The Liturgy of the Word

The First Reading: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

13 See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him – his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness – 15 so he will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.

53 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Psalm 22

REFRAIN    My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God. 
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen! I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever! My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. 

The Second Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 
8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. 

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Gospel Reading

The Passion According to John

The Congregation is invited to read aloud the words for the chief priests, Roman soldiers, the Disciples, and the Crowd. 

… and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?” They answered him:

SOLDIERS: Jesus of Nazareth.

He said to them, “I AM.” Judas, his betrayer was also with them. When he said to them, “I AM,” they turned away and fell to the ground. So he again asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” They said: 

SOLDIERS: Jesus of Nazareth.

… Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”

Hallelujah, What a Saviour

1. Man of sorrows
What a name
For the Son 
Of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim
Hallelujah, what a Saviour

Refrain
What a Saviour, what a King
Who came to suffer 
For our peace
What a Saviour, what a King
Who came to suffer
Came to suffer
For our peace

… Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him:

CROWD: You are not one of his disciples, are you?

… And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?” They answered and said to him,

CROWD: If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.

At this, Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.” The Jews answered him:

CROWD: We do not have the right to execute anyone.

… “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

Hallelujah, What a Saviour

1. Bearing shame 
And scoffing rude
In our place
Condemned He stood
Sealed my pardon
With His blood
Hallelujah, what a Saviour

Refrain
What a Saviour, what a King
Who came to suffer 
For our peace
What a Saviour, what a King
Who came to suffer
Came to suffer
For our peace

…“I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” They cried out again:

CROWD: Not this one but Barabbas!

Now Barabbas was a revolutionary. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said:

SOLDIERS: Hail, King of the Jews!

Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.” The Jews answered:

CROWD: We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

… “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.” Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out:

CROWD: If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.

It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your king!” They cried out:

CROWD: Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!

Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered:

CHIEF PRIESTS: We have no king but Caesar.

… Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

Hallelujah, What a Saviour

3. Lifted up
Was He to die
It is finished was His cry
Now in heav’n exalted high
Hallelujah what a Saviour

Refrain
What a Saviour, what a King
Who came to suffer 
For our peace
What a Saviour, what a King
Who came to suffer
Came to suffer, for our peace

… because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate:

CHIEF PRIESTS: Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’

… When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down. So they said to one another:

SOLDIERS: “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be.”

… So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by. The Gospel of the Lord.

Hallelujah, What a Saviour

4. When He comes
Our glorious King
His full reign and justice bring
And forever we shall sing
Hallelujah what a Saviour
Hallelujah what a Saviour
Hallelujah what a Saviour

Refrain
What a Saviour, what a King
Who came to suffer 
For our peace
What a Saviour, what a King
Who came to suffer
Came to suffer, for our peace