Do Not Be Far From Me

Call to Worship

On this Holy Friday, we follow Jesus through a sham trial and up the hill to Golgotha, all the while questioning:

My God, my God, where are you?

We follow the women who held vigil at the foot of the cross, all the while despairing:

My God, my God, where are you?

We come near to Jesus as soldiers mock him, all the while crying out:

My God, my God, where are you?

We sit in grief and dismay, once again confronted with the horrible reality of sin and evil in our world that people just like us would crucify Love Incarnate. And all the while, God sits with us, saying:

My child, my child, I am here.

Come, let us worship God who, even on this day, is never far from us.

Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, September 2024.

Prayer for the Day

Now we know:
all is grace
all is gift.

You give us all good things:
life and love;
daily bread and water that quenches our thirst;
friends and faith.

Most of all, in your Son, Jesus,
you meet us with a love that will never let us go;
you utter words of mercy and forgiveness
that override the hurts,
and heal our brokenness;
you offer new beginnings
where we had expected only dead ends.

We give you thanks and praise
for the mystery of your suffering love
that gives us life.

We give you thanks and praise
that you know our weakness
and hear our prayers.

We give you thanks and praise
that all our dying and living
is held in your good keeping.

Now we know:
all is grace,
all is gift,
all is Love.
Amen.

Adapted from Christine Jerrett, https://christinejerrett.wordpress.com/. Re-posted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-prayer-for-good-friday-now-we-know.html.

Prayer of Confession

Ever-present God, on this Good Friday night,
our whole world is engulfed in shadows
as we remember the story of Jesus’ death.
We confess that we want to push the fast-forward button on this familiar story
because it hurts so much.
It hurts to think of the betrayal and arrest of Jesus.
It hurts to imagine Jesus abandoned and suffering on the cross
with only a faithful few watching him breathe his last breath.
It hurts to watch your light overtaken by the shadows of the world.

But we must find our place in this crucifixion story and feel the pain that is there:
The pain of the world,
of faithless decisions; of betrayal; of injustice.
Jesus entered that pain out of faithfulness to you and to us,
to witness to the Truth that is Justice, Wholeness, and Love.
We confess, we are afraid to enter this pain with Jesus.
Strengthen us with your courage;
offer glimpses of hope in the shadows of death;
let us know you are present with us here in this moment of pain;
now as always.

Assurance of Pardon

Beloved followers of Jesus, it is okay to feel hurt and uncomfortable
as you enter into this story and imagine your place in it.
Know that God meets you in the story,
with forgiveness as well as conviction;
With comfort as well as challenge;
with courage as well as love.

Amen.

Adapted from Rev. Dr. Ginny Brown Daniel on the Worship Ways website at https://www.ucc.org/worship-way/good-friday-april-2/.

Benediction

As the echoes of “It is finished” still ring in our hearts, go now in the assurance that God’s steadfast love never fails, this day and every day. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, September 2024.