Holy Sepulchre (photo: Kate McDonald)
At the tomb
John 19:38-42 (NIV)
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Prayer for secret believers
Bless all, O Lord, who worship you in secret;
all whose hearts are growing round an undeclared allegiance;
all whose life is laden with a treasure they would pour at your feet;
all who know with greater certainty each day
that they have found the pearl of greatest price;
then by the power of the cross, O Christ,
claim your victory in their hearts,
and lead them to the liberty of being seen by others to be yours,
for your dear name’s sake. Amen.
Song
Were you there when they crucified my Lord
Prayer:
A Procession of Prayers: Meditations and Prayers from Around the World by John Carden, p. 282