This Good Friday Service was designed by Rev. Samual Lundquist.
Prelude
(No music, rain/storm sounds)
Welcome + Instructions
It is good that we are gathered here together on this Good Friday.
Traditionally, this service is a time to vividly remember Jesus’s last days.
We usually read a gospel account of Jesus’ betrayal, trials, humiliations,
death on the cross, and burial in a borrowed tomb.
The scriptural accounts of the Passion of Christ
fully reveal the shadow side of humanity
as the most precious of God’s gifts is attacked.
Our sacred story is filled with intense suffering
and in many ways mirrors the suffering we see in our communities and world.
So tonight, we come together to be buried with Christ
in a safe, dark place where we can:
remember the ever-Living Jesus,
call holy light into this dark time,
and cultivate new seeds of hope,
as we wait for a new dawn on Easter morning,
with Christ who has, again, triumphed over evil and death.
Opening Prayer
Liturgist
Holy One,
only You know fully
where we are
on this Good Friday evening.
All
While we are blessed with much,
we also carry troubles of our own,
and deep worries about the well-being of others.
We have come here tonight
to receive from You,
sacred light for our Easter journey.
Liturgist
Source of all Light,
may we experience Your presence tonight,
All
in the dance of candlelight,
in the beauty of music,
in the wisdom of sacred writings,
in the sincerity of our prayers,
and in the grace of this community.
Come Holy One, shine among us.
Amen.
In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
The Word was with God in the beginning.
Everything came into being through the Word,
and without the Word
nothing came into being.
What came into being
through the Word was life,
and the life was the light for all people.
The light shines in the darknessm
and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.
Song (When I survey the wonderous cross)
(V 1) 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.
Liturgist
The true light that shines on all people
was coming into the world.
The light was in the world,
and the world came into being through the light,
but the world didn’t recognize the light.
The light came to his own people,
and his own people didn’t welcome him.
Song
(V 2) See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Liturgist
But those who did welcome him,
those who believed in his name,
he authorized to become God’s children,
born not from blood
nor from human desire or passion,
but born from God.
The Word became flesh
and made his home among us.
We have seen his glory,
glory like that of a father’s only son,
full of grace and truth.
Song
(V 3) Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were a present far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called Passover, was approaching. The chief priests and the legal experts were looking for a way to kill Jesus, because they were afraid of the people.
The whole assembly got up and led Jesus to Pilate and began to accuse him. They said, “We have found this man misleading our people, opposing the payment of taxes to Caesar, and claiming that he is the Christ, a king.”
He said to them, “You brought this man before me as one who was misleading the people. I have questioned him in your presence and found nothing in this man’s conduct that provides a legal basis for the charges you have brought against him. Neither did Herod, because Herod returned him to us. He’s done nothing that deserves death. Therefore, I’ll have him whipped, then let him go.”
Pilate addressed them again because he wanted to release Jesus.
They kept shouting out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
For the third time, Pilate said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done? I’ve found no legal basis for the death penalty in his case. Therefore, I will have him whipped, then let him go.”
But they were adamant, shouting their demand that Jesus be crucified. Their voices won out. Pilate issued his decision to grant their request. He released the one they asked for, who had been thrown into prison because of a riot and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will.
They also led two other criminals to be executed with Jesus. When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right and the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”
MATERIALS: lavendar scented playdough
Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all people love poorly. That is the great work of love among the fellowship of the weak, that is the human family. To forgive another from the heart is an act of liberation. It means that I continually am willing to forgive the other person for not being God, for not fulfilling all my needs. And I, too, must ask forgiveness for not being able to fulfill other people’s needs. When you can forgive people for not being God, then you can celebrate that they are a reflection of God. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.
Henri Nouwen
The people were standing around watching, but the leaders sneered at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he really is the Christ sent from God, the chosen one.”
The soldiers also mocked him. They came up to him, offering him sour wine and saying, “If you really are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” Above his head was a notice of the formal charge against him. It read “This is the king of the Jews.”
One of the criminals hanging next to Jesus insulted him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
Responding, the other criminal spoke harshly to him, “Don’t you fear God, seeing that you’ve also been sentenced to die? We are rightly condemned, for we are receiving the appropriate sentence for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus replied, “I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise.”
Song (Abide With Me)
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide
The darkness deepens Lord, with me abide
When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away
Change and decay in all around I see
O Thou who changest not, abide with me
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee
In life, in death, o Lord, abide with me
Jesus’ mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood near the cross. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
MATERIALS: wooden branch, ribbon
For nothing is fixed,
forever, forever, forever, it is not fixed.The earth is always shifting,
the light is always changing,the sea does not cease to grind down rock.
Generations do not cease to be born,
and we are responsible to thembecause we are the only witnesses they have.
The sea rises, the light fails,
lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us.The moment we cease to hold each other,
the moment we break faith with one another,
James Baldwin
the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.
Those who were walking by insulted Jesus, shaking their heads and saying, “So you were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, were you? Save yourself! If you are God’s Son, come down from the cross.”
In the same way, the chief priests, along with the legal experts and the elders, were making fun of him, saying, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself. He’s the king of Israel, so let him come down from the cross now. Then we’ll believe in him. He trusts in God, so let God deliver him now if he wants to. He said, ‘I’m God’s Son.’” The outlaws who were crucified with him insulted him in the same way.
From noon until three in the afternoon the whole earth was dark. At about three Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “My God, my God, why have you left me?”
Song (Can the Dead Rise Up to Praise?)
O God of my salvation, do you not hear?
My soul is full of trouble and death is near
You sunk me to the bottom among the dead
Your wrath is heavy on me; I have no friend
Can the dead rise up to praise,
sing of mercy from the grave?
Is Your faithfulness proclaimed
even in the darkest place?
I cry in prayer before You; You hide Your face
Your wrath has overwhelmed me and I can’t escape
Your terrors have destroyed me; they flood the day
All those who ever loved me are far away
Can the dead rise up to praise,
sing of mercy from the grave?
Is Your faithfulness proclaimed
even in the darkest place?
After this, knowing that everything was already completed, in order to fulfill the scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was nearby, so the soldiers soaked a sponge in it, placed it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips.
Liturgist
Gentle God, You hold all the world’s grief close.
All
With every word that cuts,
every decision that divides,
every act that adds harm to an already hurting world,
you draw near to the ones who ache
in comfort and solidarity.
Liturgist
Keep us from despair that overcomes,
All
but never let us become strangers to the world’s ache,
turning away from the pain of our neighbor,
or growing accustomed to pain that shouldn’t be.
Liturgist
Whatever evil may befall us,
whatever destruction we may witness,
All
may we never grow cold to Love
or be convinced that darkness has the final word.
Liturgist
Jesus, you were ever-present to the pain around you,
and did not escape into the safety of indifference,
even in the shadow of the cross.
All
We know of your care for the suffering
and your confidence in the way of Love,
Which made you kind,
softened you to even the hardest hearts,
and kindled in you love for humanity.
Liturgist
And so now we speak to you,
these names, places, moments
that thirst for peace in their pain.
All
Lord, in your gentle mercy, hear our prayers…
[A moment for people to speak aloud any names, issues, places that need prayer, so we can hold them together.]
Liturgist
Make it so among us, O God,
and lead us in the ways of your compassion.
All
Amen.
When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is finished” and bowed his head.
MATERIALS: Paper, Pens, Fire proof bowl, sand, lighter
Is there anything that you want to give to God? Anything that has brought you sadness or sorrow that you want God to hold? Is there something that feels too big or too heavy that you want God to help you hold?
Song (Wood and Nails by Porter’s Gate)
O humble carpenter, down on your hands and knees
Look on your handiwork and build a house so you may dwell in me
So you may dwell in me
The work was done with nothing but
Wood and nails in Your scar-borne hands
O show me how to work and praise
Trusting that I am Your instrument
O loving laborer with the sweat upon your face
Oh, build a table that I too may join you in the Father’s place
Oh, in the Father’s place
The work was done with nothing but
Wood and nails in Your scar-borne hands
O show me how to work and praise
Trusting that I am Your instrument
The kingdom’s come and built upon
Wood and nails gripped with joyfulness
Oh send me out, within Your ways
Knowing that the task is finished
Darkness covered the whole earth. The sun stopped shining. Then the curtain in the sanctuary tore down the middle.
Crying out in a loud voice, Jesus said, “Father, into your hands I entrust my life.” After he said this, he breathed for the last time.
Song (Were You There?)
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
MATERIALS: flowers, cross
Still Waters 