#WatchAndPray reflections - Holy Week: Good Friday All creation weeps Holy Week: Good Friday Reading Matthew 27.45-54 From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’ Reflection The moment of Jesus’ death in Matthew’s Gospel is dramatic – not only for Jesus himself, but for the physical world. Darkness covers the whole land … the curtain of the temple is torn in two … the earth shakes and the rocks split … the tombs open and the dead are raised to life appearing to many” and it is all described as “an earthquake”. This is a way of describing the overwhelming experience of the created order. The earth weeps. Death and the grave are beside themselves. This is a death that shakes the universe. Indigenous spiritualities and Black spiritual traditions that are still close to creation and the environment know that there is a connectedness of all things. On Good Friday, Jesus dies on the cross. All of creation groans, and all of history weeps. Watch Spend time in silence today contemplating Jesus' death on the cross. ...and pray for a deeper and larger understanding of Jesus' life and death. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
#WatchAndPray reflections - Holy Week: Maundy Thursday Mary weeps Holy Week: Maundy Thursday Reading John 19.16b-27 Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews”, but, “This man said, I am King of the Jews.” ’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’ When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.’ This was to fulfil what the scripture says, ‘They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.’ And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. Reflection Mary weeps. Mary and the women closest to Jesus follow along as Jesus is moved towards Golgotha. This is a painful road – the Via Dolorosa – not only for Jesus, but for his mother too. She stands beneath the cross to the bitter end. Mary has known that this deep pain would come, as prophesied by Simeon when she and Joseph presented their child in the temple (in Luke Chapter 2). The knowledge of his impending death is a burden she has long carried. Many Black mothers have carried within their souls the truth that their children – especially their sons – were likely to be killed at an early age, or jailed, victims of systemic injustice. They have had to stand by when their children have been crucified by systems of violent racism. They, like Mary, have had simply to abide – clinging to love, enveloped in tears – to the bitter end. Watch Become aware of mothers weeping for their children across our violent world. ...and pray for a worldwide sorrow for the killing of innocents and children. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
Peter weeps Holy Week: Wednesday Reading Matthew 26.69-75 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus the Galilean.’ But he denied it before all of them, saying, ‘I do not know what you are talking about.’ When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ Again he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’ After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.’ Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know the man!’ At that moment the cock crowed. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: ‘Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly. Reflection Peter is a coward! Jesus has predicted Peter’s denial of him when called to account. Peter now sees it come true and runs away weeping bitterly. Unlike Judas, he weeps openly. And, also unlike Judas, he has a chance to be redeemed later, as described in John Chapter 21. Peter becomes the leading disciple in the Acts of the Apostles, and particularly the one preaching the first sermon at Pentecost in Acts Chapter 2. Nonetheless, like Judas, his tears also come from love. They both loved their teacher, their friend, and their Lord. Both their hearts were broken during Jesus’ passion. Tears suggest the intensity and depth of the relationship. Black Spirituality does not shy away from tears. Tears, whether bitter or joyful, are signs of love and devotion. Weeping together knits us closer to each other and into the heart of the God who wept and suffered for our sake. Watch Notice your relationship with your emotions, especially your own tears. ...and pray for the strength to accept and express difficult emotions in healthy ways. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
#WatchAndPray reflections - Holy Week: Tuesday Judas weeps Holy Week: Tuesday Reading Matthew 27.3-10 When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. He said, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ But they said, ‘What is that to us? See to it yourself.’ Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.’ After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter’s field as a place to bury foreigners. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.’ Reflection Judas takes his own life. This is a vivid and uncomfortable part of Scripture that isn’t often really expounded on. There is no explicit mention of him weeping but only an explanation of his deep guilt and remorse over betraying Jesus. But this is in keeping with such shattering experiences. Often the tears are silent. The despair is penetrating, and the sorrow is inexpressible. Suicide is taboo in most societies. Often it is discussed in ways that blame the victim. Little understanding and compassion are given for the situations that precede it, especially the deep feelings of guilt and shame. This is also something taboo in Black communities, but in reflecting honestly on the traumas of Black history, there can be some understanding here. What is also clear is that Jesus does not condemn or refuse to forgive Judas. There was space for Judas, too, even after his betrayal. Watch Take note of the ways in which suicide is talked about in our world. ...and pray for deeper compassion for victims and families in such situations. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
