This Lent we follow Jesus as he faces evil in the hours before his death. What is evil? Who is doing evil against Jesus during Passion Week? What are ways in which we are complicit in evil? Do we take evil seriously? As we experience evil in our own lives, discover how Jesus stands in the face of evil.
Invocation
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, who delivers us from all evil.
Invitation Prayer
Lord, you experienced evil by your death on the cross. Death is the great foe we all face. Yet you overcame the power of death by your resurrection. So fill us with this power that even now our lives may be filled with genuine hope. Hold us now and until our life’s end. We cling to you, our crucified and risen Savior, Jesus. Amen.
Meditation: Go to Dark Gethsemane
“Go to Dark Gethsemane”
“Go to Dark Gethsemane” was written in 1825 by the Scottish poet James Montgomery. Montgomery, a poet and editor, was the son of a Moravian pastor and missionary. Beyond his hymns, which also include “Angels from the Realms of Glory,” Montgomery frequently wrote to advocate for the humanitarian issues of his time, such as the abolition of slavery and the end of exploitative child labor practices.
Go to dark Gethsemane,
All who feel the tempter’s pow’r;
Your Redeemer’s conflict see;
Watch with him one bitter hour;
Turn not from his griefs away;
Learn from Jesus Christ to pray.
Follow to the judgment hall;
View the Lord of life arraigned;
Oh, the wormwood and the gall!
Oh, the pangs His soul sustained!
Shun not suff’ring, shame, or loss;
Learn from him to bear the cross.
Calv’ry’s mournful mountain climb
There, adoring at His feet,
Mark the miracle of time,
God’s own sacrifice complete:
“It is finished!” Hear the cry;
Learn from Jesus Christ to die.
Early hasten to the tomb
Where they laid his breathless clay;
All is solitude and gloom;
Who hath taken Him away?
Christ is ris’n! He meets our eyes:
Savior, teach us so to rise.
Sending
Almighty God, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.