Many years ago, I set out to write a series of readings that could be used in contemporary churches for worship through the Lent, Easter, and Pentecost season. This one is from Worship Readings And Prayers For Contemporary Churches: The Cycle of Life [Vol. 2 – Liturgies and Readings For Lent, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost]. Feel free to use it in your community worship setting.
While some of the readings in the Voice From The Darkness Series are responsive, this first one is meant to be read by a lone voice, possibly from the back of the room, on Ash Wednesday, any Sunday during Lent, or Good Friday.
Voice From The Darkness: Death
| A Lenten & Good Friday Reading |
There is Death.
Lack of Breath,
Lack of Blood,
Lack of Life.
Death can only be conquered by Life,
And that Life must be Life after Death.
That Life, then, must be a physical Life
To truly conquer a physical Death.
There is the Sting Of Death.
Lack of Hope,
Lack of Faith,
Lack of Health.
The Sting Of Death can only be healed by the Balm Of Life,
And that Balm of Life must be the Balm Of Life that redresses, must set right, the Sting Of Death.
That Balm Of Life, then, must be a repairing agent,
To truly heal the Sting Of Death.
Into Death’s dark cave,
And into the shadows of the Sting Of Death,
Many have moved, and
Many have succumbed.
One has stepped deep into Death’s tomb,
Been enveloped in the wiry shadows of the Sting Of Death,
And in its hungry hall,
Has Spoken.
A Voice from the Darkness,
Not silenced, but full of Breath,
Nor hollow, but full of Blood,
Nor lifeless, but full of all manner of Life,
Now Speaks.
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| Written by Dan Wilt, M.Min. |
| Used by permission. |
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Resource: Excerpted from Worship Readings And Prayers For Contemporary Churches: The Cycle of Life [Vol. 2 – Liturgies and Readings For Lent, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost].
