Good Friday

"Reproach has broken my heart, and it cannot be healed; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I could find no one. They gave me gall to eat, and when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar to drink." (Psalm 69)

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6)

After remembering the Last Supper and Gethsemane on Maundy Thursday, the Church gathers on Good Friday to commemorate the crucifxion, death, and entombment of Jesus. From ancient times this day has been a time of fasting and prayer. Coupled with Easter, Good Friday is the oldest observance in the Christian kalendar. The early church used the word "Pasch" (from pesach=passover) to refer to both feasts: Friday was the Pasch of Crucifixion, Sunday the Pasch of Resurrection.

"Shall I not drink the cup?"

The traditional Gospel reading is the account of the Passion in the Gospel of John (see below). One reason for this is because John shows that God is in charge of all the events that happen on this day. As Laurence Hull Stookey remarks, "John's particular assertion is this: The purposeful agony of God is not a short-term matter (how God responded on the spot when Jesus was sentenced to death) but nothing less than the long-term work of grace. In other words, God is in control at the cross, not as one who reacts to events but as the One who directs their course." [1]

When I think of Jesus allowing himself to be hurt and killed (is this not the same Lord who disappeared from crowds and controlled the demons?), I can be sad at Jesus's suffering, especially since I caused it. Yet I can also rejoice that, at the cross, He does what only He can do: allow me to lay my sins upon his head, that I might be redeemed and whole as God made me.

The Solemn Collects

It seems appropriate that, on the day Christ died for all, "we pray for people everywhere according to their needs." [2] During a Good Friday service many churches will use a series of prayers known as the Solemn Collects, where they pray for their own congregration, the worldwide Church, and the entire world, especially those who "know Thee[God] not as thou art revealed in the Gospel of thy Son."[3]

You can read the Solemn Collects online (HTML) from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. They are also available in PDF format (pp.9-11).

Adoration of the Cross and Stations of the Cross

In Catholic (and Anglo-Catholic) parishes, a Good Friday service might include anthems and prayers that venerate the cross. Sometimes a large cross, or image of the cross, is brought into the front of the church during this time. This dates back to times in Jerusalem when the bishop would bring out a fragment of the True Cross during the service, and those who wanted to would come to the front and pray in front of it.

We need to be careful here: if done improperly, or without the right spirit, this adoration becomes idolatry. If I venerate or pray before the cross, I do so by giving thanks for what was done upon it. Whether I go forward or not, I personally find it helpful to have a (rather large) visual reminder of Christ's suffering as I leave the church: that I might remember "sorrow and love flowed mingled down." [4]

Usually done as a separate service, the Stations of the Cross is a traditional devotion on Good Friday. In Jerusalem pilgrims would walk to places associated with the death of Jesus and events leading up to it, and say prayers at each place. Some places were taken straight from Gospel accounts, while others were more traditional/apocryphal. Today the Stations are usually represented by different icons/engraving/pictures on the walls of the church sanctuary. There are also online Stations of the Cross and you can read more about their history in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Readings

• Old Testament: Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Genesis 22:1-18, or Wisdom 2:1,12-24 (Apocrypha)
• Psalms: Psalm 22, Psalm 31, Psalm 40, or Psalm 69
• Epistle: Hebrews 10:1-25 or Hebrews 4:14-16,5:7-9
• Gospel: John 18:1-19:42
• You might also enjoy James Kiefer's meditation on Good Friday.
• John Donne's Good Friday, 1613, Riding Westward.
• Good Friday, by George Herbert.

Church Services

• Noon: Rockefeller Memorial Chapel.
• 3:00 pm: Stations of the Cross Liturgy at Calvert House (Roman Catholic)
• 6:00 pm: Holy Trinity Church (non-denominational), meeting in KAM Isaiah Israel Temple.
• 7:00 pm: Hyde Park Vineyard (non-denominational), meeting in the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club.
• 7:30 pm: Augustana Lutheran Church.
• 7:30 pm: St. Paul and the Redeemer (Episcopal).
• 7:30 pm: Church of the Resurrection (Anglican), in Glen Ellyn. Contact Kirsten (klguider) for more info.
• 8:00 pm: Bond Chapel (Calvert House)

 

[1]: Laurence Hull Stookey, Calendar: Christ's Time for the Church, p.98.
[2]: Book of Common Prayer (1979, Good Friday Rite)
[3]: Book of Common Prayer (1928, Good Friday, 3rd collect)
[4]: "When I survey the wondrous cross," hymn.