Meditations for the Watch

By John O. Cheney

In many churches there is a provision for meditation time between the
end of the Maundy Thursday eucharist and the Good Friday services.
This is called the watch and is scripture related to Jesus asking if his
disciples could not stay awake with Him for one hour. In this hour we
were called to prayer, scripture, and thought.
Having done this for a number of years, I was continually challenged to
find something to meditate on. Reading scripture helped, but where to
go from the descriptions there to an application in my life or situation
sometimes was a dry spot. In some cases people had left some literature
about the crucifixion. I often read those articles and found them
meaningful, but they werent always available.
To solve this problem, I tried writing a meditation for use in my parish
each Maundy Thursday for a number of years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483660769

John O. Cheney

The photograph on the cover is the altar of repose as seen at The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Richardson, Texas. It is here that John Cheney, the author, spent many hours during the watch. The vessels are the ciborium, which contains the blessed bread, and the cruet, which contains the blessed wine. These communion elements were blessed during the Maundy Thursday service and will be consumed during the Good Friday service. The candle represents the light of God and illumines the elements

Book preview

Copyright © 2013 by John O. Cheney.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2013911601

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4836-6075-2

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4836-6074-5

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4836-6076-9

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Rev. date: 06/25/2013

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Contents

Foreword

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem

A Meditation Of James

Death, Resurrection, And Faith

The Night Of The Cross

Women Of The Cross

Villains Of The Crucifixion

Come Down From The Cross

A Fisher Of Men

Afterword

FOREWORD

In many churches there is a provision for meditation time between the end of the Maundy Thursday eucharist and the Good Friday services. This is called the watch and is scripture related to Jesus’ asking if his disciples could not stay awake with Him for one hour. In this hour we were called to prayer, scripture, and thought.

Having done this for a number of years, I was continually challenged to find something to meditate on. Reading scripture helped, but where to go from the descriptions there to an application in my life or situation sometimes was a dry spot. In some cases people had left some literature about the crucifixion. I often read those articles and found them meaningful, but they weren’t always available.

To solve this problem, I tried writing a meditation for use in my parish each Maundy Thursday for a number of years.

Since these meditations had been well received, I have decided to compile them into one document. Each chapter is a self-contained unit, and the reader is encouraged to read only one chapter at a sitting and use the rest of the time to meditate on what was written. Also remember, these were written for holy week periods of meditation.

To guide you in selecting the chapter for meditation, a brief description of each chapter is provided.

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem—On Palm Sunday the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is celebrated. Yet the primary gospel readings for the day describe the trial and crucifixion. How can we resolve this in our minds?

A Meditation of James—James was a disciple of Jesus. Imagine his thinking just before the resurrection.

Death, Resurrection, and Faith—These are key elements in Christianity. What do they mean to a Christian?

The Night of the Cross—On the night Jesus was arrested, many people were involved and these actions and motives are many and complex. Read them carefully.

Women of the Cross—Most of the passion and resurrection narratives concentrate on the men involved. But the women play a very important part also. This section gives you a place to focus on them.

Villains of the Crucifixion—An array of people played a significant role in the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus. Their reasoning, either stated, or intuitively assumed, provide good opportunities for much thought.

Come Down From The Cross—These were the words that were hurled at Jesus while he hung on the cross. True to form Jesus does what they demanded, but in a radically different way.

A Fisher of Men—Peter was a central person in the life of Jesus and the immediate post resurrection