Jesus, we wait here by your tomb
carrying our grief;
the grief of the betrayer,
the grief of the denier,
the grief of the crucifiers.
We carry the grief of the lost,
the heartbroken, the bereft.
Upon you was laid the grief of us all.
It is finished.
God of endings, God of darkness,
God of the tomb, God of dark days and great loss,
be with us now as we wait with Jesus.
Go into your week
confident of God’s strong arms around you.
God’s arms will support you in your work,
and they will hold you when you rest,
they will keep you safe
every moment of the day and night.
Amen.
May the God who gave us this year
and the Saviour who walked at our side each day
and the Spirit who filled us with life abundant,
grace the coming year with peace and hope and joy,
Amen.
My brothers and sisters,
as we enter into this holy week,
let us keep our eyes on Jesus.
He will show us where we need to go.
By the tender mercy of our God
love has broken upon us!
Light is given where once there was darkness
and hope where there was only death.
We go into this season knowing
that God will guide our feet into the way of peace.
My friends, look for Jesus!
Seek him as a treasure in this great wide world.
Seek him in the eyes of your loved ones
and in the eyes of strangers.
May your heart burn within you
as the Lord draws close to you this week.
I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.
I love to write and to lead worship! If you are finding my writing helpful, I would love to hear from you! Feel free to use or adapt the material here, it is all written by me. If printing material, please credit “Copyright Carol Penner www.leadinginworship.com” (and say whether you modified it). If publishing, please contact me for permission. Contact me at carol@leadinginworship.com
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