My Good Friday Prayer ...

Holy One, in this time and place, be present to us in the silence,

The silence of death,
the silence of the tomb,
the silence of tears welling in our eyes,
the silence of weeping stifled and held – resting bitter on our tongues …

In the darkness of the journey we hear
the whimpering cries of those who know and who have experienced
violence,
sorrow,
suffering,
and death …

In the darkness of the journey the names of places like Sudan,
Afghanistan, Gaza, rise to our lips … the smoke of conflict
and violence lingers, hanging over us, clouding our eyes...
... reminding us that our human family cries out for peace …
a living peace …
not the peace of quiet graveyards
but a living peace of Shalom …

In the darkness of the journey the rawness of events torn from recent
headlines fills our eyes with tears …
shootings …
abuse of children …
kidnappings …
violence against women …

as we hear the litany of horrors the shadow of the cross falls across us
and we are reminded of the bitterness of our brokenness before you …

In the darkness of the journey the savagery of sounds of suffering
echo through our soul …
the pounding of nails …
the slap of flesh against flesh …
the rumble of earthquakes and falling homes …
the shattering of river ice riding the icy flood waters
the jarring of weapons and explosives …
the piercing of crying and weeping …

as the sounds recede we are left in a place of silence …
deep gut-wrenching silence …

In this place of silence O Holy One …
a place of discomfort and unease …
a place where the only the uncertainty of this moment rests
within our souls …

in this place O Holy One, our companion - be present to us …
Grant us the strength not to flee to the easy place of warm light
and shallow comfort …
Grant us the courage not to run from the silence and the darkness,
Grant us the faith to know that even here …
in this place …
in the darkness …
in the silence …
in the shadow of the cross …
in the quiet of pondering in our hearts what we have done
to you …
to each other …
to your children …
to ourselves …

Grant us in this place O Holy One the comfort
to know that even in the deepest darkest shadowed places in our world you are there …
Hear our prayers this day O Holy One …
Hear our prayers of sorrow and sadness …
Hear our prayers that are marked by tears and weeping …
Hear our prayers that rise from the bitterness of suffering and pain …
Hear our prayers that rest on our tongue unspoken …
Hear our prayers …

On this day as the shadow of the cross falls across us
and leaves us in the deep dark doubt of uncertainty …
be our companion in our journey …
be present to us …
be with us …

This we ask in your name O Holy One …
For it is in Your name we pray …