A REMINISCENCE

I can't remember whether my home congregation, St. Paul's Lutheran in Concordia, MO, stripped the altar on Maundy Thursday or shut off all the lights on Good Friday. For sure the pastor didn't slam the Bible shut at the end of the service. That's why it came as I shock at the congregation we belonged to in Chicago, Grace Lutheran, when all the lights were turned off & the pastor exited the chancel, you could hear him sing "O Darkest Woe." Then he slammed the Bible shut, & I jumped.

Meaningless tradition? I don't think so. I find it very moving when all the lights go down at the end of our Good Friday service, the Bible is slammed shut [I no longer jump.], & we exit the church in silence. For me this drives home the finality of Jesus' sacrifice, His death on the cross. He died the death that should have been mine, should have been ours. Yet He did it willingly, out of His overwhelming love for sinners. Out of His overwhelming love for you & me.

Did I say "finality?' It may have seem like finality when Jesus said, "It is finished," as He died on the cross. But we know--because we know what happened on that first Easter Sunday--that Jesus' death was anything but final.

A READING FOR GOOD FRIDAY

"O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me. My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from saving Me, so far from the words of My groaning? In You our fathers put their trust; they trusted & You delivered them. But I am a worm & not a man, scorned by men & despised by the people. Yet You brought me out of the womb; You made me trust in You even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon You; from my mother's womb You have been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near & there is no one to help." (Ps. 22:19; 22:1, 4, 6, 9-11) Introit for Good Friday, Lutheran Worship

A VERSE FOR GOOD FRIDAY

"Surely He took up our infirmities & carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, & afflicted." (Is. 53:4) Lutheran Worship

A PRAYER FOR GOOD FRIDAY

"Almighty God, graciously behold Your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, to be given into the hands of sinners, & to suffer death on the cross; who now lives & reigns with You & the Holy Spirit, one God, now & forever. Amen." Collect for Good Friday, Lutheran Worship

A HYMN FOR GOOD FRIDAY

Jesus, I Will Ponder Now (LW #109, St. 1)

Jesus, I will ponder now On Your holy Passion; With Your Spirit me endow For such meditation. Grant that I in love & faith May the image cherish Of Your suff'ring, pain, & death That I may not perish.