HOLY WEEK AT HOME

In an act of faith and solidarity, we are called to spend Holy Week without the usual presence of one another. Each day throughout this week, though, we can continue to come together in spirit with these daily devotionals as we are called to gather, reflect, pray, and act.As always, reach out! To each other, to your neighbors and friends. Gather your family around the table for a time of reflection or join with others on FaceTime or Zoom to do the same. Allow this experience to transform you in Christ and embolden you to express the love of God in new ways in this new time. While we are, in fact, all in this together, we specifically come together in manifest spirit to gather, reflect, pray, and act, as led by Christ.

GATHER

Have a member of your household lead or, if alone, read it as a silent meditation. If you connect via social media, have two or three people share the reading.

LEADER: On this day we gather to remember Jesus our Savior who loved us and gave himself for us. Let us draw near in full assurance of God's endless love and mercy.

ALL: We give our thanks and praise to Jesus Christ who carries our sorrows, heals our wounds, and redeems us from sin and death.

written by Marlene Kropf, in Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross: Good Friday Service

REFLECT

Read the scripture below as a silent meditation, have a member of your household read aloud, or have two or three people share the reading.

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:6  NIV

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

Romans 8:26  NIV

PRAY

Silence. There is so little of it in these times. Children have been raised with so much noise around them that many feel more comfortable with music playing while they study because they can’t handle the quiet.  We have added more and more noise and distraction into our lives that when we are placed in silence we tend to become uncomfortable. 

I often think of Jesus during his 40 days in the desert. As a mom, the thought of 40 days of silence sounds miraculous, but could I really be silent? We all have things in our lives that pull at us and keep us from any form of silence. But, in reality, if we take more than a few minutes of silence, we start to stress and get anxious, left wandering through our thoughts certain that there must be something more that we have to get done. 

Throughout scripture we are called to become silent in the presence of our God. It’s in the silence that we can really hear, can really sense, can really connect with our God.  Scripture even tells us that if we are unable to pray in that silence the Holy Spirit will intercede in our prayers for us. 

I think of Daniel, praying every day in secret. I think of Esther who was forced to keep her religion hidden and silent. And I think of Jesus who begged his disciples to be quiet and pray in the garden with Him. In the silence, in the still, we can connect on a deeper level than we could ever imagine

Pray that the Lord brings times of silence today. Time to reflect on the immeasurable sacrifice He made on the cross. And when we receive those times of silence may we stop, may we listen, and may we endure the silence for something more. Our world has had to slow down, take this time to slow down too. Press into the Lord. Pray for his path, His wisdom, His grace. Pray that you will be uplifted throughout this time and that silence may become more sacred to you.

ACT

Consider these ideas to extend acts of service, mercy, or grace to those around you and for your own well-being. 

• Are you slowing down enough to allow for growth and transformation? Make a time for meditation each day. Start with a deep breath.

• Join us for the virtual Good Friday Tenebrae service tonight at 7:00 p.m. This somber Good Friday service is characterized by gradually diminishing light to symbolize the darkness of Jesus' death and the hopelessness in a world without God.

• Gather seven candles today so that you can take part in the dimming light of the service this evening by extinguishing a candle at the end of each prayer.

• Tag your #onebasket2020 photos for the Virtual Easter Egg Hunt tomorrow. Re-read the Easter story then post a picture that includes an Easter egg along with what Easter means to you and the hashtag. Tag #2ndpc too or email your picture to Jordyn to be included in the hunt.

• NOTE: Make sure we can see your posts! An individual Facebook posts can be set to public. On Instagram, your account must be public for us to see your photo. And, as always, use discretion on social media and supervise your children as you would with any other time on the internet.