Daily Devotion: Tend

Read: John 19:38-42

Reflection Questions: When have you witnessed someone tending to a difficult task?

Prayer: God of grace, in the aftermath of violence, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried your son. They tended to the body, because even after death, your incarnate life mattered. Help me to tend to the difficult tasks that honor you. Amen.

—Prayer by Rev. Sarah Are | A Sanctified Art LLC |sanctifiedart.org

Poem: Here

Written By: Rev. Sarah Are

There are places that our bodies know—
The curve of the couch, the creak of the porch swing,
The number of steps to our love’s front door.

There are places that our bodies know,
And then there are places our souls know—
Waiting rooms and sanctuaries,
Nurseries and bedrooms,
Open roads and dinner tables.
These are the travel routes,
The many destinations of a well-lived soul.

And while my soul would always prefer
To stay in the sun, living on the
Front porch swings where life is easy,
From time to time,
We all find ourselves at grief’s front door,
In love’s waiting room,
Or on the long and treacherous road to justice’s house.
So when you do,
Remember:
Your body can be in a familiar space
While your soul can feel a long way from home.
Go easy on her.
She is traveling.
Being here has never been easy.

Activities for Children

Engage: Say, “Have you seen the movie Inside Out? There’s one scene I really like where Bing Bong is very sad because Riley doesn’t seem to need an imaginary friend anymore. Joy tries to cheer him up with tickles and silly faces, but it doesn’t help. Do you remember what does help?” Sadness sits with Bing Bong, empathizes with his loss, and helps him remember the good times he and Riley had together. See the clip from  the movie By Clicking Here

Explain: Sometimes when other people are sad, we want to cheer them up. We don’t want them to cry or hurt. But it’s okay to be sad, especially when it’s about something as big as losing a dear friend. And when we’re sad like that, we often just need someone to listen. Today is Good Friday, when we remember how sad it was when Jesus died. And since we know the end of the story, it’s tempting to skip over the sadness and go straight to the joy of Easter morning. But sadness has a place, too. God is with you even when you’re sad. And like Sadness in the movie Inside Out, God sits with us and listens and loves us and helps us feel better, not by pretending that everything is okay, but by being a good friend and a good listener.

Pray: Dear God, thank you for being with me, even when I’m sad. Help me to be a good friend and a good listener when other people are sad. In Jesus’ name, Amen.