by Lilly Lewin
We have made it to the end of Lent. We have made it through a year of a global pandemic. So much loss and so much suffering. Today is the day we remember the suffering and death of Jesus. We remember his betrayal, his trial, the torture before the cross, and his agony and death on the cross.
Three Crosses Fra Angelico
One of my prayer practices this week is using my coffee cup to pray with and today’s cup is the CUP of SUFFERING.
TODAY we pick up the Cup of Suffering. Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that God would remove the cup of suffering from him. But Jesus was willing to take the cup for each of us. And Jesus is with us in our suffering. As you drink from your up today, is there anything in your life you wish God would remove? Talk to God about this. Any areas of suffering where you need healing? Ask Jesus to heal you.
CUP of SUFFERING
As you drink from your cup today, take time to pray for those friends & family who are suffering.
Pray for people around the world who are suffering.
Pray for those who drink from cups of suffering on a daily basis. Places like Syria, and the US southern border. Places still in war and conflict, like Sudan, Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Venezuela.
Pray for the people who are suffering because of COVID-19 near you and around the world.
Go Deeper: READ Matthew 26, John 18:1-19:42
Digital Stations of the Cross
Another way to remember what Jesus did on Good Friday is to Pray the interactive Stations of the Cross HERE . This interactive digital experience was created last year by my friend, Pastor Edward Goode, of Cincinnati. It took the experiential stations that I created years ago for in person prayer and made them better!
Each station follows a similar pattern. There is a video to watch that includes a reflective activity for you. Please scroll down on each page for further notes, questions, and activities including sharing comments. Several stations invite you to share in the comments section about what comes to your heart.
Take your time in this journey. It is designed to be experienced in one sitting but if you need to leave and come back, you can just return to whatever step you left. To do it in one sitting will likely take at least 45 minutes.
As you heard in the video, there are some supplies to gather before you begin.
- A blank piece of paper
- A marker or pen
- A piece of scrap paper or scrap cloth
- A piece of string or ribbon at least 8″ long (but longer might be helpful)
- A band-aid
- A place to wash your hands
- A bottle of vinegar and a small glass
- A nail, a toothpick, or a pin
- A seed and a place to plant it
Ed Goode also created an amazing new experience for Holy Week this year using a different Labyrinth to walk and pray with each day. Each day there is a printable finger labyrinth to use and a guided video reflection walking that labyrinth. Pray the interactive Holy Week with Labyrinths HERE.
Pray with the labyrinth
Finally, I love to experience scripture through art! Vanderbilt Divinity School has a beautiful slide show with amazing art that goes with the lectionary for this Good Friday. Check that out HERE.
Pieta by van gogh
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
2 comments
I’m glad to have read this before filling my coffee cup this morning. It will change how I sit, sip, reflect, and pray. And thank you for gathering all these opportunities for us to go deeper today.
I believe that Jesus endured His Passion with joy:Hebrews 12 v 2 the moment that He prayed: “Not my will be Thine.
because this was predicted before the foundation of the world and He always did what pleased His Father.
(Is it not true for us when we pleased the parent for something difficult. I was a boy who had to mow the lawn with a manual lawn mower. . And during summer I had to cut down all the tall brush in our extended drive way that we did not use: Perhaps 30 yards long and as wide as a driveway. It was so hard that I had to do a little at a time.
Also, last fall I had COVID-19 like painful pneumonia when I had to stay in the hospital for 12 days getting antibiotics in my vein. I had such pain that was hard to breathe for 33 hrs. (I believe that I needed this because it was time for me to
be joyful in my trouble. I had taught Romans 5 vs 2-5 but never had joy in it till then.)
Even just as important I obeyed my motto for 2020 Psalm 71 v 20. ” You Who have shown me great and severe troubles shall revive me again. Also, Psalm 41 v 3: “The Lord will strengthen him on the bed of illness and care for him on his sickbed.”