everything except himself. And now, it was in his life and in his death that this new covenant would be spoken. This is my servant… whom I uphold… This is my son, the beloved, listen to him…. These were the words from the Father that he carried to sustain him: the belief that God was at work in him reconciling the world to himself. He carried a new commandment to love one another. Love your enemies as yourself… Pray for those who persecute you .. If they force you to walk one mile, walk a second mile as well…. This is what he was doing now: the second mile of love. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter...

‘The Things He Carried’ Stephen Cottrell Meditate on what is your part in this story, and is it possible to love your enemies?

13

This is the Good News - an Easter affirmation This is the Good News - The grave is empty, Christ is risen. HALLELUJAH! This is the Good News - The light shines on the darkness, And the darkness can never put it out. HALLELUJAH! This is the Good News - Once we were no people, Now we are God’s people. HALLELUJAH! The following reading is based on Mark 16:1 - 8 The Sabbath day was over The Sabbath day was over, and through the grey of dawn The women crept in silence, bewildered and forlorn, To find the borrowed grave where their Master had been laid And offer love’s last homage although they were afraid. The tomb was broken open, the guard had fled away, The empty grave – clothes gleamed in the rising light of day. The body had been taken, no knowing why or how; The spices and sweet ointments had lost their purpose now. A stranger told the news that as yet they could not see: ‘The crucified is living, he waits in Galilee. Go tell his friends to follow, speak ut, be not dismayed!’ They ran, but spoke to no one, because they were afraid. By mystery of your Spirit you gave their message voice, The dumb were made to speak and the grieving to rejoice; For somewhere on their journey in truth they met with you: From death and dread and silence the word of life broke through.

12

This is an Easter Day in extraordinary times and before we begin our worship by singing or saying that well known Easter hymn - ‘Jesus Christ is Risen today!’, let us say an opening response for Easter Day - Glory to God JESUS IS RISEN. ALLELUIA! Glory to God WHAT MORE CAN WE SAY? Glory to God YOUR LIFE IS OUR STORY Glory to God YOUR LOVE IS OUR WAY

Ruth Burgess ‘Fire and Bread’ Wild Goose Publications

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!

Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia! Who did once, upon the cross, Alleluia! Suffer to redeem our loss, Alleluia! Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia! Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia! Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia! Sinners to redeem and save, Alleluia! But the pain which He endured, Alleluia! Our salvation hath procured, Alleluia! Now above the sky He's king, Alleluia! Where the angels ever sing, Alleluia! Sing we to our God above, Alleluia! Praise eternal as His love, Alleluia! Praise Him, all you heavenly host, Alleluia! Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia!

9

He Carried the Sins of The World He carried the harsh words that I reserve for those I love most. He carried the bruising resentfulness of my pride. He carried every one of the petty excuses that I use to defend myself. He carried the puffed - up charade of my vanity: my self - importance and my self - reliance. He carried every wrong decision I have ever made. He carried those moments of wilful wrong - doing, where I have stared down the right path, seen what it would cost me, and chosen the easy road instead. He carried the time I took delight in seeing someone suffer. He carried the times I have bullied and cheated. He carried the time I stole, and the time I fiddled my expenses claim, and the times I have separated sex from love, and all the lies I told, and the hundreds of times I never said thank you, and the thousands of times I was so self - obsessed that I was blinded to the good that I could do. He carried the times in the street, when I have seen him, and I have just walked by. He carried my broken promises, my deceit, my little hurts when I have let people down. He carried the big global horrors of war, the melting ice caps and diminishing rain forest as we plunder the resources of te earth. The raped child and the horror of the rapist - he carried it. He saw everything that separates all of us from God, and he pulled it all together, picked it up and carried it to the cross. God so loved the world... Father forgive them, they know not what they do…

‘The Things He Carried’ Stephen Cottrell Meditate on how it feels to be forgiven and to be put back together again?

10

A Final Prayer For Good Friday

Loving God, Your Son Jesus Christ carried us to the cross And shed his blood for us and brought us into

New community with you:

Help us to follow in his way, Deny ourselves and take up the cross he gives us,

And the world may learn his way of peace;

May his life and his purposes be alive in us this day, And may we be alive in him;

And when our hearts are broken,

And when the burdens of this life feel to great to bear, Take us to the cross,

And enable us to see here the great weight that Jesus carried;

For here we receive the affirmation of your love, The assurance of your promise, And the strength to persevere

For we ask it in his name

Amen

‘The Things He Carried’ Stephen Cottrell A message from your Father to you

‘I did it for you. I did it all for you’

This is the end of our meditative service.

Images from Veronica Rees National Gallery 11

This is the Good News - The grave is empty,

Christ is risen. HALLELUJAH!