Bulletin – Friday, March 29, 2024 – Good Friday
Friday, March 29, 2024
Good Friday
Call to Worship
One: On this day we gather to remember Jesus our Saviour who loved us and gave himself for us. Let us draw near in full assurance of God’s endless love and mercy.
All: We give our thanks and praise to Jesus Christ who carries our sorrows, heals our wounds, and redeems us from sin and death.
(Written by Marlene Kropf in Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross: Good Friday Service.
Posted on Mennonite Church Canada Resource Centre website, http://resources.mennonitechurch.ca/.
Reposted: https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2014/03/good-friday-call-to-worship.html)
Candle Liturgy
One: Never doubt the meaning of Lent. It happened a long time ago, but it happened. Jesus walked on this earth. He practiced a ministry of radical inclusivity, drawing to himself all the despised and rejected members of society. He lived a life acceptable to you, O God. His death terrifies us, because it reveals how committed the world is to its own way, and the price the world exacts from those whose commitment is to you.
(Silent Time)
One: As we extinguish this light, we acknowledge the darkness and pain of all the children in the world who suffer in body, in mind, or in spirit.
(A candle is extinguished)
One: Let us pray:
All: What we contemplate today is beyond words, beyond understanding. May the Holy Spirit intercede for us and give voice to what, for us, is inexpressible. Amen.
Anthem – “We Remember”
Choir:
As we gather here, we remember how you turned the water into wine;
How you fed the hungry crowd with five loaves of bread,
How you healed the sick and the blind.
As we gather here, we remember how you have your life on the tree.
We remember, Lord, your sacrifice, we remember Calvary.
As we gather here, we remember how you freely gave to those in need,
How you shared your Father’s love, his undying care,
With each word, each thought, every deed.
As we gather here, we remember how you gave your life on the tree.
We remember, Lord, your sacrifice, we remember Calvary.
All:
When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain, I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.
Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.
Choir:
We remember, Lord, your sacrifice,
We remember Calvary.
Prayer for Illumination
Revealing God, your message comes to us in words that have been passed down for millennia. Yet we hear them as ever fresh and new. Help us reflect on them through the lens of both history and contemporary experience. May they guide, inspire, and provide. We pray in the name of the ever-living Christ. Amen.
(Laura J. Turnbull, while at Trinity UC, Creston BC Gathering Lent/Easter 2022 page 48)
Introduction
Our first reading today comes from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 53 contains a prophecy of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Isaiah taught that the coming saviour would be despised and rejected, smitten and afflicted, although there would be nothing to cause people to single him out. He would not be so distinctive, so different from others that people would recognize him as the Son of God.
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 53:1-6
1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Anthem – “Behold the Lamb of God”
Behold the Lamb of God,
Behold the Lamb of God
Who carries our burden, who knows our pain,
Who bears the sins of the world.
Behold the Lamb of God,
Behold the Lamb of God;
Jesus, Jesus is the Lamb of God.
Surely he has borne our grief
And carried the sorrows of us all.
Struck down in our stead,
Rejected and scorned,
And by his wounds we are healed.
Behold the Lamb of God,
Behold the Lamb of God
Who carries our burden, who knows our pain,
Who bears the sins of the world.
Behold the Lamb of God,
Behold the Lamb of God;
Jesus, Jesus is the Lamb of God.
Introduction
Our second reading is from Psalm 22. Psalm 22 begins with the most anguished cry in human history: “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?” These are the words that Jesus took on His lips at the depth of His suffering on the cross. His suffering was unique at that point as He offered Himself up for the sins of the people. And so, we have tended to see this cry as unique to Jesus. But Jesus was not inventing unique words to interpret His suffering. Rather, He was quoting Psalm 22:1. These words were first uttered by David, and David was speaking for all of God’s people. Today, we reflect on these words and those following as they relate to Christ and to all His People.
Scripture Reading: Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. 3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. 4 In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. 8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” 9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. 10 From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God. 11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help…
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. 15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. 16 Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. 17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.
Introduction
And now, we turn to the story of Good Friday. Today, we will be reading from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 22, verse 39 to Chapter 23, verse 56. The reading will be punctuated by hymns, which will proceed unannounced, and we ask you that you remain seated as we sing.
Hymn – “Go to Dark Gethsemane” (VU #133, verse 1)
Go to dark Gethsemane,
You the feel the tempter’s power;
Your redeemer’s conflict see;
Watch with him one bitter hour;
Turn not from his grief away:
Learn from him to watch and pray.
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
Scripture Reading: Luke 22:39-46
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. 45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
Hymn – “Shadows Gather Deep and Cold” (VU #134)
Shadows gather, deep and cold;
Lamplight flickers, fades fails.
Lord, you know what day break holds:
Thorns and beatings, cross and nails.
You will be denied, betrayed when the rooster wakes the sun.
Yet you kneel alone and pray, “Not my will, but thine be done.”
In the watches of the night,
In the hour when darkness reigns,
In the grief that has no light,
In the time of fear and pain,
Then we hold fast to your way, to the victory you have won.
Jesus, teach us how to pray, “Not my will, but thine be done.”
Jesus Arrested
Scripture Reading: Luke 22:47-65
47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. 51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. 52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”
Peter Disowns Jesus
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” 57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said. 58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied. 59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.” 60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
The Guards Mock Jesus
63 The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” 65 And they said many other insulting things to him.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us pray: Lord we have denied you, each time we refused to see you in the faces of the hungry and the homeless.
All: May the old in us pass away and all things become new.
One: Lord we have betrayed you, each time we have kept our distance from the anguish of the oppressed and the persecuted.
All: May the old in us pass away and all things become new.
One: Lord we have mocked you, each time we have pretended we do not know how radically you call us to live.
All: May the old in us pass away and all things become new.
One: Lord we are lost and strayed, welcome us into your forgiving arms and make us new.
All: May the old in us pass away and all things become new.
One: All merciful One, God of infinite love and compassion, though we have strayed, you have never abandoned us. In this season of repentance, we come confessing our sins and reaching out of the healing power of your forgiveness.
All: Through Christ our Lord, give us renewed and truthful hearts that will follow you in all our ways. Amen.
(From the website of Patmos Abbey—The Order of Saint Columbia,
Posted on the “Canadian Foodgrains Bank.” Weekly Prayer page.
Reposted https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2012/03/prayer-lord-we-have-denied-you.html)
Jesus Before Pilate and Herod
66 At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67 “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.” Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68 and if I asked you, you would not answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” 70 They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied, “You say that I am.” 71 Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”
1 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.” 3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. 4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” 5 But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.” 6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.
13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16 Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.” 18 But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” 19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) 20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21 But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” 22 For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.” 23 But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.
Hymn – “Go to Dark Gethsemane” (VU #133, verse 2)
See him at the judgement hall,
Beaten, bound, reviled, arraigned;
See him meekly bearing all;
Love to all his souls sustained.
Shun not suffering, shame, or loss:
Learn from Christ to bear the cross.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’ 31 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews. 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Anthem – “Jesus, Remember Me” (VU #148)
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
The Death of Jesus
44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. 47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” 48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Hymn – “Go to Dark Gethsemane” (VU #133, verse 3)
Calvary’s mournful mountain view;
There the Lord of glory see,
Made a sacrifice for you,
Dying on the accursed tree.
“It is finished,” hear his cry: trust in Christ and learn to die.
The Burial of Jesus
50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. 54 It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. 55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.
(Time of Silence)
Hymn – “Beneath the Cross of Jesus” (VU #135)
Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand:
The shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land,
A home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noon-tide heat and the burden of the day.
Upon the cross of Jesus my eyes at times can see
The very dying form of one who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart, with tears, two wonders I confess,
The wonder of his glorious love, and my unworthiness.
I take, O cross, your shadow for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of his face,
Content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss,
My sinful self my only shame, my glory all, the cross.
Benediction
Good Friday is indeed a dark day. And yet, it is the day that allows those who would follow Jesus to live faithfully together. And of course, Easter is just around the corner. As we leave this time of worship, let us hear these words of hope from Hebrews 10:15-25.
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:16-25
1 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” 17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” 18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. 19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Amen.
