They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews.
—John 19.40
From a lectionary reading for Good Friday: John 18.1-19.42
Reflection for Friday, April 6 (Good Friday/Day 39 of Lent)
Years earlier, when an angel had appeared in a sheep pasture proclaiming good news of great joy, the angel had told the shepherds of a Savior, a Messiah, a Lord whom they would find as a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. Now, on this day, the Savior is wrapped in a spiced shroud of linen cloths, a scented winding sheet to hold him as he lies in the tomb.
It’s tempting to draw a stark contrast between the emotions of those who held Christ at his birth and those who held him at his death. Though joy must have prevailed at the beginning of his life and fear and grief at the end, surely, among those who saw and knew him best, celebration and sorrow were mixed on each occasion. Yet as at the beginning, so at the end: those who love Christ enfold him, tend him, bless him.
Song of the Winding Sheet
For Good Friday
We never
would have wished it
to come to this,
yet we call
these moments holy
as we hold you.
Holy the tending,
holy the winding,
holy the leaving,
as in the living.
Holy the silence,
holy the stillness,
holy the turning
and returning to earth.
Blessed is the One
who came
in the name,
blessed is the One
who laid
himself down,
blessed is the One
emptied for us,
blessed is the One
wearing the shroud.
Holy the waiting,
holy the grieving,
holy the shadows
and gathering night
Holy the darkness,
holy the hours,
holy the hope
turning toward light.
—Jan Richardson
2016 update: “Song of the Winding Sheet” appears in my new book Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons.
For previous reflections on Good Friday, click the images or titles below.
Good Friday: In Which We Get Nailed
The video Listening at the Cross intertwines my series of images on the Seven Last Words of Christ with Gary’s exquisite song “This Crown of Thorns.”
[To use the image “According to the Burial Custom,” please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com. To use the “Listening at the Cross” video, please visit this page. Your use of janrichardsonimages.com helps make the ministry of The Painted Prayerbook possible. Thank you!]
April 6, 2012 at 9:33 AM |
The facts are that this is lovely, poignant, that I’ve fallen in love with the new direction your artisting is taking you/us……and that today is the day I repeat myself as I do each year, encouraging those who haven’t already read ‘In Which We Get Nailed’ to gift themselves: it shakes me and blesses me with each revisit.
April 7, 2012 at 12:20 PM |
Great stuff, Jan! Thank you so much!
April 14, 2022 at 9:42 AM |
Hi Jan. May I have permission to read “Song of the Winding Sheet” as a closing blessing on Good Friday? Hope all is well with you. Fond memories of your time with us in retreat in New Brunswick.
April 14, 2022 at 12:27 PM |
Shawn, thank you; it’s lovely to hear from you in this Holy Week! I continue to carry such good memories and gratitude for you, Claudette, and everyone involved in that retreat.
I would be delighted for you to read “Song of the Winding Sheet” as a closing blessing on Good Friday. All that’s necessary is to include the source.
Thank you again, and many blessings to you!