Lenten Object Devotionals (using household items)
By Jeff Bonner and Rev. Philip Stonhouse
Holy Week Devotional
Welcome to the St. Matthew’s Holy Week Devotional. In the following pages you will find a short devotional time for each day of Holy Week. The primary concept is to provide a physical “focus item” for each day as a visual reinforcement of the day’s theme, using fairly common household items.
Each day’s devotional time is designed to be simple and short. Each day follows this order:
1. Theme: Begin by reading the initial statement expressing the theme for the day.
2. Focus Item: Place the relevant focus item on the surface in front of you.
3. Short Bible Reading: Read the short reading provided. The readings are excerpted from the Eucharistic Gospel readings for the day (with the exception of the Last Supper) and from the Easy-to-Read (ERV) version. For those who want to dig a bit deeper, the full reading for the day is also provided where available.
4. Reflection/Discussion: Spend some time reflecting and discussing the reading and focus items. There are some points or questions provided and some days have appropriate actions suggested for this time. Feel free to discuss other questions a family member might have.
5. Prayer: End with the prayer, or feel free to pray extemporaneously about the theme if that is something you are comfortable with. The prayers provided are taken from the BAS collects or liturgy for the day, sometimes with some modification for this purpose and the day’s theme.
We hope that these devotional times will help you and your family to connect with the story of Holy Week in a new and spiritually meaningful way. May you be blessed with the light of Christ and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as you worship and reflect on Jesus’ journey to the Cross.
NOTE regarding Thursday – There are two options provided for Thursday, focusing on either the foot washing or the Last Supper. Choose whichever you think will be more meaningful to you, or feel free to do both (maybe one before dinner and one after, or at other times of the day as appropriate to your schedule).
Each day’s item at a glance
Monday: perfume/cologne
Tuesday: flashlight/candle
Wednesday: bag of change
Thursday #1: towel and water
Thursday #2: crackers and wine/grape juice
Friday: hammer and nails
Saturday: spices and strip of linen cloth
Monday in Holy Week
Before Jesus died, his friend Mary wiped his feet with perfume as a gesture of love.
Devotional Focus Item
Perfume/Cologne (alternative: potpourri or other scented item)
Short Reading - John 12:1-3
Six days before the Passover festival, Jesus went to Bethany. That is where Lazarus lived, the man Jesus raised from death. There they had a dinner for Jesus. Martha served the food, and Lazarus was one of the people eating with Jesus. Mary brought in a pint of expensive perfume made of pure nard. She poured the perfume on Jesus’ feet. Then she wiped his feet with her hair. And the sweet smell from the perfume filled the whole house.
Full reading for the day: John 12:1-11
Time for Reflection or Discussion
As you touch/hold/smell the perfume, think of the surprise in the room as Mary wiped Jesus’ feet:
· Have you ever had someone do something for you that surprised you but also made you feel loved and valued?
· This little bit of perfume gives off a strong scent. In our reading, the house was filled with the sweet smell of the perfume. Mary was expressing love for Jesus, and in a way her love filled the room as much as the perfume.
· The Bible sometimes compares our prayers to incense, which is kind of another type of perfume. When we pray, our prayers also express love for Jesus and can fill our own hearts like the smell of perfume fills a house.
Prayer
Almighty God, whose Son was crucified yet entered into glory, may we, walking in the way of the cross, find it is for us the way of life. As Mary showed her love with the perfume, may we also find ways to show our love for Jesus; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Tuesday in Holy Week
Jesus is the light of the world. His teachings show us the way to live and walk in life.
Devotional Focus Item
Candle (alternative: flashlight any other appropriate light source)
Short reading - John 12:35-36
Then Jesus said, “The light will be with you for only a short time more. So walk while you have the light. Then the darkness will not catch you. People who walk in the darkness don’t know where they are going. So put your trust in the light while you still have it. Then you will be children of light.” When Jesus finished saying these things, he went away to a place where the people could not find him.
Full reading for the day: John 12:20-36
Time for Reflection or Discussion
As you see the light and feel the warmth of the candle/light, think of Jesus as our light:
· Can you think of a time when someone helped you to see or understand something new that changed the way you see the world?
· The dark can be scary and dangerous, but light helps us see and find our way. Jesus came to teach us and show us how to live and walk well. He is our light that helps us find our way.
· The dark can also be cold. But the light of Jesus gives us warmth and life, just like a little candle or the much bigger sun. God’s word and promises can bring us comfort, just like warmth on a cold winter night.
Prayer:
O God, by the passion of your blessed Son, you made an instrument of death to be for us the means of life, light even out of darkness. May we walk in the light that is Jesus, and our lives be so transformed by his passion that we may witness to his grace; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Wednesday in Holy Week
Jesus was betrayed by his friend Judas Iscariot for 30 silver coins.
Devotional Focus Item
Bag of change
Short reading - John 13: 21,25-27,30
After Jesus said these things, he felt very troubled. He said openly, “Believe me when I say that one of you will hand me over to my enemies.”
…
That follower leaned closer to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus answered him, “I will dip this bread into the dish. The man I give it to is the one.” So Jesus took a piece of bread, dipped it, and gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. When Judas took the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus said to Judas, “What you will do—do it quickly!”
…
Judas ate the bread Jesus gave him. Then he immediately went out. It was night.
Full reading for the day: John 13:21-32
Time for Reflection or Discussion
As you hold and feel the coins, think about Judas betraying his friend for something like this:
· Are the coins heavy? For Judas, they became the heaviest thing in the world when he realized he had hurt Jesus so badly. The weight of the coins are the weight of his guilt.
· Are the coins cold or warm? Jesus’ love for Judas was warm, but Judas betrayed that warmth for the price of 30 cold and heartless silver coins. How does it make you feel?
Prayer:
Lord God, your Son our Saviour gave his body to be punished. Betrayed for a price, he freely endured the Cross for us. Give your servants grace to also accept suffering for his sake, confident of the glory that will be revealed, through Jesus Christ our Lord who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Maundy Thursday – Option 1: Foot Washing
Jesus washed his friends’ feet to teach them about loving and serving one another like he did.
Devotional Focus Item
Towel and bowl of water
Short reading - John 13: 12-15
When Jesus finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and went back to the table. He asked, “Do you understand what I did for you? You call me ‘Teacher.’ And you call me ‘Lord.’ And this is right, because that is what I am. I am your Lord and Teacher. But I washed your feet. So you also should wash each other’s feet. I did this as an example for you. So you should serve each other just as I served you.
Full reading for the day: John 13:1-17,31b-35
Time for Reflection or Discussion
For this day, you may want to actually take the time to wash each other’s feet within the household.
As you hold the towel, pour the water, and wash each others’ feet, think of Jesus doing this:
· His friends would have been very surprised that Jesus did this. Washing feet was usually done by very unimportant servants. Jesus was their teacher, but he was treating them like they were the more important people.
· Jesus did this to set an example for his friends. Giving to each other and serving each other is what being his follower is really all about.
· Water cleans us, whether it’s a bath or shower or the washing of feet. Can you think of another time in church when we use water?
Prayer:
God, your son our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night before his death, set an example for his disciples by washing their feet as an act of humble service. He taught that strength and growth in the life of the kingdom of God come not by power, authority, or even miracle, but by such lowly service. Give us a heart that is ready to love and serve as he has taught us. We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Maundy Thursday – Option 2: The Last Supper
Jesus shared a final special meal with his followers and set an example for us to remember him.
Devotional Focus Item
Crackers and wine/grape juice
Short reading: Matthew 25:26-29
While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it. He broke off some pieces, gave them to his followers and said, “Take this bread and eat it. It is my body.”
Then he took a cup of wine, thanked God for it, and gave it to them. He said, “Each one of you drink some of it. This wine is my blood, which will be poured out to forgive the sins of many and begin the new agreement from God to his people. I want you to know, I will not drink this wine again until that day when we are together in my Father’s kingdom and the wine is new. Then I will drink it again with you.”
Full reading for the day: n/a
Time for Reflection or Discussion
For this day, you may wish to share the crackers and wine/juice at this time.
As you share and taste the crackers and wine/juice, think of this special meal with Jesus:
· Families and friends come together at special occasions and holidays to celebrate together. Is there a special meal that you remember sharing with your family?
· Jesus talks about the wine being his blood and the bread being his body. These images were as difficult for his friends then as they are for us now. But Jesus is telling his friends, and us, that he is in us and with us as long as we come together at his table.
· At the meal, Jesus promises that he will eat and drink with them again. That promise is for us, too.
Prayer:
O God, your Son Jesus Christ has left to us a meal of bread and wine in which we share his body and his blood. May we who celebrate this sign of his great love show in our lives the fruits of his redemption; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Good Friday
As the son of a carpenter, Jesus would have seen hammers and nails many times as a child. Today, they take new meaning as he is nailed to the Cross.
Devotional Focus Item
Hammer and nails
Short reading: John 18:16-18
So Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be killed on a cross.
The soldiers took Jesus. He carried his own cross to a place called “The Place of the Skull.” (In Aramaic the name of this place is “Golgotha.”) There they nailed Jesus to the cross. They also nailed two other men to crosses. They put them on each side of Jesus with him in the middle.
Full reading for the day: John 18:1-19:42
Time for Reflection or Discussion
As you touch, hold, hear and look at the Hammer and nails think about them in relation to Jesus:
· A hammer and nails are normally used to build and hold together; God was building something for us as he was nailed to beams of wood in the form of a cross.
· A hammer is hard and sturdy and a nail is sharp and thin, both of these hurt Jesus in different ways. There are a lot of things in this world that hurt, but aren't meant to. Jesus took all of that.
· A hammer is very similar to a gavel, which a judge would strike to say a case is closed. God, both convicted us and set us free on the cross as Jesus was hammered to the cross.
Prayer
Almighty God, by hammer and nail Jesus spread his arms to the world on the Cross. Look graciously, we pray, on this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Holy Saturday
Jesus was dead and buried in a tomb and his friends were sad, but this was not the end.
Devotional Focus Item
‘Spices’ and a strip of linen cloth (myrhh and aloe incense is particularly appropriate if available but for this purpose any spice would do)
Short reading: John 19:38-42
Later, a man named Joseph from Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. (Joseph was a follower of Jesus, but he did not tell anyone, because he was afraid of the Jewish leaders.) Pilate said Joseph could take Jesus’ body, so he came and took it away.
Nicodemus went with Joseph. He was the man who had come to Jesus before and talked to him at night. He brought about 100 pounds of spices—a mixture of myrrh and aloes. These two men took Jesus’ body and wrapped it in pieces of linen cloth with the spices. (This is how the Jews bury people.) In the place where Jesus was killed on the cross, there was a garden. In the garden there was a new tomb. No one had ever been buried there before. The men put Jesus in that tomb because it was near, and the Jews were preparing to start their Sabbath day.
Full reading for the day: as above
Time for Reflection or Discussion
As you hold the linen cloth and smell the spices, think of Jesus lying in the tomb:
· We know from the Easter story that Jesus came back from the dead, but Jesus’ friends didn’t really understand that yet.
· So Jesus friends and loved ones carefully wrapped his body in the linen cloth and spices because that is what they did when someone died. When they did this, they did not expect to see Jesus again. They were saying goodbye. They were sad.
· The Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Day was a victory over sin and over death. Because Jesus died and rose again, we have new hope and look forward to a day when we don’t have to say goodbye to anyone any more.
Prayer
O God, creator of heaven and earth, the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, wrapped in linen cloth and spices. May we await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
