A cross or crucifix may serve as the focus for this service. Kneel or reflect in silence for a few moments before beginning with this prayer:
Almighty God,
look with mercy on your family
for whom our Lord Jesus Christ
was willing to be betrayed
and to be given over to the hands of sinners
and to suffer death on the cross;
who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Then follows this reading.
Isaiah 52:13--53:end
See, my servant shall prosper;
he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high.
Just as there were many who were astonished at him
--so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of mortals--
so he shall startle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.
Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account.
Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the LORD shall prosper.
Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Then this psalm is sung or said.
| Psalm 22:1-22 | |
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My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?* and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress? | |
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O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer;* by night as well, but I find no rest. | |
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Yet you are the Holy One,* enthroned upon the praises of Israel. | |
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Our forebears put their trust in you;* they trusted and you delivered them. | |
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They cried out to you and were delivered;* they trusted in you and were not put to shame. | |
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But as for me, I am a worm and no man,* scorned by all and despised by the people. | |
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All who see me laugh me to scorn;* they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying, | |
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‘He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him;* let him rescue him, if he delights in him.’ | |
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Yet you are he who took me out of the womb,* and kept me safe upon my mother’s breast. | |
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I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born;* you were my God when I was still in my mother’s womb. | |
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Be not far from me, for trouble is near,* and there is none to help. | |
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Many young bulls encircle me;* strong bulls of Bashan surround me. | |
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They open wide their jaws at me,* like a ravening and a roaring lion. | |
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I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint;* my heart within my breast is melting wax. | |
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My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;* and you have laid me in the dust of the grave. | |
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Packs of dogs close me in, and gangs of evildoers circle around me;* they pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones. | |
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They stare and gloat over me;* they divide my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing. | |
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Be not far away, O Lord;* you are my strength; hasten to help me. | |
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Save me from the sword,* my life from the power of the dog. | |
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Save me from the lion’s mouth,* my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls. | |
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I will declare your name to my people;* in the midst of the congregation I will praise you. | |
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Praise the Lord, you that fear him;* stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob’s line, give glory. |
The service continues with a period of silence and then a hymn such as this one:
For a version with MIDI, click here
O sacred Head, now wounded,
with grief and shame weighed down,
now scornfully surrounded
with thorns, thine only crown:
how pale thou art with anguish,
with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish
which once was bright as morn!
What thou, my Lord, has suffered
was all for sinners' gain;
mine, mine was the transgression,
but thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
'Tis I deserve thy place;
look on me with thy favor,
vouchsafe to me thy grace.
What language shall I borrow
to thank thee, dearest friend,
for this thy dying sorrow,
thy pity without end?
O make me thine forever;
and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
outlive my love for thee.
Now focus on the cross and worship the Lord. You may use this form or one of your own devising.
O crucified Jesus,
Son of the Father,
conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
eternal Word of God,
we worship you.
O crucified Jesus,
holy temple of God,
dwelling place of the Most High,
gate of heaven,
burning flame of love,
we worship you.
O crucified Jesus,
sanctuary of justice and love,
full of kindness,
source of all faithfulness,
we worship you.
O crucified Jesus,
ruler of every heart,
in you are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
in you dwells all the fullness of the Godhead,
we worship you.
O my people, O my church,
What have I done to you,
or in what way have I offended you?
Testify against me.
I led you forth from the land of Egypt
and delivered you by the waters of baptism,
but you have prepared a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
holy and mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I led you through the desert forty years,
and fed you with manna:
I brought you through tribulation and penitence,
and gave you my body, the bread of heaven,
but you have prepared a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
holy and mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
What more could I have done for you
that I have not done?
I planted you, my chosen and fairest vineyard,
I made you the branches of my vine;
but when I was thirsty, you gave me vinegar to drink
and pierced with a spear the side of your Savior,
and you prepared a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
holy and mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I went before you in a pillar of cloud,
and you have led me to the judgment hall of Pilate.
I scourged your enemies and brought you to the land of freedom,
but you have scourged, mocked, and beaten me.
I gave you the water of salvation from the rock,
but you have given me gall and left me to thirst,
and you have prepared a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
holy and mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I gave you a royal scepter,
and bestowed the keys to the kingdom,
but you have given me a crown of thorns.
I raised you on high with great power,
but you have prepared a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
holy and mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
My peace I gave, which the world cannot give,
and washed your feet as a sign of my love,
but you drew the sword to strike in my name
and seek high places in my kingdom.
I offered you my body and blood,
but you scatter and deny and abandon me,
and you have prepared a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
holy and mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I sent the Spirit of truth to guide you,
and you close your hearts to the Counselor.
I pray that all may be one in the Father and me,
but you continue to quarrel and divide.
I call you to go and bring forth fruit,
but you cast lots for my clothing,
and you have prepared a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
holy and mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I grafted you into the tree of my chosen Israel,
and you turned on them with persecution and mass murder.
I made you joint heirs with them of my covenants
but you made them scapegoats for your own guilt,
and you have prepared a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
holy and mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I came to you as the least of your brothers and sisters;
I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was a stranger and you did not welcome me,
naked and you did not clothe me,
sick and in prison and you did not visit me,
and you have prepared a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
holy and mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
Then is sung the following hymn.
For a version with MIDI, click here
Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended,
that man to judge thee hath 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 heedeth,
God intercedeth.
For me, kind Jesus, was thy incarnation,
thy mortal sorrow, and thy life's oblation;
thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
for my salvation.
Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee,
I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee,
think on thy pity and thy love unswerving,
not my deserving.
O Savior of the world,
by your cross and precious blood you have redeemed us.
Save us and help us, we humbly beseech you, O Lord.
God sent Jesus into the world,
not to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him,
that all might who believe in him
might be delivered from the power of sin and death
and become heirs with him of eternal life.
We pray
for the one holy Church of Christ
throughout the world:
that God will confirm us in faith,
increase us in love,
and preserve us in peace.
Silence
We pray for all nations and peoples of the earth
and for those in authority among them:
that by God's help
they may seek justice and truth,
and live in peace and concord.
Silence
Let us pray for all who suffer
and are afflicted in body or in mind:
that God will comfort and relieve them
and grant them the knowledge of his love
and stir up in us the will and patience
to minister to their needs.
Silence
Let us pray for those who have not received the Gospel of Christ:
that God will open their hearts to the truth
and lead them to faith.
Silence
Let us commit ourselves to God
and pray for the grace of a holy life,
that with all who have departed this life
and have died in the peace of Christ,
and those whose faith is known to God alone,
we may be accounted worthy
to enter into the fullness of the joy of our Lord,
and receive the crown of life in the day of resurrection.
Silence
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light,
look favorably on your people.
By the effectual working of your providence,
carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation.
Let the whole world see and know
that things which were cast down are being raised up,
and things which had grown old are being made new,
and that all things are being brought to their perfection
by him through whom all things were made,
your Son Jesus Christ our Lord:
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
- The Lord's Prayer is said.
The service concludes with this prayer.
Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of the living God,
we pray you to set your passion, cross, and death
between your judgment and our souls,
now and in the hour of our death.
Give mercy and grace to the living;
pardon and rest to the dead;
to your holy Church peace and concord;
and to us sinners everlasting life and glory;
for you live and reign now and for ever. Amen.
Material for this service was compiled from:
The Book of Common Prayer, 1979, Episcopal Church;
and The Book of Common Worship, 1993, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).