Genesis 22:6-8
“Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.  As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, ‘Father?’  ‘Yes, my son?’ Abraham replied.  ‘The fire and the wood are here,’ Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’  Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’  And the two of them went on together.”

John 19:16-17
“Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.  So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.  Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull…”

Luke 9:23-24
“Then [Jesus] said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.’”

Father of the Nations, you are a God who sees how your children stumble under the load of sin.

Though we are weary and our souls chafed raw, in your mercy you provided a load-bearer for us.  The splinters of sorrow pierced his innocent back and he took upon himself the death we were destined for.

In gratitude may we lay down our self-pleasing lives and take up the burdens of those that share our path, easing them only in your strength.

We ask this in the name of our substitute sacrifice, Jesus Christ, who walked under the weight of the crucifixion wood to be offered up for our salvation.

Listen to ‘Go to Dark Gethsemane’ featuring Sandra McCracken