Introduction 

Welcome to Mulberry Meditations! I’m so glad you’ve decided to join today in prayer. When we pray, we connect our heart to God’s heart, giving of our needs and praises while also receiving the grace, love, and provision of our great God. My name is Ted Goshorn, senior pastor of Mulberry Street United Methodist Church, and I’ll be guiding us through this time of prayer. 

Our prayers follow a contemplative liturgy, or pattern, in the long tradition of Christians who have utilized scripture readings, repeated refrains, and silence to commune through prayer. Together, we will hear scriptures from the daily lectionary, familiar hymn lyrics and music, and engage gradually in a time of silence, always preceded by scripture, that we may hear from God through God’s word. 

Now, I invite you to get comfortable, praying in whatever position feels natural, as we go through this time of prayer.

On this Holy Saturday in Holy Week, March 30, 2024, we bring ourselves expectantly before our Lord in prayer, with praise and thanksgiving, opening ourselves to give and receive, from our heart to God’s heart. 

Today’s prayer will be somewhat different. On Holy Saturday, we remember that Jesus remained in the tomb, absent from the world. On this day, tradition asks that we keep silence, solitude, and stillness. In a world where Easter proves very busy, with preparations for travel or the arrival of family and a big meal, Holy Saturday perhaps makes high demands, and yet to prepare our hearts with silence, solitude, and stillness, heightens the joy of Easter and helps us better comprehend the tragedy of the cross. 

As such, today’s prayer will end with silence. We will approach it much as usual, but the music will gradually fade away, leaving only silence. I encourage you to leave the silence as long as you are comfortable, allowing the tradition of this empty day to speak into your life. 

And so we pray:

God, come to my assistance. 

O Lord, make haste to help me. (Ps. 70:1)

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen. (Gloria Patri)

Come to me and rest; lay down thou weary one, lay down thy head upon my breast.

4 One thing I asked of the Lord;

    this I seek:

to live in the house of the Lord

    all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord,

    and to inquire in his temple.

5 For he will hide me in his shelter

    in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

    he will set me high on a rock. (Ps. 27:4-5)

Come to me and rest; lay down thou weary one, lay down thy head upon my breast.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come to me and rest; lay down thou weary one, lay down thy head upon my breast.” I came to Jesus as I was, so weary, worn, and sad; I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad. 

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give the living water, thirsty one; stoop down, and drink, an olive.” I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream; my thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him. 

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “I am this dark world’s light; look unto me, thy morn shall rise, and all thy day be bright.” I looked to Jesus, and I found in Him my Star, my Sun; and in that Light of life I’ll walk, till trav’ling days are done.

Come to me and rest; lay down thou weary one, lay down thy head upon my breast.

Hear us now, O God, as we offer our prayers for:

• Our families and all who call us friend
• Our church and all who claim your name 
• Our community, be it neighborhood, town, or city 
• Our nation and world, especially remembering those caught up in conflicts
• My needs and praises this day

O Lord, hear my prayer. 

A reading from the gospel of Mark, as we prepare ourselves to hear from God through keeping silence:

42 When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead, and summoning the centurion he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. 45 When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Then Joseph bought a linen cloth and, taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid. (Mark 15:42-47)

Silence