THE COLLECT FOR FRIDAY

MJ Layton

In the Book of Common Prayer, there is a special collect for Fridays.

Almighty God, 
whose most dear Son went not up to joy 
but first he suffered pain, 
and entered not into glory before he was crucified: 
Mercifully grant that we, 
walking in the way of the cross, 
may find it none other than the way of life and peace; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
AMEN. 
(p. 98)

I love this collect because it reminds us on every Friday, not just on Good Friday, of Jesus’s loving sacrifice for us, a sacrifice that sent him to the cross before he ascended into heaven. Jesus did not skip out on the hard parts of being human; he faced pain, suffering, and death in order to save the world from sin. 

We live every day in a world still troubled by sin and because of that, we also walk in the way of the cross. But because we know that Jesus has gone before us and has conquered sin and death for us, we can find life and peace along the way.