HOLY WEEK AT HOME
We begin this Holy Week here, together, in prayer. Each day throughout the week we can come together, agaIn, in spirit around these pillars of Christian community as we gather, reflect, pray, and act. Whether you are by yourself or with family in this time of isolation, know that you are not alone. 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.
Let's gather.
This special Holy Week edition of the 40 Days of Prayer developed for Second Presbyterian, adapted in part from www.stillpointsa.org.au and www.beaheart.com.
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: Though we have known hardship and pain, though life has not always turned out as we had hoped, we will stand here and say:
ALL: God’s steadfast love endures forever!
LEADER: Though life becomes more complex, the deepest questions remain unanswered, and the mystery of faith deepens, we will say:
ALL: God’s steadfast love endures forever!
LEADER: And though the pain of the world often seems more than we can bear or address, we will stand firm in our faith and say:
ALL: God’s steadfast love endures forever!
~ written by Ann Siddall, in Lent to Easter liturgies: Year C.
Posted on stillpoint.unitingchurchsa.org.au/
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.
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Matthew 21:1-11 NIV
PRAY
Jesus knew he was headed to his death. He asked his disciples to find a young donkey and on the way into the city there was a true celebration. Men and women lined the streets waving palms and singing, "Hosanna in the highest" and laying their cloaks before him. It was the last “mini-Easter” before Resurrection Sunday!
Jesus gives us a beautiful picture of what it is to celebrate in a time of fear and the unknown. The Messiah had come, not on a grand white horse, but a donkey. He lived among them, taught them how to love and, even as he rode toward his death, he celebrated all that was to come.
Palm Sunday is a day to celebrate all that is to come. As we gather in our homes, around our tables, with our families… let us celebrate the Messiah who came only to end it all on Calvary.
Pray for the coming Holy week. As many of us are used to spending this time walking through the week together, we are forced to find a new path, a new way to walk together while we are apart. Pray for the Church as we walk through the holiest of weeks.
ACT
Consider acts of service, mercy, or grace upon which you could begin this Holy Week.
If you are able, perhaps take a walk (while respecting appropriate social distancing) and imagine Jesus entering triumphantly to your neighborhood and herald him in your heart.
Say a prayer of thanksgiving, for we are an Easter people and God's love endures forever.
Make a rainbow to display in a window to offer that hope to the world in what might feel like a dark time.
If you are alone or have a friend or family member that is alone, you might share this prayer via Zoom, FaceTime or some other social connecting media or share this post to foster community and conversation.