Word & Worship for Good Friday -- 2 April 2021

 

Opening Prayer for the Good Friday

Everlasting God, in your endless love for the human race, you sent our Lord Jesus Christ to take on our nature and to suffer death on the cross. In your mercy, enable us to share in his obedience to your will and in the glorious victory of the resurrection, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Psalm:     Ps. 22: 1-18

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me

       and are so far from my cry,

       and from the words of my distress?

O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer;

        by night as well, but I find no rest.

Yet you are the Holy One,

       enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

Our forefathers put their trust in you;

       they trusted, and you delivered them.

They cried out to you and were delivered;

       they trusted in you and were not put to shame.

But as for me, I am a worm and no man,

       scorned by all and despised by the people.

All who see me laugh me to scorn;

       they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,

"He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him;

       let him rescue him, if he delights in him."

Yet you are he who took me out of the womb,

       and kept me safe upon my mother's breast.

I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born;

       you were my God

       when I was still in my mother's womb.

Be not far from me, for trouble is near,

       and there is none to help.

Many young bulls encircle me;

       strong bulls of Bashan surround me.

They open wide their jaws at me,

       like a ravening and a roaring lion.

I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint;

       my heart within my breast is melting wax.

My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd;

my tongue sticks to the roof  of my mouth;

       and you have laid me in the dust of the grave.

Packs of dogs close me in,

and gangs of evildoers circle around me;

       they pierce my hands and my feet, I can count all my bones.

They stare and gloat over me;

       they divide my garments among them;

       they cast lots for my clothing.

Be not far away, O Lord;

       you are my strength; hasten to help me.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 52:13—53:12

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah

¹³See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. ¹⁴Just as there were many who were astonished at him—so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals— ¹⁵so he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.

⁵³Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? ²For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. ³He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.

⁴Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. ⁵But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. ⁶All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. ⁸By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. ⁹They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. ¹¹Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. ¹²Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

The Word of the Lord

New Testament Reading: Hebrews 4: 14-16

A reading from the letter to the Hebrews

¹⁴Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The Word of the Lord.

Gospel Reading: John 18:1—19:42

18After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. ²Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. ³So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. ⁴Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” ⁵They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replied, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. ⁶When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they stepped back and fell to the ground. ⁷Again he asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁸Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” ⁹This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, “I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.” ¹⁰Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. ¹¹Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?” ¹²So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him.

¹³First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. ¹⁴Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people. ¹⁵Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, ¹⁶but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. ¹⁷The woman said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” ¹⁸Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself. ¹⁹Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. ²⁰Jesus answered, “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. ²¹Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said.” ²²When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” ²³Jesus answered, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” ²⁴Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. ²⁵Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, “You are not also one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” ²⁶One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” ²⁷Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

²⁸Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰They answered, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” ³¹Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.” The Jews replied, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” ³²(This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.) ³³Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” ³⁴Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” ³⁵Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” ³⁶Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” ³⁷Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” ³⁸Pilate asked him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no case against him. ³⁹But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰They shouted in reply, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a bandit.

19Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. ²And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. ³They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and striking him on the face. ⁴Pilate went out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.” ⁵So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” ⁶When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.” ⁷The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.” ⁸Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. ⁹He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰Pilate therefore said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” ¹¹Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” ¹²From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.” ¹³When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. ¹⁴Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, “Here is your King!” ¹⁵They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the emperor.”

¹⁶Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; ¹⁷and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. ¹⁸There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them.

¹⁹Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” ²⁰Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. ²¹Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” ²²Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” ²³When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. ²⁴So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill what the scripture says, “They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.” ²⁵And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. ²⁸After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” ²⁹A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. ³⁰When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

³¹Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. ³²Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. ³³But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. ³⁵(He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) ³⁶These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, “None of his bones shall be broken.” ³⁷And again another passage of scripture says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.”

³⁸After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. ³⁹Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. ⁴⁰They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. ⁴²And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Sermon (added at the end of the document)

Thanks and Offertory

Bidding Prayers for Good Friday

Let us pray, brothers and sisters, for the holy Church of God throughout the world.
Silent prayer.

L    Almighty and eternal God, you have shown your glory to all nations in Jesus Christ. By your Holy Spirit guide the Church and gather it throughout the world. Help it to persevere in faith, proclaim your name, and bring the good news salvation in Christ to people everywhere. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
C    Amen

L    Let us pray for Susan and Michael, our bishops, for our pastors, and all servants of the Church, and for all the people of God.
Silent prayer.
L    Almighty and eternal God, your Spirit guides the Church and makes it holy. Strengthen and uphold our bishops, pastors, other ministers, and lay leaders; keep them in health and safety for the good of the Church, and help each of us in our various vocations to do faithfully the work to which you have called us. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
C    Amen

L    Let us pray for those preparing for Baptism.
Silent prayer.
L    Almighty and eternal God, you continually bless the Church. Increase the faith and understanding of those preparing for Baptism. Give them a new birth as your children, and keep them in the faith and communion of your holy Church. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
C    Amen

L    Let us pray for all our brothers and sisters who share our faith in Jesus Christ.
Silent prayer.
L    Almighty and eternal God, you give your Church unity. Look with favor on all who follow Jesus your Son. Make all the baptized one in the fullness of faith, and keep us one in the fellowship of love. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
C    Amen

L    Let us pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear the Word of God.
Silent prayer.
L    Almighty and eternal God, long ago you gave your promise to Abraham and your teaching to Moses. Hear our prayers  that the people you called and elected as your own may receive the fulfillment of the covenant’s promises. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
C    Amen

L    Let us pray for those who do not share our faith in Jesus Christ.
Silent prayer.
L    Almighty and eternal God, gather into your embrace all those who call out to you under different names. Bring an end to inter-religious strife, and make us more faithful witnesses of the love made known to us in your Son. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
C    Amen

L    Let us pray for those who do not believe in God.
Silent prayer.
L    Almighty and eternal God, you created humanity so that all might long to know you and have peace in you. Grant that all may recognize the signs of your love and grace in the world and in the lives of Christians, and gladly acknowledge you as the one true God. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
C    Amen

L    Let us pray for God’s creation.

Silent prayer

L    Almighty and eternal God, you are the creator of a magnificent universe. Hold all the worlds in the arms of your care and bring all things to fulfillment in you. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

C    Amen.

L    Let us pray for those who serve in public office.
Silent prayer.
L    Almighty and eternal God, you are the champion of the poor and oppressed. In your goodness, give wisdom to those in authority, so that all people may enjoy justice, peace, freedom, and a share in the goodness of your creation. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
C    Amen

L    Let us pray for those in need.
Silent prayer.
L    Almighty and eternal God, you give strength to the weary and new courage to those who have lost heart. Heal the sick, comfort the dying, give safety to travelers, free those unjustly deprived of liberty, and rid the world of falsehood, hunger, and disease. Hear the prayers of all who call on you in any trouble, that they may have the joy of receiving your help in their need. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
C    Amen

The Lord’s Prayer

Finally let us pray for all things as our Lord would have us ask:

Our Father, who art in heaven,

    hallowed be thy name,

    thy kingdom come,

    thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

    and forgive us our trespasses,

      as we forgive those who trespass against us;

    and lead us not into temptation,

       but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power,

         and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

V

Behold the life giving Cross,

     on which was hung the Savior of the whole world.

Oh, come let us worship him.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

            By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

O King of the Friday
     Whose limbs were stretched on the Cross,
O Lord who did suffer The bruises, the wounds, the loss,
     We stretch ourselves
     Beneath the shield of thy might,
Some fruit from the tree of thy pass
     Fall on us this night!

• Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both secret disciples of Jesus do what they feel is necessary to honour their master while fulfilling the burial customs of their people. The Romans would usually leave the body on the cross as an object lesson to others about the power of Rome. Once elements and the birds were done, the body would be taken down. What Joseph asked Pilate for brought an unusual answer.
• We can see that crucifixion was a horribly gruesome punishment, usually decreed for rebels and political criminals. Jesus met that description because he was called “King of the Jews”, and Rome would have no rivals.
• How did Joseph and Nicodemus feel while they were doing what they did? I can only imagine the despair and loss they might have felt. Here was a person they had trusted to be more than what they might expected have of the average rabbi. He spoke as no one else had ever spoken. Now his teaching had ended and there was no going further.
• What was next? They’d played their hand and now were revealed as followers of the crucified one. Maybe they didn’t care at this point. Maybe it was all too much and in their grief, they did what they felt they had to do.
• A tomb and spices and linen grave cloths. They were needed and they were brought. Jesus’ closest disciples had disappeared. Were the women counted among his followers too grief stricken to do such things? It’s just something to think about.
• Something else to think about is the fact that we know what they don’t. To them it was the end. Now they would have to search for something else although not necessarily something new. What would they find? They didn’t know; what they knew was that the present was filled with grief and disappointment.
• We know what they didn’t. We know that this day is not the end, but in a way a silence before a new beginning. The beautiful music has stopped, but like the break between movements of a symphony, the music is not over. Musicians might all it a “fermata.” There is more to come and what is to come could not be imagined.
• It still cannot be imagined. We know more of the story than Joseph or Nicodemus, but we don’t know it all. The story is still going on.
• The shocking story of Good Friday still needs to be heard and the church makes sure it’s available with all its sadness, fear, and horror. It is the story of our salvation, the song of God’s love for creation and for God’s people. It is a song of grace.
• There is more to that song and if the silence between movements makes us want to hear more, and hear it again and again… Good.