Good Friday - April 2nd

GOOD FRIDAY LITURGY

Welcome to this service.

Today we remember that Christ died for us because he loves us.

We gather in Silence.

Taize Chant

Stay with me, remain with me, watch and pray, watch and pray.

The Collect

Almighty Father, Look with mercy on this your family for which our Lord Jesus Christ was content to be betrayed and given up into the hands of sinners and to suffer death upon the cross; who is alive and glorified with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.   All:   Amen     

First Reading             (Isaiah 52.13 –end 53)

See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Just as there were many who were astonished at him—so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals—so 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. Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For 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. He 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. Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But 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. All 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. He 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. By 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. They 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. Yet 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. Out 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. Therefore 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.   For the word of the Lord.   All:        Thanks be to God.

Hymn

O dearest Lord, thy sacred head with thorns was pierced for me; O pour thy blessing on my head that I may think for thee.

O dearest Lord, thy sacred hands with nails were pierced for me; O shed thy blessing on my hands that they may work for thee.

O dearest Lord, thy sacred feet with nails were pierced for me; O pour thy blessing on my feet that they may follow thee.

O dearest Lord, thy sacred heart with spear was pierced for me; O pour thy Spirit in my heart that I may live for thee.

Fr. Andrew (1869-1946) 

Second Reading          (Mark 15. 1-15) 

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ He answered him, ‘You say so.’ Then the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, ‘Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.’ But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed. Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. Then he answered them, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate spoke to them again, ‘Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?’ They shouted back, ‘Crucify him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify him!’ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.                                                                        

Silence is kept.

Good Friday Reflection - Music during meditation

O vos omnes (Giovanni Croce) - All you who pass by, behold and see, if there is any sorrow like my sorrow.

Passion Chorale - O sacred head, surrounded by crown of piercing thorn! O bleeding head, so wounded, so shamed and put to scorn!

                                Death's pallid hue comes o'er thee, the glow of life decays; yet angel-hosts adore thee, and tremble as they gaze.

Were you there? (arr Bob Chilcott)

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 they nailed him to the tree? Were you there when they nailed him to the tree? Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

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?

The Lord’s Prayer

Standing at the foot of the cross let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us:

All:       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, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.  Amen.  

Canticle - SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD

Jesus saviour of the world come to us in your mercy:
we look to you to save and help us.

By your cross and your life laid down you set your people free:
we look to you to save and help us.

When they were ready to perish you saved your disciples:
we look to you to come to our help.

In the greatness of your mercy loose us from our chains:
forgive the sins of all your people.

Make yourself known as our saviour and mighty deliverer:
save and help us that we may praise you.

Come now and dwell with us Lord Christ Jesus:
hear our prayer and be with us always.

And when you come in your glory:
make us to be one with you and to share the life of your kingdom.

Hymn

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.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God: All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood.

See from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingling down: Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?

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.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

The Conclusion                            

Most merciful God, who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ delivered and saved the world: grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross we may triumph in the power of his victory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.    All        Amen.

At the end of the service, the cross would normally be carried down through the Narthex and placed centrally on the forecourt of the church, proclaiming His love for all.