TODAY IN MISSION YEARBOOK
Mission Yearbook: Good Friday: A service of darkness
“Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last,” is the way Mark’s gospel records the central event of Good Friday. When the centurion sees Jesus breathe his last, he concludes, “Truly this man was God’s son.” The women who’d “followed him when he was in Galilee and ministered to him,” including Mary Magdalene and Salome, watched the crucifixion from a distance after they’d come up with Jesus to Jerusalem.
Many PC(USA) churches will hold some kind of Good Friday observance today. I’m most familiar with the Tenebrae service, Latin for “darkness.” John’s account of Jesus’ suffering and death is divided into readings, and a candle is extinguished after each one until the worship space is more or less shrouded in darkness. It’s wrenching because it tries to mimic the darkness the followers of Jesus experienced on that day.
Growing up, I’d say Good Friday was just the price we youngsters paid for the privilege of enjoying Easter and the springtime that usually accompanies it. Older me recognizes the darkness that is descending on our world, and not only on Good Friday. We are flawed human beings who keep falling into the same old unhelpful practices and sinning in ways that are both familiar and innovative.
I plan to attend a Tenebrae service this evening. It won’t be well attended, but those of us who are present will be a blessing to one another. It helps to have other beacons in the darkness that now surrounds us.
Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service
Let us join in prayer for:
Jim Kirk, Associate, Disaster Response USA, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Interim Unified Agency
Lara Kirwan, Administrative Project Manager, President’s Office, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Let us pray:
Holy God, be with us today as we remember Jesus’ suffering and death. Create in us clean hearts, that we may serve you and others with clarity of purpose and with a willingness that will please you and surprise those we serve. We pray this in the name of the One whose determined willingness remains our example. Amen.