Good Friday is the sixth day of Holy Week. After Jesus’ betrayal in the garden, he is dragged before a Jewish tribunal led by the high priest, Caiaphas. They present him to Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judaea, to pursue a death sentence. After Pilate’s questioning, Jesus is sent on to Herod, who then sends him back to Pilate. Having declared that his kingdom is “not of this world,” Jesus is beaten, scourged, rejected by the crowd that welcomed him on Palm Sunday morning, and finally sentenced to the excruciating torture of crucifixion. The way of suffering (via dolorosa) for Jesus begins, and 6 hours on a cross yield horrible pain, darkness, a criminal’s forgiveness, and a torn temple curtain. For the disciples, the light of the world they knew has gone completely black.
“It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: ‘THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Mark 15:25-26
enter the cross
ENTER THE DARKNESS
To follow Jesus
Are you walking by sight or walking by faith in the Son of God?
Jesus’ love for his people, his miraculous ministry, and his prophetic posture have all leaned toward this one fateful day – the day of his crucifixion.
The historical record simply states these facts about the moment Jesus fully becomes the “suffering servant” that Isaiah 52-53 describes:
“It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: ‘THE KING OF THE JEWS’” (Mark 15:25-26).
There is a timeless phrase that is meant to inspire hope and courage in us when we are facing a difficult time. We say, “I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.” We happily, when in darkness, move toward the light. Darkness can mean confinement, disorientation, danger, and endings. Conversely, light means freedom, clarity, safety, and new beginnings.
But Jesus has modeled for us that sometimes our best choice is to follow him into the dark places of our lives. We want to cut and run, thinking there can be no good in facing our pain or entering a season where our ability to see what’s ahead is diminished. Yet the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 5:7 are inspired by what he saw Jesus do, and followed as his own life mandate: “For we live by faith, and not by sight.” This journey will always be a walk by faith – confidence in that for which we hope, and assurance about the things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1).
As Jesus is beaten, cajoled, and humiliated through the streets of his be-loved Jerusalem, he ends up with nails through his hands and feet, raised to the skies for all to see suffer. He could have avoided this with the turn of a phrase, or a confession of insanity. In-stead, he knew that darkness is where death lives, and instead of running away from it, he fearlessly walked right into its waiting arms.
PRAYER
For Good Friday.
My Lord, to think that you would enter darkness in order to fill it with light gives me hope. In my own darkness, I choose to find your light shining – and to carry it wherever you want me to.
QUESTION
For Your Easter Reflection.
Is there a world of darkness that Jesus is inviting you to shine his light within?
Urban Doxology describes themselves as a ministry “that writes the soundtrack of reconciliation in the racially diverse and gentrifying neighbourhood of Church Hill Richmond, VA.”
In this quiet melody, they set Christ’s Passion within the ancient roots of the Passover:
How can I forget on that great day When the Christ died for the world He became the lamb perfect sacrifice Freeing every boy and girl
Maundy Thursday) is the fifth day of Holy Week. Jesus gathers with his disciples in an “upper room” (a room that would have been a large, second-floor hall) to celebrate the Passover meal. At this meal, Jesus institutes the breaking of the bread (his body), and the passing of the cup (his blood), a sacred action that became the church’s central act of worship for the past couple of thousand years — the Eucharist (or communion). From here, he and a few disciples go to the Garden of Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives to pray. This is a place they would have frequented throughout Jesus’ ministry. It is on this night that the “suffering servant” passage of Isaiah 52-53 begins to reveal its fulfillment, as Jesus cries out to the Father for the cup to be taken from him, literally sweats blood in his distress, and receives the kiss of betrayal from a friend.
“And he said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God:” Luke 22:15-16
feast on the last supper
THE BREAD AND CUP
Are your invitation to new life
Can you see through communion to the future feast to come?
In Luke 22:15-16, Jesus has gathered with his disciples in an upper room to share in the Passover meal. He shares these foreshadowing words that must have startled and unsettled the disciples: “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” Passover is a sacred season when the Jews remember their great deliverance from the tyranny of the Egyptian Pharaoh. Painting the blood of a sacrificial spring lamb on the doorposts of their home, the Jews encountered the deliverance of God as the angel of death “passed over” their homes, yet slayed the firstborn of the Egyptians. Pharaoh relented, and the Hebrews were set free (Exodus 12:1-30).
Jesus is now aware that what lay before him is nothing less than his self-sacrifice on behalf of the human race.
Just as a lamb in the Passover story meant the freedom from death for the ancient Hebrews, so too his sacrificial death — as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world — would vanquish humanity’s nemesis — Death.
Bread is broken, and Jesus tells them it is his body. Wine is poured, and Jesus tells them it is his blood. He is seeing his via dolorosa, his way of suffering, laid out before him. And yet, he is seeing beyond it as well.
With words that could be spoken now to you and I as much as to the disciples around that table, Jesus makes a promise that is inherent in his words of table blessing. “Until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God” is Jesus’ way of promising a future beyond the cross, beyond the struggles of this life. That promise is ours to be remembered — every time we take the bread and drink the cup.
PRAYER
For Holy Thursday.
Lord, I look toward the day when every tear is wiped away, every disease is healed, death is vanquished, and your kingdom is established on the earth.
Let me see Your future.
QUESTION
For Your Easter Reflection.
Are you living with a clear view of where God’s future is leading us?
Are you getting beyond what you see, to what you know to be true?
Though we are separated in body, nothing can separate us from God’s love through which we are one Body in Christ.
If you wish you can download this and/or print it as a pdf: Maundy Thursday
Before You Begin
Read through this order of events ahead of time.
With family: assign different reading parts to different people. The text has been divided into 4 voices — assign these to work for your family.
Alone: read as much as you can aloud to be reminded that God speaks to and through you.
Preparation Suggestions
Prepare a meal to share with the other people in your home.
Find some music to listen to, if that is meaningful to you. I have put together a YouTube playlist.
Set out a basin and pitcher of warm water (or use the sink), and a hand towel(s).
Set your table with dishes, food, a Bible, a cross, photographs or papers with the names of those not with you.
Light a candle.
Be sure to include bread or a stand-in and some sort of beverage (water is fine).
Gather wherever you will wash your hands.
Background
Adapted G. Sparkes, “Gifts in Open Hands” Agape meals were part of the worshipping life of the early church. They took up the banquet imagery present in a number of Jesus’ parables. They were occasions of joy and festivity as the community celebrated the gift of life through Christ and lived into the promise of God’s Beloved Community. Agape meals also served as boundary markers, enabling the community to affirm its identity as the body of Christ, and they were places of economic justice, enabling a sharing and redistribution amongst the community.
Today we gather at many tables, in many homes, to remember that meal so long ago when Jesus gathered with his closest friends, his disciples. We remember the wilderness around us: physical separation, quarantine, illness, unemployment, deployment of health care workers, fear, uncertainty and grief. We also remember the wilderness to come for Jesus: betrayal, denial by his closest friends, suffering and death.
Let us seek God’s nourishment, strength and hope to face the wilderness.
Maundy Thursday: A Feast of Love
Plain text is spoken by one voice. Bold indicates the response of all voices. Italics offers instruction.
A Ritual of Washing
Gather at the sink or water basin with a towel close by.
Telling The Story A Selection from John 13
Voice 1: It was the day before the Passover festival. Jesus and his disciples were sharing the evening meal. Jesus got up from the table, took off his robes, and tied a towel around his waist. Then Jesus poured water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel he was wearing.
Voice 2: Jesus came to Simon Peter, who said to him:
All: Are you going to wash my feet, Lord?
Voice 2: Jesus answered Peter:
All: You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.
Voice 2: Peter declared:
All: Never at any time will you wash my feet!
Voice 2: Jesus answered:
All: If I do not wash your feet, you will no longer be my disciple.
Voice 2: Simon Peter answered:
All: Lord, not only my feet, then, but my hands and head, too!
Voice 3: Jesus said: “Those who have bathed are completely clean and do not need to wash other than their feet.” After washing their feet, Jesus put his robes back on, returned to his place at the table, and said, “Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you speak correctly, because I am. If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too must wash each other’s feet. I have set an example for you, so that you will do just what I have done for you.”
A Ritual of Hand-Washing
Depending on your home/family context, this ritual may be sombre or joyful, serious and gentle or playful.
There is no wrong way to do this. God meets us where we are.
All: Water has always been a sign of creation, life, birth and rebirth.
Voice 4: We remember the water of baptism, a symbol of our dying and rising in Christ. Tonight, at Christ’s invitation, we share this water of service and love.
All: With this water let us bless one another and wash each other’s hands.
Take turns washing and drying one another’s hands. You may use soap or simply water. As you wash another person’s hands (or your own if you are by yourself), say: May this water renew and restore your spirit. Then gently dry one another’s hands saying: May you dwell in God’s tender care.
Gathering at the Table
After finishing the ritual of washing, gather at the table.
Voice 4: Tonight, we remember the last night Jesus spent with his disciples celebrating the Passover meal. We remember that the early church would gather for Agape meals or love-feasts to remember Jesus’ life and ministry, to affirm their communal identity as the body of Christ, and to share food and resources so everyone would have enough.
Voice 1: Our worship centres around a meal. First, we will share bread, then we will eat our meal together and finally we will hear the story of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples. We will close our worship by sharing the cup of blessing.
Voice 2: This table is for all who are hungry. If you are hungry, come.
All: Where compassion and love are, there is God.
Voice 2: The love of Christ has gathered us as one. Let us love one another.
All: Where compassion and love are, there is God.
Voice 2: When we are gathered in spirit, even distance cannot separate us. Christ is present in our midst.
All: Where compassion and love are, there is God.
Voice 2: In this meal and worship, may we feel the joy that is community, the peace that is Christ and the presence that is Spirit. Amen.
Maundy Thursday
poem by Malcolm Guite
Here is the source of every sacrament,
The all-transforming presence of the Lord,
Replenishing our every element
Remaking us in his creative Word.
For here the earth herself gives bread and wine,
The air delights to bear his Spirit’s speech,
The fire dances where the candles shine,
The waters cleanse us with His gentle touch.
And here He shows the full extent of love
To us whose love is always incomplete,
In vain we search the heavens high above,
The God of love is kneeling at our feet.
Though we betray Him, though it is the night.
He meets us here and loves us into light.
Breaking the Bread of Life
Voice 3: Here we are at a table. We come hungry — for food and drink, for company and conversation, for God’s Spirit of hope, comfort, and peace for our wilderness journey.
Jesus gathered around tables like this one. He gathered with sinners and saints, religious leaders and tax collectors, the proud and arrogant, the self-deprecating and uncertain, the filthy rich and destitute, the healthy and sick, the young and old. We remember the last meal that Jesus shared with his disciples – a meal remembering God’s liberating power. At that meal, Jesus took a loaf of bread, broke it and shared it with his disciples saying, “Take and eat, this is my body broken for you. Do this and remember me.”
All: Holy God, for the food before us, for the community surrounding us and the love around and within us, we say thank you! Amen
You are invited to serve one another bread saying simply: “The body of Christ”
After sharing the bread, enjoy your meal!
Instead of asking for what you want, look around. See what others need.
Offer that to them. Attend to those around you and trust that they will attend to you.
Table Conversation: As it makes sense in your setting, share:
How you have seen and experienced community these last few weeks?
Has anything surprised you?
How have you maintained, strengthened and created community?
What have you learned?
Telling The Story: John 13:1-3, 21-34
Have someone read the following scripture.
Before the Festival of Passover, Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world and go to God. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them fully.
Jesus and his disciples were sharing the evening meal. The devil had already provoked Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew God had given everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was returning to God. After he said these things, Jesus was deeply disturbed and testified, “I assure you, one of you will betray me.” His disciples looked at each other, confused about which of them he was talking about. One of the disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was at Jesus’ side. Simon Peter nodded at him to get him to ask Jesus who he was talking about. Leaning back toward Jesus, this disciple asked, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread once I have dipped it into the bowl.” Then he dipped the piece of bread and gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son. After Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” No one sitting at the table understood why Jesus said this to him. Some thought that, since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus told him, “Go, buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. So when Judas took the bread, he left immediately. And it was night.
When Judas was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Human One has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify the Human One in himself and will glorify him immediately. Little children, I’m with you for a little while longer. You will look for me—but, just as I told the religious leaders, I also tell you now—‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”
All: May God open our hearts to hear the good news.
Sharing the Cup of Grace
Make sure you have something in your glass — water, wine, juice, tea.
Voice 1: Like Jesus’ disciples, we have broken bread together. We have heard of the betrayal and suffering to come in the days ahead. We remember that at the end of the meal, Jesus took their common cup, and giving thanks for it, he shared it with them saying: “Take and drink — this is the cup of the new covenant poured out in my blood for the forgiveness of sins. Do this and remember me.” Everyone is invited to drink.
All: We are God’s people.
Shaped and formed by water and Word. Sustained and nourished by the gift of Love. Together, we will live as God’s people.
Benediction
Voice 1: We must not stay here.
Voice 2: As we journey with Jesus to the cross, our purpose is among those who repent, those who open their hearts and change their lives to cultivate peace and sow justice.
Voice 3: As we look to the cross, as we feel the wilderness closing in around us,
Voice 4: We trust in God, who promises to fill the void of shadow with light and the emptiness of death with life.
All: Let us leave this time with trembling hearts, to receive and sow the seeds of God’s beloved community.
Holy Wednesday is the fourth day of Holy Week. On this day, church history remembers two very different responses to Jesus.
The disciple Judas is remembered as the betrayer of the Lord.
His loss of perspective, love of money, and ultimate suicidal path are iconic of those whose “treasures” are misguided. His lack of ability to “rightly value” his Lord precipitates the psychological disease that marks a life distant from God.
Mary, however, is quite a different story.
John 12 tells us that it is she who pours a “pint of pure nard” – a very expensive perfume – on Jesus’ feet. Costing the equivalent of a year’s wages (according to Judas), the perfume runs everywhere. She begins to wipe Jesus’ feet with her long hair. As the fragrance of worship fills the room, Judas is disgusted, while Jesus notes that her lavish act of worship is alluding to his anointing for burial (v7). Mary, the one content to sit at the feet of Jesus, has chosen to make her worship lavish.
“And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” John 12:4b
make worship lavish
CHOOSE YOUR BEST
to give Jesus as your worship
Are you going “over the top” with your worship, or are you withholding?
In John 12:1-3, Jesus is at a dinner party, thrown in his honor, with his disciples at his side. According to the Gospel of John, Lazarus, who has been raised from the dead, is at the meal provided by his sisters, Mary and Martha. “Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”
In this graphic image of worship, a woman who has received more from God than she could ever give in return, has “lost her mind” in worship. Here, we see no restraint, no mitigating or piecemealing of resources. She has grabbed a jar of a very expensive perfume and has only one mission – to say thanks for all that Christ has done.
In Mary’s case, the raising of her brother from the dead might seem a fitting reason for her to pull out the stops and go over the top with the pouring out of the perfume. But wiping his feet with her hair? Her most beautiful trait as a woman is turned into a mop, a wiping cloth, to evidence to Jesus that nothing – absolutely nothing – is worth more to her than him.
What do you have in your life that would be “over the top” if spent on an act of worship that was beyond belief?
Even if it made you look foolish, what kind of gift goes beyond what’s easy to offer, and takes great faith to offer?
To withhold worship breeds cynicism, doubt, and lack of faith. To give it, lavishly and liberally, sets us free to truly believe and to take God at His Word.
PRAYER
for Holy Wednesday
Lord, I want to be known by you, not as one who withholds worship, but rather as one who freely gives you my very best response of thanks. Take me to that place of intimacy with you.
QUESTION
for Your Easter Reflection
Is there a moment of worship in your past where you can honestly say that you gave God everything you had to offer without holding anything back?
Labyrinths are meditation tools that have been used for centuries by many societies and cultures. There are different types, but they have things in common. Unlike a maze, there is only one way into the centre, and one way out. The path of the labyrinth often symbolizes a journey. Some are large enough to physically walk. This “finger labyrinth” (you “walk” the labyrinth with your finger) can help us focus, slow down and become more relaxed.
We encourage you to use this labyrinth as a way to focus in this tumultuous time.
Download and print the image and follow it with your finger.
Steps:
Sit comfortably, be still and gently pray: “I place myself in your presence O Lord, my God.“
Take some deep breaths, to help bring focus and to relax.
Read a poem, mediation, or scripture verse that you would like to focus on for your “walk”.
There is a suggestion at the bottom of this post.
When you are ready… slowly trace the labyrinth path with a finger, use a finger on the hand that you do not write with – this is a way of helping us focus (you can also use a pen or pencil). Just as you might walk a labyrinth, you can take the tracing at your own speed. Let your thoughts come to the surface and let them flow… Jesus is with you every step of the way, you are never alone. You are always loved by God.
When you reach the centre… consider your thoughts (what do you sense God saying to you)… you might want to reread part of what you read at the beginning. Stay in the centre for a while and spend some time in prayer and reflection receiving God’s love and blessing.
When you are ready… return along the same path… return gratefully, prayerfully … you might like to sing or say aloud a line from the psalms or a favourite hymn.
As you exit the labyrinth give thanks and praise to God: “Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit as it was, in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.“
Matthew 28:1-10 “Do not be afraid …” (vv.5, 10)
Have you noticed how many times in the Bible people are told not to be afraid? It is said so often that it almost becomes a refrain. What is interesting in this passage is that the guards are absolutely terrified, so much so that they fall down apparently senseless, but they are not the ones who are told not to fear. Instead, it is the women. The angel says to the women twice “Do not be afraid.”
The reason for this is because God, as well as being all-loving, is also all-holy. God is so far beyond our imaginings that when people encounter him – or even just his angels – the appropriate response is fear.
I think we sometimes misread these encouragements not to be afraid. They are not saying that there is no need to be afraid, but that God invites you to step beyond your fear into a new relationship. If we lose all aspects of awe and wonder, then we are in danger of not treating God as God. God generously and lovingly invites us not to fear, but he is still a great and wonderful God.
As you “walk” the labyrinth today, invite God to reveal who he is and enter into responding to him… in appropriate fear and wonder, followed by worship and service.
THE CHOIR OF TRINITY WALL STREET
THE SAINT THOMAS CHOIR OF MEN AND BOYS
TRINITY BAROQUE ORCHESTRA
NEW YORK BAROQUE INCORPORATED
TRINITY YOUTH CHORUS
Thomas Cooley,
Evangelist Jonathan Woody,
Jesus Dana Marsh, Conductor
Trinity ensembles joined forces with the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys of Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue and New York Baroque Incorporated to present Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, one of the quintessential masterpieces of western classical music.
The Passion According to St. Matthew, BWV 244, is a dramatic integration of scripture, new poetry, and great hymns of the Lutheran tradition. Bach’s sublime setting creates a portrayal of the Passion that is both profoundly human and divine.
