MORRIS-ROSENFELD ECUMENICAL SHARED MINISTRY

ORDER OF SERVICE FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2024

GOOD FRIDAY

Due to copyright limitations, we are unable to print the words to many of the songs.  However, our musicians have chosen music to fit the scriptures.  We invite you to look up the words in your worship book and ponder them.  If you do not have a worship book, ponder the words of one of your favourite hymns and listen for God’s voice. Those who have the internet may find the songs on YouTube.

We enter in silence…

¹My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Why so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?

²My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer; by night, but I find no rest.

³Yet you are the Holy One, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

⁴Our ancestors put their trust in you, they trusted, and you rescued them. 

⁵They cried out to you and were delivered; they trusted in you and were not put to shame.

Gospel reading:  John 18:1-11

¹ 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?”

Hymn:  VU 145   O Sacred Head

⁶But as for me, I am a worm and not human, scorned by all and despised by the people.

⁷All who see me laugh me to scorn; they curl their lips; they shake their heads.

⁸“Trust in the Lord; let the Lord deliver; let God rescue him if God so delights in him.”

⁹Yet you are the one who drew me forth from the womb, and kept me safe on my mother’s breast.

¹⁰I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; you were my God when I was still in my mother’s womb.

¹¹Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help.

¹²Many young bulls encircle me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me. 

¹³They open wide their jaws at me, like a slashing and roaring lion.

¹⁴I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint; my heart within my breast is melting wax.

¹⁵My strength is dried up like a potsherd; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; and you have laid me in the dust of death.

Gospel reading:  John 18:12-27

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.

Hymn:  VU 149  When I Survey The Wondrous Cross

¹⁶Packs of dogs close me in, a band of evildoers circles round me; they pierce my hands and my feet. 

¹⁷I can count all my bones while they stare at me and gloat.

¹⁸They divide my garments among them; for my clothing, they cast lots.

¹⁹But you, O Lord, be not far away; O my help, hasten to my aid.

²⁰Deliver me from the sword, my life from the power of the dog.

²¹Save me from the lion’s mouth!  From the horns of wild bulls you have rescued me.

Gospel reading:  John 18:28-38a

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?”

Hymn:  VU 147  What Wondrous Love Is This

²²I will declare your name to my people; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.

²³You who fear the Lord, give praise! All you of Jacob’s line, give glory.  Stand in awe of the Lord, all you offspring of Israel.

²⁴For the Lord does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither is the Lord’s face hidden from them; but when they cry out, the Lord hears them.

Gospel reading:  John 18:38b-19:16a

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.

^19:1Then 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.

Hymn:  VU 138  Ah, Holy Jesus

The poor shall eat and be satisfied, let those who seek the Lord give praise! May your hearts live forever!

²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; all the families of nations shall bow before God.

²⁸For dominion belongs to the Lord, who rules over the nations. 

Gospel reading:  John 19:16b-27

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.

Hymn:  VU 139  At The Cross Her Vigil Keeping, verses 1-4

²⁹Indeed, all who sleep in the earth shall bow down in worship; all who go down to the dust, though they be dead, shall kneel before the Lord.

³⁰Their descendants shall serve the Lord, whom they shall proclaim to generations to come.

³¹They shall proclaim God’s deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying to them, “The Lord has acted!” 

Gospel reading:  John 19:28-42

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.

Hymn:  VU 144  Were You There

Sermon – written by Rev. David Lose

As I read the Gospel of John – and, indeed, all the Gospels – I am increasingly convinced that I have missed the more radical nature of the message of and about our Lord. Today’s reading offers a perfect example, as of late I’ve come to suspect that I have misread a key, and perhaps central, portion of it.

Here’s the verse in question: “Jesus 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’” (John 18:36).

For most of my interpretive life, I’ve read Jesus’ statement as disavowing his connection to this worldly kingdom of which both Pilate and Jesus’ own accusers are a part. Jesus, in this sense, is asserting his independence, that this world and its powers ultimately cannot determine his fate, reminiscent of his words in John 10: “No one takes from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again” (v18). Jesus is essentially saying that if this conflict were happening in his kingdom, then indeed his followers would fight, but since it was happening in this other kingdom, a kingdom that cannot keep hold of him, his followers do not get involved.

But not too long ago, a colleague suggested I’d been misreading it entirely, and I’ve come to believe she’s right. What Jesus might be saying, this colleague proposed, is that were he and his followers of this world, then naturally they would use the primary tool this world provides for establishing and keeping power: violence. But Jesus is not of this world and so Jesus will not defend himself through violence. Jesus will not establish his claims by violence. Jesus will not usher in God’s kingdom by violence. Jesus will make no followers by violence.

Rather, Jesus has come to witness to the truth, the truth that God is love (John 3:16), and that because we have not seen God and have such a hard time imagining God (John 1:18), all too often our imaginations are dominated by our experience. So rather than imagining that God is love, we imagine God to be violent because we live in a world of violence. Rather than recognize the cross as a symbol of sacrificial love, we assume it’s the legal mechanism of punishing Jesus in our stead because we have way too much experience with punitive relationships. Rather than believe that God’s grace and acceptance are absolutely unconditional, we assume God offers love, power, and status only on the condition that we fear, obey, and praise God – and despise those who don’t – because so much of our life is quid pro quo.

But Jesus is not of this world. And therefore his followers will not fight for him because to bring the kingdom about by violence is to violate the very principles of this kingdom and cause its destruction.

We live in a world dominated by the view that the only answer to violence is more violence. And the end result of that view is death.

Does that mean Jesus is calling us to be pacifists? Some traditions – particularly Mennonite, Quaker, and Church of the Brethren believers – have given vivid testimony to the power of Christian non-violence. These courageous and counter-cultural witnesses have at times shaken the powers that be and cannot and should not be quickly discarded. My own tradition, influenced by Martin Luther’s sense of God’s two hands (also called governments or kingdoms), has stressed that temporal authorities like armies and law enforcement have a critical role to play in creating a more orderly and more just world. (Which is why it is particularly painful when law enforcement falls short of its calling.) Standing in this tradition, I think the perpetrators of the violence and terrorists everywhere should be opposed vigorously, fought tirelessly, and brought to justice whenever possible so that there is less such violence in the world.

But as members of the Church and followers of a very different kind of king, we need also to witness that there are limits to the reach and outcome of force. As Martin Luther King, Jr., another champion for Christian non-violence, wrote,

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.(1)

What does this mean for our preaching? I wish I had a definitive answer. What I think at this point, looking again at a world that seems less safe for my children than the one in which I grew up, is that we gather to pray and to witness. To pray that God will comfort those who mourn, strengthen those who seek to thwart terrorists and bring them to justice, change the hearts of those who can see no other way forward but through violence, and equip all of us to work for a peace born of equity, for only such a peace will last.

And after our praying, we are called to witness:  to witness to the One who demonstrated power through weakness, who manifested strength through vulnerability, who established justice through mercy,
and who built the kingdom of God by embracing a confused, chaotic, and violent world, taking its pain into his own body, dying the death it sought, and rising again to remind us that light is stronger than darkness, love is stronger than hate, and that with God, all good things are possible.

Thanks be to God for this message, as the world has never needed it more. And thanks be to all who proclaim the radical gospel of Christ, the King so different than the world’s kings and the One who testifies to the truth and calls us to do the same.

 

Yours in Christ,

David[2]

(1) From “Where Do We Go From Here?” as published in Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?   (1967), p. 62.

Congregation stands as able

PROCESSION OF THE CROSS

Behold the life-giving cross, on which was hung the Savior of the whole world.

Oh, come, let us worship him.

Brief silence

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

By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

All depart in silence.

Worshipers may reverence the cross before they depart.

 

 

Copyright © 2016 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS011617.

© 2011 The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/byncsa/2.5/ca.

[2] https://www.davidlose.net/2015/11/christ-the-king-b-not-of-this-world/