Reader 1: Read John 18:19-27 in your preferred translation.

Optional: To punctuate the reading, play this sound effect of a cock crowing when verse 27 is read. Reader 3 (Peter): (Lamentful) Jesus was right. My Lord, what have I done?

Congregational Response (Reflecting on the art and participating in Peter’s denial)

Reader 2: I invite you to now gaze upon the complete artwork titled The Descent by Rev. T. Denise Anderson, which is printed in your bulletin (or projected on the screen). This is a piece created entirely out of fabric. Anderson shares these words about the artwork as a whole: “From [the top], Peter descends into more fear—the kind that does not help us to be our best selves. I depict him going from stunned to defensive and then to belligerent, navigating the full spectrum of the fight, flight, or freeze responses to perceived threat. By the time the cock crows as Jesus predicted (see if you can make out the bird’s faint silhouette in the lower right-hand corner), Peter probably no longer recognizes himself. He must feel deflated and ashamed. At the end of his descent he is different, so I depict him differently from his three prior denials. He has much less fire in his countenance and can’t even open his eyes to face what he’s done.

The flames recall the fire where Peter warmed himself, but they also represent purification and illumination. Peter is forced to see himself as he truly is—as Jesus had already shown him.

Who will he choose to be after this? When we are confronted with who we truly are, who will we choose to be after that confrontation? As we look at Peter’s journey, it’s my prayer that we will consider and meditate on our own.”

—Rev. T. Denise Anderson

Invite participants to place the slips of dissolving paper from the first two stations into basins of water (or into the baptismal font) while music plays softly in the background. In this act, we symbolically participate in Peter’s denial. We recognize the times we have turned away from those we love and from those whom God has called us to serve. We feel the pain of facing the worst part of ourselves. Have someone stir the water as worshipers place their slips in the water to make the paper dissipate well.

For virtual worshipers: Ask participants to tear apart or ball up the pieces of paper they wrote on in stations 1 and 2 and discard them in the trash.