Use this video to guide you through tonight’s devotion and/or use the liturgy below. To do this liturgy on your own, you will need an unadorned candle. Light the candle, then begin the liturgy. If you do not have a candle, you can simple follow along with the video or read the liturgy to yourself. The music at the end of this post is not included in the devotional video so as to abide by proper copyright usage.
Liturgy for Home Devotions
As we continue through Holy Week, shadows lengthen. As we count down the days till the breaking dawn of resurrection morning, we pause to remember Christ’s passion and bear witness to the growing darkness around us.
As the shadows grow around us, may we have courage to never lose hope and to not be afraid of the dark.
May we with the Psalmist declare:
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Should I fear anyone?
The Lord is a fortress protecting my life.
Should I be frightened of anything?
(Psalm 27:1, Common English Bible)
Today we face the shadow of burial.
Reading: John 19:38-42
38 After this Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate if he could take away the body of Jesus. Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one because he feared the Jewish authorities. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and took the body away. 39 Nicodemus, the one who at first had come to Jesus at night, was there too. He brought a mixture of myrrh and aloe, nearly seventy-five pounds in all. 40 Following Jewish burial customs, they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the spices, in linen cloths. 41 There was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid.42 Because it was the Jewish Preparation Day and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus in it.