STATION 14: JESUS IS PLACED IN THE TOMB
Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth. He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left. Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb and watching.
— Matthew 27:59-61 (NLT)
Then Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
— Luke 23:53-56 (NRSV)
Station 14
The stone is rolled.
The tomb is sealed.
And silence settles in.
This is the moment between.
Between death and life.
Between heartbreak and healing.
Between what was and what will be.
The women watch.
They take note.
They plan to return.
Even in grief, they stay close.
Even in uncertainty, they prepare.
Even in silence, they wait.
This is the holy pause.
The part of the story we often rush past
to get to resurrection.
But love lingers here.
Because loss is real.
Because death has a weight that cannot be ignored.
Still, even in this place of shadows,
hope is already stirring.
Not loud, not visible—
but alive beneath the surface,
ready to rise.
The tomb will not be the end.
But for now—
we honor what is laid to rest.
Let us pray.
Jesus, you were laid in the tomb, and the world held its breath.
We know what it means to sit in the silence. To wait in the in-between. To wonder if hope will ever rise again.
We pray for those who grieve tonight — those mourning death, dreams, relationships, and quiet losses known only to you.
Wrap them in your peace. Let them rest. And give them courage to believe that this is not the end.
Teach us to honor the waiting, to find holiness even in the dark, and to trust that you are not finished yet.
Amen.
