I just lost the blog I had been working on for the last hour-and-a-half. Perhaps it’s just as well.
Good Friday dawned with a wash of gold in the eastern sky. It’s a soft morning in spring, by the sea. The air is cool, and fragrant with new grass and a breeze from the ocean. The loveliness of the day seems a gift to hold our prayer at the cross. And perhaps the best thing to do, on such a day, is drink in the beauty and sounds of spring, the deep silence and solemnity of the day beneath it all. Now is the time for depth, for quiet, for contemplation. Tonight we will hear the fourth and final poem of the Servant Songs. We see that the servant bears our grief, our sorrows, our oppression. Mark Throndveit writes of this text in WorkingPreacher: Second Isaiah frames his depiction of the Gospel in action with the divine speech that lets us, his readers, unlike those for whom the servant suffered, know in advance what is to come. This is the way God has chosen to redeem us. Is it any wonder the church, looking back through the lens of the cross, has found in this heart wrenching poem, a crystal clear portrayal of the events of God’s Good Friday?
You can read more here
Jesus himself speaks of the meaning of this day in John 12:32 “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people* to myself.”
The readings and prayers are:
Good Friday
April 2, 2010
Isaiah 52:13—53:12
Psalm 22 (1)
Hebrews 10:16-25 or Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
John 18:1—19:42
Prayer of the Day
Almighty God, look with loving mercy on your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, to be given over to the hands of sinners, and to suffer death on the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
or
Merciful God, your Son was lifted up on the cross to draw all people to himself. Grant that we who have been born out of his wounded side may at all times find mercy in him, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Look to Jesus, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:2)
Peace, P.A.