Gathering Words

Based on Isaiah 52:13-53:12
(Lindsey Baynham)

For us, he was despised, hated, unrecognized, and ridiculed.
For us, he was wounded that we may be whole and healed.
For us, he followed like a gentle lamb to be slaughtered in silence.
For us, he poured out himself to fill those who thirst.
For Christ, we mourn.

I am the Cross

A Monologue for Good Friday
(Linda Furtado)

I am the Cross,
Fully dressed and ready to serve,
Holding tightly in anticipation.

Standing seems such a simple task, considering past experience.
Surely I can hold on for a short while.

But this time is different.

The moments spent holding up and carrying this one seem much longer.
Hope that this would soon be over is giving way to hopelessness.

My stamina drips down with every drop from his crown,
down and through to the ground that temporarily roots me.
I inherit this deep connection born in pain like I have never known before.
I am beginning to question why I am strengthened
for this purpose of holding up for display what was intended to shame,
holding up the weight of this world.

This is not what I signed up for.

I am the Cross,
Fully dressed and ready to serve
Holding tightly in anticipation.

The moment has nearly come.

“I am thirsty…”

I am thirsty? No?!?
Haven’t you been through enough?
Why must I – no we hold on for so long?
Why extend your suffering for even a fraction of a moment longer?

What are you trying to prove?

[Pause]

Oh… It is finished?
Oh. I see. I feel it.

What divine mystery this is to me.
To, in one moment, feel the fullness of the burdens you carried,
then, to see that it was not your body that made holding you in place so difficult,
but your spirit, that sustaining spirit,
that loving and never-failing part of you
that even to the last painful and unbearable breath would not give up on the world.

The display,
the words,
all were on purpose.

How selfish of me to want you back.
Even I, who made so much suffering reality,
who caused so much hurt,
who put my purpose, my perspective, my job
before your divine and unmatched purpose and light.

Yes, I see. I feel it.

I am the Cross,
Fully dressed and ready to serve my purpose,
Holding on to the rags, the dressing that once was filled with the spirit of love we all need.

I am the Cross,
Sitting in confusion wishing I had no part in this,
Yet, I am thankful to have known this love.

People see me, see what I held up and are moved to tears.
If only they could move beyond the flesh and recognize that the scriptures have been fulfilled.

I am the Cross,
Fully dressed and having served,
Regret my anticipation and wish another way, a less painful way,
Could have served God’s purpose.

My God, You Are!

A Bidding Prayer based on Psalm 22:1-15
(Lindsey Baynham)

Instructions: Present each petition, then allow time for people to pray silently or aloud. At the end of each petition, and after some time, the leader says, “Lord, you are merciful,” and the people respond: “My God, you are.”

Petition 1: For the times and situations when we cry out, “Where are you God?”
(Silence)
Response: “Lord, you are merciful.”/ “My God, you are.”

Petition 2: For the persons in this church community—their joys, and their grief…
(Silence)
Response: “Lord, you are merciful.”/ “My God, you are.”

Petition 3: For the community…
(Silence)
Response: “Lord, you are merciful.”/ “My God, you are.”

Petition 4: For the world…
(Silence)
Response: “Lord, you are merciful.”/ “My God, you are.”

Petition 5: For church leaders…
Response: “Lord, you are merciful.”/ “My God, you are.”

Petition 6: For the people who, over the years, have invited us to sit at their feet, the ones who have helped us grow into the people we have become. We give you thanks for the ways that we have been allowed to soak in their wisdom. [Silence]
(Silence)
Response: “Lord, you are merciful.”/ “My God, you are.”

Conclude this time of prayer with The Lord’s Prayer or a simple “Amen.”

Picture This

A Spoken Word Monologue based on John 18:1-19:42
(Lindsey Baynham)

Picture this:
A secluded valley, deep in darkness…
Soft whispers and breath held…
Then suddenly, light pierces the dark as the betrayer, a friend, brings guards.
And all Jesus says is, “Whom do you seek?”

There is conversation, back and forth; brief yet deep.
Tensions are high—an ear is cut off and returned to keep.
But the bottom line is, they found the man they want,
The I Am, the Christ, the Life-Giving Font.

Picture this:
Two scenes are woven together—
The Priest Annas sits on high,
While Peter forgets his oath to never deny…

The one whom he follows just after the arrest,
He watches from afar in deep distress.
Not one. Not two. But three times he lies
...a rooster cries
…everything in Peter slowly dies.

Picture this:
Move to interrogation number two,
Pilate asks the questions as the crowd anticipates if he will follow through.
“Take him yourselves,” he tells the crowd,
But the washing of his hands cannot overpower the sound washing over him from the crowd.

Pilate seems conflicted and confused.
What has this man done to be so abused?
The crowd grows more violent and loud.
“You know I can save you, right? Work with me here; we’ll figure it out.”
Jesus will have none of that because he came to bear witness and follow this purpose, this route.

Listen to this:
“CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!”
Endless mocks and shouts—
The fury of the crowd drowns everything else out.
“A King? Please!” as they press a thorn-made crown on his head,
Adorning with a robe, whipped, slapped, and beaten, “Greet the King of the Jews!” they said.

Follow this:
The crowd files out of the city,
To Golgotha, the Skull
Everyone is there:
Those who love him,
Those who hate him,
Those who fear him, and all.
An exchange takes place: mother to newly appointed son,
The sun rises high in the sky, as criminals are raised, one by one.

Feel this:
A scratchy throat,
A body pierced wide
With only sour wine to drink,
Blood and water flowing from his side.
Shallow breaths, watchful eyes
“It is finished,” Christ said, head lifted to the skies.

Picture this:
The crowds file out; it seems no one is left there,
So I take his body to a tomb I own, laying his body with extreme care.

(Silence)

(Optional: dim the lights and direct the congregation to leave the building in silence.)

(Optional) A New Way of Life

A Benediction/Sending based on Hebrews 10:16-25
(Lindsey Baynham)

Christ has opened a new way of life for us.
Remain faithful; keep pureness of heart,
And hold on to hope with unwavering strength. Amen.

Rev. Lindsey Baynham is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church currently serving as the Director of Clergy Excellence in the Virginia Annual Conference. This proud alumna of Randolph-Macon College and Duke Divinity School has a passion for worship design, preaching, and teaching, laughter over a meal with friends, and connecting folks.

Linda Furtado currently serves as the Minister of Worship, Arts, and Media at McKendree United Methodist Church in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Linda, a ministry leader in the Tennessee Annual Conference, is married to the Rev. Jefferson M. Furtado. She is the mother of three school-age daughters, Sueli, Cintia, and Emma.