We have learned that God created the world as a place of blessing for all people. We know that sin entered the world, and how God’s verdict of death has affected the whole human race. We have examined the consequences of sin and seen how Jesus, on the cross, suffered the sin and its consequences. Because of his sacrifice, we are forgiven by God, set right with God, and put at peace with God and each other. We are now going to offer these sins to God, and do so in a symbolic and dramatic way that will drive home to us how Jesus Christ has taken our sin and forgiven us.
Before we begin this lesson, let us not forget to share our lives together, tell what God has been doing in our lives, and pray for anyone in need. Then, let us begin our lesson, but first, let us pray.
O living and great God, we cannot thank you enough that your beloved Son bore our sins upon the cross. Pour out upon us your Holy Spirit, that as we surrender our sins to Jesus, we may forever be set free from their guilt and shame. For his sake, that he not die in vain, we pray. Amen.
When Jesus was nailed to the cross, the cross was placed on the ground. He was nailed to it and then lifted up to be crucified. Place your cross on the floor or ground and all gather before it. Let each person pray for God’s presence and power, as if we were there when Christ was crucified. Once gathered, once we have prayed fervently in our hearts, let a person previously selected lead us in prayer. Once this prayer has been finished, we will, one by one, come forward and nail our sins to the cross. Take the list of your sins and nail them there. As you nail them on the cross, you are placing your sinful self on the cross with Christ. By the power of his resurrection you will become a new person. After the service, these lists will need to be burned. Remember, as you drive the nails into the cross, you are nailing them into Jesus. God has already placed them there when Christ died on the cross. But now, in this service, God is making real in your life what he has already accomplished so long ago. Jesus died only once, but his death was for all, everywhere, at all times. As it says in Hebrews 9:27-28, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
Once we are quiet and ready to offer ourselves to God, we will read the following psalm. Please select someone to lead in the reading. The person selected will say the first line, everyone else will say the responses in italics. This first section is from Psalm 22: 1-21.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
and are so far from my cry, and from the words of my distress?
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer;
by night as well, but I find no rest.
Yet you are the Holy One,
enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Our forefathers put their trust in you;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
They cried out to you and were delivered;
they trusted in you and were not put to shame.
But as for me, I am a worm and no man,
scorned by all and despised by the people.
All who see me laugh me to scorn;
they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,
He trusted in the LORD; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, if he delights in him.
Yet you are he who took me out of the womb,
and kept me safe upon my mother's breast.
I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born;
you were my God when I was still in my mother's womb.
Be not far from me, for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.
Many young bulls encircle me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me.
They open wide their jaws at me,
like a ravening and a roaring lion.
I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint;
my heart within my breast is melting wax.
My mouth is dried out like a potsherd; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
and you have laid me in the dust of the grave.
Packs of dogs close me in, and gangs of evildoers circle around me;
they pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me;
they divide my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing.
Be not far away, O Lord;
you are my strength; hasten to help me.
Save me from the sword,
my life from the power of the dog.
Save me from the lion's mouth,
My wretched body from the horns of wild bulls.
I will declare your Name to my brethren;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.
After the Psalm is said, sit in silence for a while. Then, pray again, once more with the leader saying the first part, the others responding by reading the part in italics.
Lord Jesus, by your agony in the garden, by your prayer to the Father, and by your bloody sweat,
Forgive.
Lord Jesus, by the betrayal of Judas, by the denial of Peter, and by the mockery, the beatings, and the insults of the guards,
Forgive.
Lord Jesus, by the deceit of the council, by the mockery of Herod, and the false judgment of Pilate,
Forgive.
Lord Jesus, by the release of Barrabas, by the cries of the crowd, and by being led like a sheep to the slaughter,
Forgive.
Lord Jesus, by the weeping of the daughters of Jerusalem, by the piercing of your feet and hands, by the shedding of your blood,
Forgive.
Lord Jesus, by your crucifixion and its torments, by your words forgiving all, and by the dividing of your clothes,
Forgive.
Lord Jesus, by the taunts and the sneers, by the vinegar that you drank, by the criminals on either side, and by the promise of paradise,
Forgive.
Lord Jesus, by your hanging on the cross, by the darkness in the land, by the splitting of the temple curtain, and by the giving of your life to God,
Forgive.
Lord Jesus, by your mighty resurrection, by the power of your eternal life, by the glory of your triumph, and by the wonder of your love,
Make us new.
It is done.
Amen.
Again, sit in silence, praying. Then, one by one go to the cross and nail your sins into the Lord Jesus, nailing the list of sins into the wood. After all have finished, sit in silence. Then, let the leader say these final words,
Go in peace, your sins are forgiven.
Next week, just as we have been forgiven, we will forgive others and be healed. To prepare for this, read the passage from Luke, Luke 22:7-24:49, several times and pray for those in your group.
The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
February, 2013
