Lent: A Yearly Reminder of the Daily Call to Come Home is a series of seven writings that incorporate guided imagery, prayer, and questions to use in worship or in your small group.

Imagine

Silence is woven throughout our journey. This silence can be jarring, scary, and unwanted, but it can also be a gift.

Closing your eyes, imagine you've abruptly come to an end in your journey. You had planned to go further and had envisioned what the end would look like and this is definitely not it! Notice the terrain, notice what you're feeling.

You look around and Jesus is nowhere to be found. Now what? Where do your mind, heart, and actions go?

Allow the scene to unfold for a few moments and then close with this prayer.

Pray

God, Your silence can be so difficult, especially when it seems our hope has died and been laid to rest in a stone sealed tomb. In times like these we don't know what to do. Like the disciples after Your death, Jesus, we are overwhelmed with fear, sadness, shock, and disappointment. We want to crawl into the tomb ourselves, for the life has gone right out of us.

At times like these silence can feel unbearable. Yet in this silent place we allow these words of your prophet Jeremiah, to call us to remember something You've been teaching us all along our journey:

“Certainly the faithful love of the Lord hasn't ended; certainly God's compassion isn't through! They are renewed every morning. Great is your faithfulness.” (say 2x)

(20 seconds or ~ of silence)

Amen.

Reflect

• Let “remembering” be a prayer practice for you today. What memories arise that built your trust in God and can speak to you when what you see or news you have received say otherwise?
• Read Matthew 27:57-60. Walk through the Scripture as though you are Joseph of Arimathea. Envision yourself asking Pilate for Jesus' body, getting permission, taking the body, wrapping & laying it in your own tomb, rolling a stone in front of it, and walking away. Reflect on interacting with the Scripture in this way.
• How could silence possibly be a gift? Now recall a time when God seemed silent. What is/was God's invitation through your time of silence? Allow some space for silence in your life today as a way of letting go and trusting God's heart.

The complete series and audio are available here.