Holy Saturday

this day
of emptiness
confusion
and longing
his agony
turned
our own
no longer
to hear his voice
feel his touch
follow his step
where has love gone?

he was our Life
our hope
our light
our answer
and now
we are lost
who are we now?

my heart on fire
with grief
who will
console me
there are no words
for this
my sorrow

to see him
broken
bleeding
i cry
my God
why have you
forsaken me

this day
this Life
without Him
i cannot bear
day of poverty
when
i am nothing
i have nothing
filled
with the emptiness
for I have seen
all Love
and now
he is gone

wrapped in his tomb
embraced in darkness
i have died with him
no light
no thought
of life

Have you felt forsaken by God?

WHY THIS CROSS?

why this cross?
this ornament of human suffering
in our musings it can seem quite out of place
in comfort and complacency
yet let one moment of tragedy
need or desperation enter
and this cross is no longer a foreign land
but a shelter and home
a passage of power and transformation
is it magic–some talisman-
so it would seem as it is fashioned in gold
carved in wood and fashioned in beads
strung on necks and molded on rings
held up to vampires to send them rushing back to their graves—

yet kneel–
kneel before the cross
and experience the life
the whispers and struggle
and you will hear the world
the daily news
as the world wrestles with its horror and death
evil and cruelty
selfishness
politics and greed
ideological slaughter
it’s mass destruction
our grieving and loss
starvation and calamities
earths quake and worlds fall
within the cross

we are free to place our burden there
and leave as though it were some receptacle
some garbage pit or scapegoat
yet not for long
for His whispers, movement and life
are too compelling
He calls to us over and over
to visit this strange place of death
that calls us to Life

enter the suffering
the solitude and darkness of the tomb
and answer His call to “pray with me
pray with me
trust in me
the truth of me
the truth of here
and I will bring
you life”

how
long is
our suffering-

as
long
as
it takes
for
new life to begin–then there is no time
at all
no
need-
we
are
completed
resurrected
in His love

                                                                                                         -Susan Morse

Exod 12:1-8, 11-14; 1 Cor 11: 23-26; John 13: 1-15

you are the one
he loved
gathered in
you followed
gathered round
you shared
reclined at table
you hear his voice
feel his breath
share his laughter
receive
his touch
holding on
to every word
you will remember
his cup
his heart
his wine
his love
he is every meal
your nourishment
every meal
your sustenance
all the miles walked
upon this earth
in time
are changed
within his hands
each step
renewed
with sacred touch
worn upon your feet
he cleansed
to serve
to heal
to love…
you are the one he loved

Is He your every meal?
Are you changed within His hands?

Isaiah 50:4-9; Psalm 69: 8-10,21-22,31-34; Matthew 26:14-25

faced
with inevitable
betrayal
He lets go
into a path
that many
will follow
as we carry
our cross
with Him
through
suffering
sin
and death
trusting
that the Lord
in great Love
will answer us
with new Life

Do you trust God with your suffering and death?

Isaiah 49:1-6; Psalm 71:1=6, 15-17; John 13:21-33, 36-38

knowing
our hearts
our faithfulness
or our betrayal
still He gives
His life
His bread
for us
from a love
He knows
in God
that never fails
even as we might
one Love
one Purpose
one Refuge
from where
all Justice
flows
in Mercy

Do you live in God’s mercy?

Isaiah 42:1-7; Psalm 27:1-3,13-14; John 12:1-11

even as enemies
gather
in the deep silence
of God
we feel
the breath
who breath us
the hand
who formed us
grasps us
and leads
us into the light
all darkness
falls away
in our refuge
where the fragrance
of Love
and Beauty
and Generosity
anoint us
into salvation
and new life

What fragrance surrounds you?

Luke 19.28-40; Isaiah. 50.4-7; Phil 2.6-11; Luke 22.14-23,56

even if we are silent
the rocks
will cry out
love
mocked
treated with contempt
urgent for death
the crowds
cry to crucify
prevailing voices
of ignorance
call for death
to He who
will have no part
of violence
beating breasts
weeping
for ourselves
weeping
for our children
yet still
forgiveness
pours onto
ignorance
His innocence
proclaimed
the curtain torn
we follow
His spirit
to paradise

What do you do with His forgiveness?
How is he still crucified?
Are we still silent?

Jeremiah 20:10-13; Psalm 18: 2-7; John 10:31-42

the enemies
of our mind
on every side
we cry out
in our distress
to the Lord
who answers
with strength
and courage
and love
His word
shines through
our darkness
we rejoice
and sing
to this God
of Goodness
who rescues us

Do you experience His light in your darkness?

Genesis 17:3-9; Psalm 105:4-9; John 8:51-59

God’s glory
comes
in a voice
heard by faith
living
beyond death
guiding us
and strengthening us
with love
in an unforsaken
covenant
giving meaning
and purpose
to the day to day
of our lives
as we serve
His calling

How do you hear God’s voice today?

Dn 3:14-20, 91-92,95; Dn 3:52-56; John 8:31-42

what love
and freedom
does God bring
that even
when we walk
through the fire
we are saved
by our faithfulness?

What fires have you walked through?
What love are you here for?