SURELY HE HAS BORNE OUR GRIEFS
Leader: He gave his back to the smiters and his cheeks to those who pulled out his beard.
All: He hid not his face from shame and spitting.
Leader: He set his face like flint.
Women: He knows he shall not be put to shame.
Men: The LORD God helps him.
Women: Who will declare him guilty?
—Isaiah 50:6-8
Leader: He was despised and rejected by men.
Men: A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
Leader: As one from whom men hide their faces
Men: He was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Leader: Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
All: Amen.
(silent meditation and confession)
Leader: Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.
All: But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.
Leader: Upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.
Women: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
Men: And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Women: He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;
Men: Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.
Leader: By oppression and judgement he was taken away;
Women: And as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
Men: And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death,
Women: Although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Men: Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise him; he has put him to grief;
Women: When he makes himself an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days;
Men: The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand; he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied.
Leader: By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities.
Men: Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
Women: Because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors;
All: Yet he bore the sin of many, and has made intercession for the transgressors. Amen.
—Isaiah 53:3-12
(silent intercession for earth's sinners and fallen)
The above resources are taken from a Good Friday service submitted by the Lngersoll, Ontario, Christian Reformed Church.
Blockprints from Blockprints for Sundays/Cycles A-B-C. Used by permission of Pueblo Publishing Company.
LITANY OF REMEMBRANCE
Let us remember Jesus: who, though rich, became poor and dwelt among us, who was mighty indeed, healing the sick and the troubled, who, as a teacher to his disciples, was their companion and servant.
May we ever be grateful for Jesus the Christ and what he has done for us.
Let us remember Jesus who prayed for the forgiveness of those who rejected him and for the perfecting of those who received him, who loved all people, and prayed for them, even if they denied and rejected him; who hated sin because he knew the cost of pride and selfishness, of cruelty and hatred, both to people and to God.
May we ever be grateful for Jesus the Christ and what he has done for us.
Let us remember Jesus, who humbled himself, obedient unto the cross. God has exalted him who has redeemed us from the bondage of sin and given us new freedom.
May we ever be grateful for Jesus the Christ and what he has done for us and continues to do for us.
(silence of remembrance)
PRAYER ON THE SEVEN WORDS
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Almighty God, to whom your crucified Son prayed for the forgiveness of those who did not know what they were doing, grant that we, too, may be included in that prayer. Whether we sin out of ignorance or intention, be merciful to us and grant us your acceptance and peace: in the name of Jesus Christ, our suffering Savior. Amen.
"Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
O Lord Jesus Christ, who promised to the repentant the joy of paradise, enable us by the Holy Spirit to repent and to receive your grace in this world and in the world to come. Amen.
"Woman, behold your son . . . Behold your mother."
O Blessed Savior, who in your hour of greatest suffering expressed compassion for your mother and made arrangements for her care, grant that we who seek to follow your example may show our concern for the needs of others, reaching out to provide for those who suffer in our human family. Hear this our prayer for your mercy's sake. Amen.
"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"
O Lord, I call for help by day, and in the night I still must cry. Regard me, listen to my prayer.
My soul is troubled, I am weak, cut off as one whom you forsake, forgotten near the pit of death.
Your wrath weighs heavy on me here. Your angry waves upon me break. Friends watch in horror from afar.
I am shut in without escape. My eyes are dim because I weep. My hands are lifted up to you.
Do you work wonders for the dead? Can graves tell out your mighty deeds? There, who can know that you can save?
Lord, do not hide your face from me. You have afflicted me from youth. Your anger is destroying me.
Your flood of anger closes in. The darkness is my closest friend—shunned and forsaken, all alone. [PsH 88:1-7]
"I thirst."
O blessed Savior, whose lips were dry and whose throat was parched, grant us the water of life that we who thirst after righteousness may find it quenched by your love and mercy, leading us to bring this same relief to others. Amen.
"It is finished."
O Lord Jesus Christ, who finished the work that you were sent to do, enable us by your Holy Spirit to be faithful to our call. Grant us strength to bear our crosses and endure our sufferings, even unto death. Enable us to live and love so faithfully that we also become good news to the world, joining your witness, O Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."