A Tenebrae Service of Our Lord's Crucifixion - April 2, 2021 - Second City Church
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A Tenebrae Service of Our Lord’s Crucifixion
April 2, 2021
Good FridayMEDITATION
Jesus' cry was "a genuine cry of abandonment . Jesus is left to die an undignified death, alone
and rejected by all, even by God." Rebecca Cerio
"'They crucified him with the criminals, one on either side of him.' Which is more amazing?
To find Jesus in such bad company or to find the criminals in such good company? And both
are true!" Karl Barth
"When the Father barred the door, when the Father casts out the Son, whatever He
experienced...would have been infinitely greater than all the hells of everyone whoever
deserved to go to hell all put together." Tim Keller
David took off the head of Goliath with the sword Goliath had used to kill many. Pharaoh's
army was drowned as he had drowned so many Hebrew baby boys. We serve the Lord of
the Reversal, the One who makes the first last and the last first. The message of the Cross is
not only the vast reach of mercy but the surprising triumph of the crucified.
David Cassidy
We are Easter people living in a Good Friday world.
Barbara JohnsonWELCOME Thank you for joining us in worship today.We hope this guide will help you participate in our service. If you have any questions about our worship, faith, or how you can be a part of our mission to serve God and neighbor in Harrisburg, be sure to talk to our pastor. If you would like to indicate your presence to us, please fill out the form on the back page of this bulletin and place it in the offering plate or give it to a greeter. About this service: The service of Tenebrae has been practiced by the Church since medieval times. Once a service for monastic communities, it later became a common part of Holy Week worship in the Church and is now celebrated by Christians around the world. Tenebrae, meaning “darkness”, is a meditation on Christ’s suffering. Readings trace the story of his passion. This service is not only a meditation on Christ’s passion, but preparatory prayer for the celebration of Easter. Worshipers should enter humbly, worship, and leave quietly, meditating on the suffering of Christ for our salvation.
LITURGY OF PREPARATION
Words of Welcome
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you
and also with you.
Call to Worship
All you who pass this way
look and see the shadow of sin.
All you who pass this way
look and see the weight of the world.
All you who pass this way
look and see the suffering of our Savior.
All you who pass this way
look and see the sorrow of Jesus Christ.
Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
based on Lamentations 1:12
Gathering Hymn - Create In Me A Clean Heart, O God
Create in me a clean heart O God
And renew a right spirit in me (repeat)
Cast me not away from thy presence, O Lord
Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation
And renew a right spirit within meThe Stone of Condemnation
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When
they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—
one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not
know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Luke 23:32-34
Prayer
Forgiving Christ, when the world condemns us, when wrong is done to
us, when we carry the weight of things that are too much to forgive,
come alongside us in the darkness and give us the grace to be forgiven
and forgiving.
Silence
Song: Jesus, Remember MeThe Stone of Separation
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved
others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you
are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save
yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under
the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But
this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:35-43
Prayer
Reconciling Christ, we are weighed down by sin and separation, a
world that is not at peace, a people who are not whole. You reached
out to the thief, you welcomed him to God’s side. Come alongside
us in the darkness and bring grace and peace to everything that is
broken.
SilenceSong: Jesus, Keep Me Near The Cross
Jesus, keep me near the cross Near the cross! O Lamb of God
There a precious fountain Bring its scenes before me
Free to all, a healing stream Help me walk from day to day
Flows from Calvary’s mountain With its shadow o’er me
In the cross, in the cross In the cross, in the cross
Be my glory ever Be my glory ever
Till my ransomed soul shall find Till my ransomed soul shall find
Rest beyond the river Rest beyond the river
Near the cross, a trembling soul Near the cross I’ll watch and wait
Love and mercy found me Hoping, trusting ever
There the bright and morning star Till I reach the golden strand
Shed His beams around me Just beyond the river
In the cross, in the cross In the cross, in the cross
Be my glory ever Be my glory ever
Till my ransomed soul shall find Till my ransomed soul shall find
Rest beyond the river Rest beyond the river
Homily
- Pastor Peter Rowan - A Rebel’s Death
The Stone of Sorrow
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he
loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple,
“Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
John 19:25-27
Prayer
Loving Jesus, we carry the weight of the people we love. We are
concerned for their sorrows and suffering. Our care for them is deep,
and sometimes there is not much we can do. Come alongside us in the
darkness and cradle the ones we love in your strong hands.Silence
Song: O Come and Mourn with Me Awhile
O come and mourn with me awhile O break, O break, hard heart of mine
O come ye to the Savior's side Thy weak self-love and guilty pride
O come, together let us mourn His Pilate and His Judas were
Jesus our Lord is crucified Jesus our Lord is crucified
Seven times He spake seven words of love A broken heart, a fount of tears
And all three hours His silence cried Ask, and they will not be denied
For mercy on the souls of men A broken heart loves cradle is
Jesus our Lord is crucified Jesus our Lord is crucified
O love of God! O sin of man O love of God! O sin of man
In this dread act Your strength is tried In this dread act Your strength is tried
And victory remains with love And victory remains with love
Jesus our Lord is crucified Jesus our Lord is crucified
And victory remains with love
Jesus our Lord is crucified
The Stone of Despair
At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in
the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
Mark 15:33-34
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you know what it is to feel that God is far away. You
know what it is to call out for God’s presence. Come alongside us in the
darkness and help us call out for God.
SilenceSong: Ah, Holy Jesus
Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended,
that we to judge thee have in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by thine own rejected,
O most afflicted!
Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee!
‘Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee;
I crucified thee.
Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
the slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered.
For our atonement, while we nothing heeded,
God interceded.
The Stone of Suffering
Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be
fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge
in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had
received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his
spirit.
John 19:28-30
Strepitus (clashing)
The Bible is slammed closed.We remember the cataclysmic nature of his sacrifice as we
hear the strepitus (clashing)—a loud noise symbolizing Christ’s death and rejection by God
the Father.
Prayer
Suffering Savior, in all our thirst, in all our sickness, in all our longing, in
all our pain, you are there. Come alongside us in the darkness and walk
with us through all our suffering.
SilenceSong: Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted
The Stone of Death
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the
afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he
had said this, he breathed his last.
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a
righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what
took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including
the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Luke 23:44-49
Prayer
Dearest Jesus, even in death you are with us. When we mourn, when we
are afraid, when we come to our own end, you have been there too.
Come alongside us in the darkness and carry us through death to life.
Silence
Song: O Sacred Head Now Wounded
O sacred Head, now wounded Lo, here I fall, my Savior
With grief and shame weighed down 'Tis I deserve Thy place
Now scornfully surrounded Look on me with Thy favor
With thorns, Thine only crown And save me by Thy grace
How pale thou art with anguish
With sore abuse and scorn What language shall I borrow
How does that visage languish To thank Thee, dearest friend
Which once was bright as morn For this Thy dying sorrow
Thy pity without end
What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered O make me Thine forever
T'was all for sinners' gain And should I fainting be
Mine, mine was the transgression Lord, let me never, never
But Thine the deadly pain Outlive my love for TheeThe Light Extinguished The final candle, representing the life of Christ, is finally extinguished.The abrupt ending, with no benediction or formal dismissal gives us the sense that the story of our redemption isn’t complete until Easter. Dismissal Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?.. if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his... if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him... So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Amen. Worshipers depart in silence [As you leave you are invited to place your stone beneath the Christ candle in the back—leaving behind your worries, letting go of the weight, marking an encounter with God, and remembering the time Jesus spent in the grave until Easter morning.]
ATTRIBUTIONS
Music
Create In Me A Clean Heart, O God Ah, Holy Jesus
by Keith Green based on Psalm 51:10 Words: Johann Heermann, 1630; transl.
Public Domain Robert S. Bridges, 1899
Music: Herzliebster Jesu by Johann Crüger,
Jesus, Remember Me 1640
United Methodist Hymnal, 488
Words: Luke 23:42
Music (REMEMBER ME, IRR.): Jacques Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted
Berthier and the Community of Taize, 1981 by Thomas Kelly, 1769-1854
Les Presses de Taize, by permission of G.I.A.
Publications, Inc. O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
Words: Latin, medieval; German transl. Paul
Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross Gerhardt,1656; tr. James W. Alexander, 1830,
by Fanny Crosby 1869 alt. Music: Herzlich Tut Mich Verlangen by Hans
based on Gal. 6:14 L. Hassler, 1601; adapt. and harm. Johann S.
Bach in St. Matthew Passion, 1729
O Come and Mourn With Me Awhile
Frederick W. Faber, 1814-1863
based on Matt. 27:50
Cover Art
Marc Chagall, Exodus, 1952-66Your contact information Contact us
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Dan James
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