At worship on this Good Friday, we will have many of these symbols from which to pick for you to carry with you in the days leading up to Easter. Here are the reflections for each of them if you would like to begin this in the morning.
Symbols of Faith:
As you mark this time from Good Friday through Holy
Saturday, keep this symbol nearby, holding it in your hand, reflecting on its
role in this week. May it serve as a
reminder of Christ’s journey to the cross, a journey that bore the love of God
in all its fullness.
Prayer prompts: As you reflect on this symbol, offer prayers
that arise in your heart from the images, thoughts and concerns that come to
mind. Sometimes our prayers do not take
a set form, but are a myriad of images and thoughts. Let them just rest within your heart,
offering them up to God as the One who loves us fully.
Donkey
It was this beast of burden that bore Mary to Bethlehem and
that brought the King of peace into Jerusalem.
The shadow of the cross falls across its back, a reminder that the
victory of love was realized in death and fulfilled in the resurrection
Jesus says to us: “come
to me, all who are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for
I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls”
(Matthew 11:29)
Bread
A simple food item – basic to our existence. A symbol of the Passover where the Hebrews people did not wait for the bread to rise in order to be prepared for their escape. A simple meal of bread and wine that became a taste of God’s grace that is offered to all.
Jesus answered, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)
I am the bread of life Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)
Praying Hands
Prayer is the way that we not just talk with God, but how we are invited to listen to God as well. Throughout the Gospels, we can read about numerous times that Jesus left the crowds and his disciples behind to go off by himself to pray. Before his arrest, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to offer up a prayer, seeking God’s will in what lay ahead of him. When we pray, are we seeking God’s will or our own?
Jesus threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’ (Matthew 26:39)
Thorns
Thorns grow as protection for the plant they inhabit. They guard against predators and those who
might harm the plant. Yet, the thorns
that encircled Jesus’ brow were meant to harm and not protect him. They were to mock him as a king that was
being hung on a cross, but their mockery found fulfillment in this king who
would protect and save us from death itself.
Surely he has borne our
infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our
transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that
made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)
Nails
Nails are most often used to build and create. Yet, the nails that were used that day were
intended to destroy and tear down. Those
who cried out “crucify him” sought an ending to this man’s life, but Jesus
revealed that these nails might bring his death, but that would still build up
the kingdom of God. For through Christ’s
death would come life.
But he
said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails
in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails
and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’ (John
20:25)
Cross
This was one of the worst deaths and punishments that the
Romans could inflict on their enemies.
It was a slow, painful death where it became harder and harder to
breathe. Yet, this mode of execution is
no longer a symbol of death, but of God’s everlasting love. We see not humiliation but hope; not failure
but forgiveness.
Dice
Games of chance divided Jesus’ clothing amongst those who nailed his body to the cross. Winners and losers determined by the throw of the dice. It was not by chance that Jesus was crucified. He told his disciples numerous times what lay ahead of him in Jerusalem. God had a plan to reveal the fullness of his love for all of humanity.
“For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son so that all who believe him may not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Cloth
Jesus was swaddled as an infant, protected against the
elements into which he was born. The
cloth that wrapped around him at death had the fragrances of anointing oil that
marked him as our Savior. Yet, these
would be left behind on the third day.
They would be the only sign left that Jesus had been there and that he
has indeed risen!
The dead man (Lazarus)
came out of the tomb, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his
face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to
them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (John 11:44)
Stone
As the writer of Ecclesiastes (3:5) says – stones can be
gathered or thrown. We can build with
stones. They can be used to build walls
that divide or homes that protect. A
stone was rolled in front of the tomb as a final sign of death. Yet, this stone would be rolled back; death
could not be contained by a simple stone.
Jesus
said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;* this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our
eyes”? (Matthew 21:42)
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