Tenebrae Liturgy and Readings.
On Maundy Thursday night, the evening before
Good Friday.
Introduction:
You are asked to meditate on the fact that it was on the
Thursday evening before Good Friday that Jesus and his disciples were together
for the last time, when he and they stood in the shadow of the cross, when he
washed their feet and instituted the Holy Supper.
Tenebrae is the Latin word for shadows. The gradual
extinguishing of the lights at the end of the service is symbolic of the
advancing darkness that came over Jesus during the night of his arrest, with
the flight of the disciples, the bitter hate of his enemies, the looming shadow
of the cross. The moments of total darkness recalls the time when he was in the
tomb.
The relighting of the central candle is a prophecy of
Easter so soon to dawn.
We ask you to observe the rule of silence throughout the
service.
The liturgy ends with the relighting of the central
candle, after which the congregation leaves the church in silence and go home
still meditating the experience of Tenebrae...
Call to Worship
Romans
8: 38 - 39
I am
convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the
present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Or use Psalm 16: 7 – 9.
Hymn/s
Prayer of Adoration and Confession of sins.
We
worship you, we give thanks to you, o LORD. You are the one living and true
God, who is Spirit, personal, infinite, and eternal, present in every place,
the almighty Author and sovereign Lord of all; most blessed, most holy, and most free; perfect in wisdom,
justice, truth and love; to us most merciful and gracious; unto whom only we
must cleave, whom only we must worship and obey.
To You,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be glory forever.
You are
holy, O God of majesty, and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. In
Jesus, born of Mary, your Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace
and truth. He lived as one of us, knowing joy and sorrow. He healed the sick,
fed the hungry, opened blind eyes, and broke bread with outcasts and sinners.
Dying on
the cross, he gave himself for the life of the world. Raised from the grave, he
won for his people victory over death. We praise you that Christ now reigns
with you and will come again to make all things new.
Forgive
us our sins. Purify us and cleanse us, o Lord. Give us strength to serve you
faithfully until we feast with you and all your people in the fullness of your
glory and joy.
Through
Christ, with Christ and in Christ, in unity with the Holy Spirit, belong to you
all glory and honour, eternal God, now and forevermore!
Grant
us, o Lord, peaceful fellowship with you and with each other.
Through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Lectionary Readings: Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10),
11-14; Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18; 1
Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35.
Short Sermon.
Prayer of Thanksgiving:
Let
us pray: Almighty and ever-living God, we thank you
that in your great love you have brought us together tonight to experience the
darkness of the night of your arrest, that we may with more commitment and
thanksgiving praise and worship you for the eternal Light we gained when you
laid down your life for your friends.
Grant us
the grace to live according to the Gospel Truth we have heard and experienced
tonight.
When we
remember that Thursday night when you washed the feet of your disciples, when
you instituted your Holy Supper, when you were denied and betrayed, when you anguished
in Gethsemane, waiting to carry the wrath of God for our sins, when your
emotions became dark and sad - as we remember the darkness of that night -
speak to us through your Word and urge us to repent, because we have done this
to you by our sins, impurity and disobedience.
Father
and God of Light and truth - help us to accept your love for us;
teach us
how to believe when the world around us become dark;
change
our hearts that we will expect that the Light of the World is our Redeemer from
darkness and our Saviour from the judgement of God.
Through
Jesus Christ, our Lord,
Amen.
(Keep
in mind that Easter Communion on Easter Sunday is the celebration where our
Holy Week services peak in joy and the experience of our fellowship with the living,
conquering Lord.)
Tenebrae Readings and Extinguishing of the Tenebrae
Candles:
Suggested readings:
FIRST READER: Luke 22: 39 – 48
First reader extinguishes 1st candle.
SECOND READER: Luke 22: 54 - 62. 2nd candle extinguished.
Music while contemplating the readings... (Betrayal)
THIRD READER: Matt 27: 22 – 31 Reader extinguishes 3rd candle.
FOURTH READER: Lukas 23: 26 - 28. 4th candle extinguished.
FIFTH READER: Matt 27: 33 – 40 Reader extinguishes 5th candle
SIXTH READER: Luke 23: 39 – 43 & John 19: 25 - 27. 6th candle extinguished.
Music while contemplating the readings... (Sadness)
SEVENTH READER: Luke 23: 44 – 54 Reader extinguishes 7th candle.
Music while contemplating the readings... (Death)
Minister:
With a loud cry, Jesus,
breathed His last...
The
minister then extinguishes the central candle.
Total
darkness represents that Jesus was in the tomb
SILENCE
After
about a minute, the minister relights the central candle with the words.
On the 3rd day, He rose again!
The
minister leaves the sanctuary immediately and worshippers follow in silence.
This
is an incomplete service, without benediction, only completed on Easter Sunday.
We
leave the sanctuary in silence – and go home reflecting on the experience of
Tenebrae…
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