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... Last week we reflected on Jesus carrying his Cross, this week on Jesus falling under the weight of his Cross.
I'm not surprised you fell, Lord...
You'd been abused, beaten, crowned with thorns
- and then made to shoulder your Cross....
I'm sure the beams were heavy, Lord,
and made heavier by the burden of our sins,
the sins of all humankind: those who came before you,
those who were all around you
and those who were yet to come into the world...
So, the Cross you carried, Lord,
was weighted by my transgressions
you fell under the burden of my sins:
my lazy failures to do the right thing,
my petty grudges and resentments,
my narrow bias and prejudice,
my taking for granted
those who love me the most,
my stubborn refusal to forgive others,
my waste of my time, treasure and talent,
my self-serving lies and cheating,
my lustful thoughts and deeds,
my careless disregard for life
in all its shapes and forms,
my idle, destructive gossip,
my cowardly silences,
my hoarding, my greed, my selfish envy,
my finding time for everything
except for prayer and worship,
my isolating self-pity,
my taking, using, keeping what's not mine,
my infidelities, large and small
in commitments and relationships,
my unfair, unjust practices
my failure to be generous to those in need...
On your Cross, Lord,
you carried, you took away the sins of the world
and so you carried the weight of my sins
and your took away the sins of my soul...
Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner...
Christ Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner...
Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner...
Lord Jesus, by your Cross and Resurrection
you have set me free,
you are my Savior and the Savior of the world...
Protect me as I stand at the foot of your Cross, Lord
and watch over me when I fall asleep in its shadowthat awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your saving peace...
Amen.
(Jesus carried our sins not in judgment, but out of love.
He carried the Cross so that he might carry us home
to his Father and to the place prepared for us in heaven.
Our music tonight is a song of merciful compassion...)
Carry Me Home by Rick Modlin
End of day softly falling into night.
O Jesus, carry me home.
Now the work of the present day is done.
O Jesus, carry me home.
Carry me home, carry me home.
O Jesus, carry me home.
Carry me home, carry me home.
O Jesus, carry me home.
Joyful song, joyful laughter silent fall.
O Jesus, carry me home.
Pure and bright shall the mem'ry linger on.
O Jesus, carry me home.
In God's hands to forever safely rest.
O Jesus, carry me home.
Now fulfilled in creation's wondrous plan.
O Jesus, carry me home.
As my last prayer ascends,
'round me family and friends.
Carry me home, carry me home.
O Jesus, carry me home.
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