Good Friday

March 29, 2024 12 Noon

On this day the ministers enter in silence.
All then kneel for silent prayer, after which the Celebrant stands and begins the liturgy with the collect.

The Collect

Blessed be our God
For ever and ever. Amen.
Let us pray.

Almighty God, we pray You graciously to behold this Your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; Who now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Word Of God

Old Testament Lesson:  Isaiah 52:13-53:12

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.

Reader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.

Psalm  22: 1-11

1 My God, my God, why have | you for | saken me? *

and are so far from my cry and from the | words of | my dis | tress?

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

by night as | well, • but I | find no | rest.

3 Yet | you are • the | Holy One, *

en | throned up • on the | praises • of | Israel.

4 Our forefathers | put their | trust in you; *

They | trusted, • and | you de | livered them.

5 They cried out to you and | were de | livered; *

they trusted in you and | were not | put to | shame.

6 But as for me, I am a | worm and • no | man, *

scorned by | all • and des | pised • by the | people.

7 All who see me | laugh me • to | scorn; *

they curl their lips and | wag their | heäds, | saying,

8 "He trusted in the Lord; | let him • de | liver him; *

let him | rescue him, • if | he de | lights in him."

9 Yet you are he who took me | out of • the | womb, *

and kept me | safe up • on my | mother's | breast.

10 I have been entrusted to you ever | since I • was | born; *

you were my God when I was | still • in my | mother's | womb.

♰11 Be not far from me, for | trouble • is | near, *

and | there is | none to | help.

New Testament Lesson:  Hebrews 10:16-25

The Holy Spirit testifies saying,

"This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds,"

he also adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Reader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John (18:1-19:42)

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and striking him on the face. Pilate 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." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" When 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." The 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."

Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate 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?" Jesus 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." From 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."

When 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. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, "Here is your King!" They 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." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. [stand] There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many 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. Then 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.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." When 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. So 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."

And 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. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty." A 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. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Since 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. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None of his bones shall be broken." And again another passage of scripture says, "They will look on the one whom they have pierced."

After 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. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now 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. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

The Homily: tHE rEV. Todd Blackham

The Solemn Collects

Dear People of God: Our heavenly Father sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved; that all who believe in Him might be delivered from the power of sin and death, and become heirs with Him of everlasting life.
We pray, therefore, for people everywhere according to their needs.

Let us pray for the holy Catholic Church of Christ throughout the world;

For its unity in witness and service
For all bishops and other ministers and the people whom they serve
For Kym, our Bishop, and all the people of this diocese
For all Christians in this community
That God will confirm His Church in faith, increase it in love, and preserve it in peace.                                     

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of Your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before You for all members of Your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve You; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Let us pray for all nations and peoples of the earth, and for those in authority among them;

For Joseph, the President of the United States
For the Congress and the Supreme Court
For the Members and Representatives of the United Nations
For all who serve the common good
That by God's help they may seek justice and truth, and live in peace and concord.                                            

Almighty God, kindle, we pray, in every heart the true love of peace, and guide with Your wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth; that in tranquility Your dominion may increase, until the earth is filled with the knowledge of Your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray for all who suffer and are afflicted in body or in mind;

For the hungry and the homeless, the destitute and the oppressed
For the sick, the wounded, and the crippled
For those in loneliness, fear, and anguish
For those who face temptation, doubt, and despair
For the sorrowful and bereaved
For prisoners and captives, and those in mortal danger
That God in His mercy will comfort and relieve them, and grant them the knowledge of His love, and stir up in us the will and patience to minister to their needs.                                                                                                                         

Gracious God, the comfort of all who sorrow, the strength of all who suffer: Let the cry of those in misery and need come to You, that they may find Your mercy present with them in all their afflictions; and give us, we pray, the strength to serve them for the sake of Him who suffered for us, Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray for all who have not received the Gospel of Christ;
For those who have never heard the word of salvation
For those who have lost their faith
For those hardened by sin or indifference
For the contemptuous and the scornful
For those who are enemies of the cross of Christ and persecutors of His disciples
For those who in the name of Christ have persecuted others
That God will open their hearts to the truth, and lead them to faith and obedience.                     

Merciful God, creator of all the peoples of the earth and lover of souls: Have compassion on all who do not know You as You are revealed in Your Son Jesus Christ; let Your Gospel be preached with grace and power to those who have not heard it; turn the hearts of those who resist it; and bring home to Your fold those who have gone astray; that there may be one flock under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us commit ourselves to God, and pray for the grace of a holy life, that, with all who have departed this world and have died in the peace of Christ, and those whose faith is known to God alone, we may be accounted worthy to enter into the fullness of the joy of our Lord, and receive the crown of life in the day of resurrection.                                                                                                
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on Your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of Your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by Him through Whom all things were made, Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; Who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

tHE Veneration of The Cross

We glory in Your cross, O Lord,
and praise and glorify Your holy resurrection;
for by virtue of Your cross, joy has come to the whole world.

May God be merciful to us and bless us,
show us the light of His countenance, and come to us.
Let Your ways be known upon earth, Your saving health among all nations.

Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You.
We glory in Your cross, O Lord, and praise and glorify Your holy resurrection;
for by virtue of Your cross, joy has come to the whole world.

The Reproaches - John Sanders

The Confession and Absolution

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.

The Holy Communion

#158 Ah, holy Jesus (v.1-3)

Communion from Reserved Sacrament

The Lord’s Prayer

And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,

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, for ever and ever. Amen.

Invitation to Communion

The Gifts of God for the People of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.

Communion Music

#172 Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray you to set your passion, cross, and death between your judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living; pardon and rest to the dead; to your holy Church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The ministers depart in silence following the closing prayer, without a blessing or dismissal.