Staying with the Void

Staying with the Void

for March 22, 2026

Before Worship Begins

Staying with What is Missing

In life, we experience all kinds of voids—places where something is missing, where love used to be, where loss has left an empty space. Mary and Martha knew that void when Lazarus died. It was deep. It was wide.

Before worship begins, take a quiet moment to notice one empty place in your own life. Name it with a word or short phrase—silently, without explaining it.

We cannot rush to fill every void. Some losses do not resolve quickly. Some pains do not have fixes. The emptiness is real.

And yet God meets us here—not with false hope, and not with despair, but with presence. Today we seek wholeness and God’s shalom together.

If you feel uncomfortable, simply stay with the discomfort. If you feel anxious, you are not alone. Take one slow breath, and pray quietly:

“God, I am here. Stay with me.”

Opening Prayer

Staying with What is Missing

God of mercy,

Stay with us.

We come carrying empty places—

losses we cannot undo, questions we cannot resolve.

We come with grief we can name, and grief we cannot—

and we do not ask for quick fixes.

Meet us in the void,

where we feel unfinished and unsure.

When we are tempted to rush past what hurts,

slow us down.

When we are tempted to numb what is true,

wake us gently.

When we are tempted to despair,

hold us in your steady love.

Breathe your Spirit into what feels dry in us—

bring life where we cannot.

Make us a people of presence—

staying with you, and staying with one another.

Lead us toward your wholeness, your shalom—

through Jesus Christ, who wept with friends and stayed to the end.

And all God’s people said,

Amen.

Grace Spoken

Grace for the Empty Places

From the depths, we cry to the Lord—

and the Lord does not turn away.

Hear the promise held near the end of this psalm:

with the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with the Lord there is plentiful redemption.

God does not ration mercy.

God does not grow tired of forgiving.

God’s love is stronger than what we have lost,

and God’s redemption reaches deeper than our emptiness.

So we do not pretend the void is small,

and we do not surrender to it.

We wait, we hope, and we stay—

because the Lord is faithful.

Let us read Psalm 130 together.

I will read the odd-numbered verses; please join me on the even-numbered verses.

In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

Thanks be to God.

Responding to God’s Grace

Confessing our Hurry

God of steadfast love,

we confess that we do not wait well.

When the void opens in our lives,

we rush to fill it—

with noise, with control, with distractions,

with explanations that are too small for our grief.

We confess the ways we have avoided what is true,

and the ways we have withdrawn from one another

when pain feels awkward or heavy.

Forgive us for our impatience.

Forgive us for the false strength we try to manufacture.

Teach us to stay—

to cry out from the depths,

to wait for you,

and to trust your plentiful redemption.

(Silence is kept.)

Breathe your Spirit into what is dry in us.

Unbind us from fear and despair.

Lead us toward your wholeness, your shalom,

through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sharing the Peace of Christ

An Embodied Sign of God’s Grace in Christ Jesus

Because Christ sits with us in every void, knowing our pain, experiencing our heart arch, and picking up our sin, we are at peace with God and one another..

The peace of Christ be with you.

And also with you.

(Share Christ’s peace in ways fitting to your community.)

The Written Word

Life Spoken Into the Void

Hebrew Scripture

Gospel Reading

Shared Reflection

An Embodied Sign of God’s Grace in Christ Jesus

These questions are not a test of faith, and they are not meant to force answers.

They are meant to help us notice the ways we perform “mature faith,” and to make room for honest presence with God and with one another.

You are free to speak, to listen, or to pass.

Let the questions do their work. Stay with what stirs.

When Mature Faith Becomes Performance

When you picture “mature faith,” what do you assume it should look like—calm, certain, able to explain—and where did you learn that expectation?

What parts of your real life do you edit out of the community of faith because they feel “too much” to bring to God or to church—grief, anger, confusion, need?

Mary and Martha pray, “Lord, if you had been here…” and Jesus does not correct them—he stays and weeps. What would change if you stopped performing composed faith and spoke to God that honestly today?

The Gap Between Performance and Presence

In John 11, Jesus does not hurry Mary and Martha past their grief—he stays, listens, and even weeps. Where in your life are you trying to move faster than Jesus?

What is the gap between the “mature faith” you feel expected to show (composed, certain, explainable) and the faith we see in this story (honest, grieving, present, still trusting)?

If the next step toward faithfulness is not more control or better answers, but simply staying—what would it look like to stay with God in one specific place you usually avoid?

Waiting as Trust

In this story, what does Jesus actually do in the face of grief—what actions show you what “faithful presence” looks like before anything is fixed?

Psalm 130 says, “I wait for the Lord.” What might it look like for you to practice waiting with God instead of rushing to explain, manage, or solve?

If “mature faith” is not having the right words, but trusting God enough to stay honest and present, what is one sentence you need to pray this week—your own version of: “Lord, if you had been here…”?

Living the Gospel Together

Practicing the Way of Jesus

John 11 does not begin with a miracle. It begins with grief, delay, and honest words spoken to Jesus.

Mary and Martha do not offer polished faith. They offer what is real: “Lord, if you had been here…”

Jesus does not rush them. He stays. He listens. He weeps. And only then does he speak life.

These practices are not about forcing hope or pretending the void is small. They are simple ways of staying with God—without performing “mature faith.”

As you are able, choose one practice this week.

Invitation 1 — Tell the Truth Without a Bow

This week, in one safe conversation, answer one question honestly without attaching a positive spin.

Choose one:

• When someone asks, “How are you?” say one true sentence (no explanation).
• Name one grief or fear plainly: “This has been heavy for me.”
• Admit a limit: “I don’t have words for this yet.”

Reflection: What did it feel like to let honesty stand on its own?

Invitation 2 — Write a “Psalm 130” Note

Write a short note (or text) to someone who is waiting or grieving.

No advice. No Bible grenade. Just presence.

Use one sentence, or a variation of it:

• “I’m with you in this.”
• “I’m praying from the depths with you.”
• “You don’t have to carry this alone.”

Reflection: What did it cost you to offer presence without solutions?

Invitation 3 — Stay with Someone Else’s Grief

Choose one person who is carrying something heavy.

Reach out with a simple presence—not advice.

Choose one:

• Make a phone call, to provide care.
• Ask someone who is grieving to go for a walk or visit a park together.
• Invite a person who is experiencing a void to volunteer with you. While with them, practice being comfortable with silence.

Resist fixing. Resist silver linings. Just stay.

Reflection: What kind of love becomes possible when you offer presence instead of solutions?

As the reflection time comes to a close, a leader can offer prayer with and for God’s people.

Affirmation of Faith

The Westminster Catechism (abridged and adapted for worship)

These words are adapted from the Westminster Catechisms, written in the 1640s by the Westminster Assembly in London as part of the Reformed/Presbyterian tradition. The Shorter Catechism (1647) and Larger Catechism (1648) were crafted to teach ordinary Christians the core of the faith and the comfort of the gospel. (See
WLC Q65 and WSC Q36.)

Friends, let us affirm the historical faith together:

In Jesus Christ, we belong to God.

Christ is not distant from us—he shares his life with us, in grace now and in glory to come.

Because we belong to Christ, God gives us real gifts for real life:

the assurance that we are loved,

peace that steadies our hearts,

joy that the Spirit can kindle even in hard seasons,

strength to keep growing,

and the grace to keep going to the end.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayers of the People

Praying from the Void

God of steadfast love,

you meet us in the depths and you do not turn away.

So we come,

not to perform faith,

not to rush toward resolution,

but to stay with you in what is real.

For the empty places we carry—

losses that still ache,

hopes that did not come to pass—

stay with us, O God.

(Silence is kept.)

For all who grieve—

for those tired of being “strong,”

for those alone in the waiting—

stay with us, O God.

(Silence is kept.)

For all who live with fear and uncertainty—

for those awaiting news, decisions, or healing,

for those who feel dry bones in their own spirit—

stay with us, O God.

(Silence is kept.)

For your church—

when we choose composure over honesty,

explanations over presence,

speed over love—

teach us to remain.

stay with us, O God.

(Silence is kept.)

For the world you love—

where violence and injustice widen the void—

strengthen those who work for peace and repair,

protect the vulnerable,

and give wisdom to leaders.

stay with us, O God.

(Silence is kept.)

And for what feels beyond hope—

in us, in those we love, and in this world—

we ask for your living presence,

your Spirit’s breath,

your plentiful redemption.

In your time, speak your word of life.

Give us courage to hear it,

and love to help one another rise.

Through Jesus Christ,

who stayed, who wept, and who still meets us here.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

We pray together, saying:

(The Lord’s Prayer is prayed in the words familiar to the community.)

Communion (Optional)

Union with Christ Celebrated in the Void

This table is not a reward for having strong faith, or for saying the right words.

It is a place for those who are learning to stay.

Here, we do not pretend the void is small.

We do not rush past grief.

We do not have to be composed or certain.

At this table, Christ meets us in what is unfinished.

Christ stays with us in the depths.

Christ gives himself to us when we are empty.

So come—

not because you have everything figured out,

but because you are hungry for mercy and wholeness;

for Christ, and for one another.

Come with your questions.

Come with your waiting.

Come with your grief and your hope.

These are the gifts of God for the people of God.

(Communion may be celebrated according to the practice of the community.)

Sending

The Lord is Our Helper

Loved ones, as we wrestle with voids within our common life, and as we each wrestle with voids within our individual experiences, remember the good words, the promises written by the Psalmist in Psalm 121.

Reflections for Later

For Newcomers

If you’re new here, you may not know what to do with a service that lingers in grief and doesn’t rush to a neat conclusion. That’s okay. In today’s scriptures, Mary and Martha don’t offer polished faith—they speak from the empty place: “Lord, if you had been here…” Jesus doesn’t correct them or hurry them. He stays. He listens. He weeps.

Christian faith is not mainly about having the right words or keeping yourself composed. It’s about bringing what is real into God’s presence—and discovering you are not alone there. If you are carrying an empty place in your life, you don’t have to hide it. You are welcome to stay, to listen, and to let God meet you slowly, with mercy and steadfast love.

For Those Rooted in This Community

For those who are rooted here—who have prayed through many seasons and carried this community in love—today’s scriptures offer a quiet challenge. We can learn, over time, to present a composed faith: steady, reasonable, explainable. But Mary and Martha remind us that faithful people still grieve, still protest, still speak honestly from the void. And Jesus meets them there without impatience.

The invitation for seasoned disciples is not to “have it together,” but to stay present—to God, to one another, and to the hard places we’d rather move past. Psalm 130 teaches us to wait without pretending; Romans 8 tells us the Spirit gives life even when weakness remains. Your rootedness is a gift to this body when it becomes room for others to be human. This week, consider where God is asking you not to fix or explain, but to remain—offering steady presence, gentle truth, and patient love.

For Churches Without a Pastor

If your congregation is walking through a season without a pastor, you may feel a kind of void—not only the absence of a leader, but the uncertainty it creates: unanswered questions, delayed decisions, the pressure to “hold it together.” Today’s scriptures speak directly into that space. Mary and Martha did not receive a quick fix. They waited. They grieved. They spoke honestly. And Jesus stayed with them in it.

Psalm 130 gives language for communities like yours: “Out of the depths I cry… I wait for the Lord.” Waiting is not failure. It is faithful ground. Ezekiel’s valley reminds us that God can bring breath where life feels thin. Romans 8 says the Spirit is still at work, even in mortal weakness. So be gentle with yourselves and with one another. Keep showing up. Keep praying from the depths. Practice presence over performance. Christ is not absent from your in-between season—Christ is staying with you, and shaping you, even now.

In the process, you might find that Christ is working in you with more of God’s power and purpose. Be open to what God has in store for you.

Suggested Hymns

Glory to God (GTG, 2013)

• Abide with Me (GTG 836)
• O Love That Will Not Let Me Go (GTG 833)
• Breathe on Me, Breath of God (GTG 316)
• Spirit of the Living God (GTG 288)

Sing the Faith (STF, 2003)

• Open Our Eyes, Lord (STF 2086)
• Stay with Me (STF 2199)
• Jesus, Remember Me (STF 2189)

The Presbyterian Hymnal (TPH, 1990)

• Abide with Me (TPH 280)
• O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go (TPH 384)
• Breathe on Me, Breath of God (TPH 316)
• Spirit of the Living God (TPH 322)

The Hymn Book (THB, 1953)

• Abide with Me (THB 301)
• O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go (THB 384)
• Breathe on Me, Breath of God (THB 324)

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Rights and Use

© Church Commons. 2026

Written by Rev. Matthew J. Skolnik unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

These materials may be used and adapted for worship and formational purposes within Christian communities. They may not be sold or redistributed for commercial purposes without permission.