REMINDER:
Friday is a traditional day to meditate on the suffering and death of
Jesus and the Fridays of Lent have a particular claim on our hearts in
this regard. In Lent, then, Friday's Night Prayer will bring us to the
Cross of him who laid down his life that we might have life and have it
to the full... We've reflected on Jesus accepting his cross, Jesus carrying his Cross, Jesus falling under the weight of his Cross, encountering the face of Jesus as he carries his Cross and reflecting on the scene in Luke's gospel where Jesus, carrying his Cross, stops to comfort a group of women weeping over his suffering. Tonight on the eve of Holy Week, we reflect on the depths of God's love for us in the gift of his Son on the Cross.
In the holy week ahead of us, Lord,
we'll remember how - for our sakes -
you were betrayed, falsely accused, arrested, judged,
sentenced, scourged, spat upon, mocked, crowned with thorns,
stripped of your garments, humiliated, burdened by the Cross,
crucified, pierced by a lance and buried in a borrowed grave...
All of this,
for our sakes,
for the forgiveness of our sins:
you offered your life,
your mercy and your love
that we might have life
and have it to the full...
You did none of this to condemn us, Lord,
but only that we might be saved...
In the holy week ahead of us
help us remember, Lord,
that God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son
that whoever believes in you
might not perish
but have eternal life...
God so loved the world...
Be with us, Lord, as we lie awake,
pondering your suffering and death
and watch over us when we fall asleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in the promise of your peace...
Amen.
God So Loved the World by John Stainer
God so loved the world,
God so loved the world,
That he gave his only begotten son,
That whoso believeth,
Believeth in him should not perish,
Should not perish
But have everlasting life.
God so loved the world,
That he gave his only begotten son,
That whoso believeth,
Believeth in him should not perish,
Should not perish
But have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son
Into the world to condemn the world,
God sent not his Son
Into the world to condemn the world,
But that the world through him might be saved.
God so loved the world,
God so loved the world,
That he gave his only begotten son,
That whoso believeth,
Believeth in him should not perish,
Should not perish
But have everlasting life.
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