Death and Resurrection A Prayer Room Resource Guide
Holy Week, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday are central events in the Christian calendar. We remember the great love of God for his children; the terrible cost of sin; the willing sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross; and the eternal victory over sin, death, flesh, the World and the Devil that is sealed in Christ’s death and resurrection. Christian tradition says that the word “Hallelujah” isn’t uttered during the time of Lent, the 40 days preceding Easter weekend. That word - the joyous exclamation that celebrates all that God has done for us - is reserved until Resurrection Sunday, when Christians around the world let fly with their praise and rejoicing. During this week of prayer, let us embrace the full sorrow of the Cross and the sin of the World that Jesus endured, so that we might fully embrace the joy and victory of the Resurrection and the redemption of the world that is happening in Christ.
Day One: “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Scripture: John 11:1-16 Reflection We call one of the disciples “Doubting Thomas” because he didn’t believe the reports of the resurrection until the risen Jesus was standing right in front of him. But in this passage Thomas displays incredible courage and devotion to Jesus. The disciples all know that if Jesus returns to Jerusalem there is a strong chance he will be killed by His enemies. They do not want him to go. They do not understand that this is Jesus’ very purpose, His mission. Seeing that Jesus still firmly intends to return to Jerusalem, Thomas says, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” The disciples did not yet fully grasp who Jesus was or what he was doing, but they loved him and wanted to be with him. They thought they were prepared even to die for him, though in that resolve they initially failed. They did not understand that it was Jesus who would die for them. Many of Jesus’ followers would receive the opportunity to die for him later, after the Resurrection. Prayer Join in this prayer of praise from Revelation 12: And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down—he who accuses them day and night before our God. They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea; with great fury the devil has come down to you, knowing he has only a short time.”
Prayer Station: Untangling Materials: 10 lengths of rope, or one long length of rope Have either the 10 shorter lengths or one long length of rope in the room, and tie a series of knots in the rope. Instruct people to untangle the knots in the rope, and as they untangle each knot to confess/ pray about an unmet expectation, a failure, or a desire to be more devoted to God, or what expectations you think God has for you. Then re-knot the rope. For each knot, pray for a new hope, a new expectation, a deeper devotion to the Lord. How are you joining your hopes, expectations and prayers to the intention of Jesus? Action Have a container full of strings in the prayer room. Instruct everyone to take a piece of string with them as they go to carry in their pocket or attach to their keychain this week. Ask them to make a knot in the string every time they find their minds returning to the place of past failures or unmet expectations. See how knotted up your heart and mind get during the course of a week. Use the string to remind yourself that God doesn’t want you in that tangled place, and to affirm that God can work out the knots.
Re s o u rce s Songs •
Even Unto Death, by Audrey Assad. (This song was written in memory of several Syrian Christians who were martyred by ISIS in 2015.)
Website •
The Voice of the Martyrs: www.persecution.com/
Day Two: Cleansing the Temple Scripture: Matthew 21:12-17 Prayer Station
Reflection The Temple was the centre of spiritual, cultural and political power in Jerusalem. Jesus is the true King in the line of David, and also the Son of the God to whom the Temple belongs. Yet the chief priests and temple officials did not recognize this authority, and reacted to Jesus’ actions with shock and indignance. They were thus “robbing” from the glory of God. The “den of robbers” quote is instructive. A den is a place where you feel safe and secure after committing a crime. Jesus is saying that this safety is an illusion, that the corrupted Temple system will not save them. The focal point of salvation is not the Temple, but Jesus himself.
Materials: Paper or sticky notes, markers, tape, two bags, Operation World book. Jesus insists that instead of a den of robbers his house is to be a House of Prayer for all nations. On the door leading out of your prayer room tape up as many different “idols” as you can think of. Be comprehensive. Think of personal distractions, sins, principalities, powers, anything that to which people give worship and devotion. The door should be covered in idols, ideally all in the same coloured paper. Look at the door and see if there is an idol there that is especially tempting to you. Confess it to the Lord, repent, and pull it off the door. Beside the door have a bag that is full of papers with the names of all the nations and people groups on earth (again, make it as comprehensive as you can.) These papers should be a different colour than the idols. Pull out one of the nations and put it in the spot from which you took the idol. Pray for that nation. If you don’t know anything about it look it up online, or in the Operation World book. In doing this you are replacing an idol with one of the nations that God loves, and which he is inviting into his house of prayer. Extra Station: If you can get a large jigsaw puzzle of the world, and put it together as a group project over the course of the week. Pray for nations when you complete them. This is the House of Prayer. Action
Jesus’ actions in the Temple were a testimony that hastened his arrest and death. The early Church understood that to stand for Jesus meant to risk everything. The word they used for “witness” came to be the same word that is used for “martyr”. When we choose to follow Jesus, our lives and words are meant to be a living testimony to him, and this often comes with a cost. Where is God inviting you to be a witness? Have another bag near the door that contains within it a large number of strips of paper, on each of which is written one of the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control). Have each person grab one strip of paper as they leave the room. This is their challenge for the week, to be a witness bearing that particular fruit of the Spirit.
Prayer
Re s o u rce s
Lord, cleanse us of anything that is
Songs
trying to steal your glory. Show us where
we have put trust or devotion in anything
•
our idols. Show us also where you want
•
The Blessing - Various
•
Book
•
Operation World
other than you, and help us to cast out to heal your people.
Build Your Kingdom Here by Rend Collective
Day Three: Come to the Table Scripture: Mark 14:22-25 Reflection In Mark’s presentation of the Last Supper, Jesus uses the bread and wine not just to look back to the Exodus story, as was traditional, but also to look forward to his own sacrifice. A new covenant was about to be forged between Jesus and all who believed in him, just as the last covenant was created after the Passover and Exodus. Partaking of the bread and the wine, then, meant that the disciples would be partaking in Jesus himself. This meant sharing his life, his death and his resurrection. Meals were already sacred acts of fellowship in the Ancient Near East, but this raises the stakes enormously. Sharing Jesus’ cup and bread meant sharing in intimate fellowship, life and death with him, and in the hope of the coming Kingdom of God. Prayer Station
Prayer Pray this adaptation of John 17:22-23 You have given us the glory that Your Father gave You, Jesus, that we may be one as You and the Father are one—You in us and we in you—so that we may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that Your Father sent You and that He has loved us even as He loved You.
Materials: Table, chairs, butcher paper, markers, playdough. Have a large amount of playdough available on the table, and instruct each person to create something with it, adding to the scene as the week progresses. Put the butcher paper on the table so that the playdough doesn’t get too messy, but also feel free to draw and write on the paper as well. The theme of the table should be the new and coming kingdom of Jesus. What do you, as a praying community, think that should look like? Action Who is missing from your table? Invite someone to dinner this week, or out for coffee. Consider also arranging a Last Supper/Seder meal with a group of friends (and consider inviting neighbours as well) You could arrange one for the week prior to Good Friday, or for the actual Passover date. Here in information on the Seder meal and suggestions on how to host one respectfully: http://www.crivoice.org/seder.html
Re so urces Organization
Songs •
Behold the Lamb of God - Glenn Kaiser
•
Food for the Hungry: https://www.fhcanada.org/
•
At the Table - Ordinary Time
Day Four: Washing Feet Scripture: John 13:1-17 Reflection Jesus demonstrates what servant leadership looks like. It involves taking the lowliest possible position, being humbled, and counting others more significant than yourself (Phil 2:3). Jesus tells his disciples to follow his example in washing one another’s feet. This is not just an act of love between brothers and sisters, it is an act of worship: God is praised as we love each other in this way.
Prayer Station
Prayer Lord, show us how You served us, how You have washed our feet, so that we might be moved to
wash the feet of others. Help us
Materials: Wash basins, soap, towels, paper, markers, scissors. If you are in the prayer room with someone else, wash each other’s feet in the wash basin, praying for each other as you do. If you are alone, take off your shoes and socks and draw an outline of your feet on the paper provided. Then ask the Lord to show you what it means that he has washed your feet himself. Write this down in the tracing of your feet and tape it somewhere in the prayer room.
to receive Your love, and then to become Your love in the world. Help us especially to love our
sisters and brothers in the faith;
our neighbours; and our enemies.
Action Jackie Pullinger has said: “God wants us to have soft hearts and hard feet. The trouble with so many of us is that we have hard hearts and soft feet.” Consider putting this quote near the exit to your prayer room, along with the question: Where is it hard for you to walk? Where are you afraid to go? Where is your heart hard? Where are you holding on to bitterness and resentment? This week go on a prayer walk to that hard place and pray if you can. If you can’t physically go there, go there in prayer.
Re so u rces Books •
In the Name of Jesus
Songs •
by Henri Nouwen
Lord I Come (Wash My Feet) - David Brackenbury
•
Majesty
•
Humble King
Day Five: Father Forgive Them Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-12; Luke 23:26-49
Reflection The prophecy from Isaiah 53 indicates that the Suffering Servant will be “numbered with the transgressors.” Jesus accepts the arrest, the beatings, the mockery, the insults, the accusations, the questions, and the miscarriage of justice that are heaped upon him. He does not try to defend himself, does not try to remove himself from the situation, does not try to lessen the humiliation in any way. He takes it all, willingly, though he does not deserve any of it. Jesus’s journey to the cross identifies him with sinners, criminals, and law-breakers, though he committed no sin, was involved in no crime, and broke no law. And from the cross, Jesus prays. He asks his Father to forgive them, those who are killing him. It is clear that the executioners know that they are killing a man, and some even suspect they are killing an innocent man. But they don’t know that they are pawns in a conflict that is much bigger than them and even than their Empire. They do not realise the true nature of the man who is being killed; they are ignorant of this reality, and so Jesus asks his Father to forgive them. How great, how all-encompassing, is the mercy and forgiveness of Jesus!
Prayer Pray the Anima Christi: Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O Good Jesus, hear me. Within your wounds hide me. Permit me not to be separated from you. From the wicked foe, defend me. At the hour of my death, call me and bid me come to you That with your saints I may praise you For ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer Station Materials: Picture of Jesus, rolls of caution tape, pens, cross. Hang a picture of Jesus on one of the walls, ideally Jesus’ face or Jesus on the cross. Then hang or tape up strips of caution tape in such a way that it covers the picture completely. You will want to have a lot of caution tape hanging over the picture. Have each person write their sins on a piece of the caution tape, and then declare over their sin, “Father, in the name of Jesus you have forgiven me! I repent of my sins.” They can then take their piece of caution tape off the wall and throw it at the foot of a cross which should be set up in the room. On the cross hang several pieces of paper with tear-off strips at the bottom that say “Forgiven”. Encourage each person to tear off a strip and take it with them. Action People still face unjust imprisonment in our world. Jesus knows this injustice first-hand. One way to remember his sacrifice is to support those who are undergoing this evil. Click here for an interfaith statement calling on the Government of Canada to end human rights violations in immigration detention in Canada. How can your Church or community get involved in caring for those in prison or in detention centres in your area?
Re s o u rce s Songs •
For the Crucified One by Ordinary Time
•
Forgive Them Father by Lauryn Hill
Movies •
Amistad
Re so urces Songs •
Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel OR Disturbed
•
Hurt - Nine inch Nails OR Johnny Cash
•
Lord Raise Me Up - Matisyahu
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Psalm 88 - Poor Bishop Hooper
•
40 - U2
Movies •
Into the Great Silence
Books •
Life on the Edge: Holy Saturday and the Recovery of the End Time, Brother John of Taize
Day Six: Silent Saturday Scripture: Luke 23:50-55
Prayer Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you.
May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.
I am overwhelmed with troubles
and my life draws near to death.
I am counted among those who
go down to the pit; I am like one without strength. I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care.
You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.
Your wrath lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all
your waves. You have taken from me
Reflection The Saturday between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday is a sombre time. What do we do? Joseph of Arimathea does what he can, claiming Jesus’ body, wrapping it in linen, and giving it a dignified resting place in an unused tomb. The women, after seeing the body laid in the tomb, go home to prepare spices for the necessary work of treating the body after the Sabbath is over. It is a day of waiting, of quiet, of mourning. Yet for Christians it also carries the feeling of anticipation. Joseph, the women, and the disciples did not know what was to come. We do, because we have heard their story. Still, it is a helpful discipline to sit with Joseph and the women in their grief, in their uncertainty, even in their disappointment. We are familiar with these feelings in our daily lives, when we are struck with failure and setbacks and unmet expectations, and we don’t know the final end of the story. So let us not rush through Silent Saturday, Holy Saturday. Let us stay in this liminal space, this place of awaiting, and pray with all those around the world who are in a place of darkness.
my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined
Prayer Station
with grief. I call to you, Lord, every day;
Materials: Blindfolds, ear plugs or ear protectors, dark sheets of fabric.
and cannot escape; my eyes are dim I spread out my hands to you.
Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you? Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
Are your wonders known in the place
of darkness, or your righteous deeds
in the land of oblivion? But I cry to you
for help, Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you. Why, Lord, do you
reject me and hide your face from me?
From my youth I have suffered and been close to death; I have borne your terrors and am in despair. Your wrath has swept
over me; your terrors have destroyed me.
All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me.
You have taken from me friend and neighbour— darkness is my closest friend.
At midnight on Good Friday, cover the room with black cloth. Hang it from the walls, put it over all the decorations and stations. Create as dark a room as you can. Leave only blindfolds and the ear plugs or ear protectors in the middle of the room. The prayer shifts this day should be sitting in a place of stillness and silence, remembering that Jesus was in the silence and darkness of the tomb, and that many in our world today are likewise in that place where “darkness is their closest friend.” Action Be as silent as possible for the rest of the day. Avoid social media. Consider fasting from a meal. Take this day to lament the sorrow of the world.
Day Seven: Resurrection Sunday Scripture: Luke 24:1-8
Reflection
Prayer Pray out Psalm 150, and let fly your Halleluyah! Halleluyah! Praise God in his holy place! Praise him in the heavenly dome of his power! Praise him for his mighty deeds! Praise him for his surpassing greatness! Praise him with a blast on the shofar! Praise him with lute and lyre! Praise him with tambourines and dancing! Praise him with flutes and strings! Praise him with clanging cymbals! Praise him with loud crashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise Adonai! Halleluyah!
Action Surprise someone this week with an extravagant blessing.
Something happened. The stone was rolled away. The body was gone. The women were told by the angels that Jesus had risen from the dead. None of the Gospel writers describe this resurrection, for the obvious reason that no human could have seen it. All humans could ever see was the result of the resurrection, the person and power of Jesus. The angels wonder at the women’s surprise, however. Jesus had let his followers know that he would be handed over to the authorities, that he would be killed, and that he would rise again from the dead on the third day. This is precisely what happened, but nobody truly believed Jesus when he said it. Possibly they thought he was speaking metaphorically, or perhaps they simply could not grasp the painful reality. But once the women were reminded of Jesus’ words, they became messengers (the first apostles) to the other disciples that the tomb was empty. Prayer Station Materials: Projector or spotlight that is shining towards the door as people walk in. At midnight on Saturday remove the black sheets covering the walls and prayer stations. Then set up the projector or the spotlight to shine directly at the door. It should be surprising as people open the door to walk in the prayer room to see the powerful bright light, and it should create a new way of seeing even the other prayer stations you have been creating throughout the week. You can also create space along one wall to write down all the ways God has surprised or awed you, and your gratitude for His surprise blessings. If you want to go a step further: Create a stained glass art project. Find a large piece of plexiglass and some coloured cellophane. Position a lamp to shine through the “window”. Instructions can vary, but you can invite people to cut a shape from the cellophane, pray for Gods light to shine through a specific situation, and tape it (double side tape) to the plexi. You can also create a design with black electric tape so there’s structure.
Re s o u rce s Songs •
Who Will Roll Away the Stone - Ordinary Time
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Easter Song, - Keith Green
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Shackels - Mary Mary
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Praise You - Fatboy Slim
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