THE PASCHAL TRIDUUM:
GOOD FRIDAY LITURGY
April 18, 2025
12:00 NOON
BISHOP: The Rt. Rev. Kara Wagner Sherer
PRESIDER: The Rev. Dr. Julianne Buenting
MUSIC DIRECTOR and ORGANIST: Stephen Kennedy
TRANSITIONAL DEACON: The Rev. Joel D. Wilbur
Honoring the Baptismal Covenant, we strive for justice and peace for all people,
respecting the dignity of every human being.
LITURGY NOTES ON THE PASCHAL TRIDUUM
The Paschal Triduum encompasses Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday night. It is one liturgical service divided over three days, with lengthy intermissions. Therefore, we leave the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday portions in complete silence without a blessing or dismissal.
Maundy Thursday is the first part of the Triduum. We commemorate the Lord’s Last Supper with the disciples and recall his instructions for us to continue to share in the Holy Communion of his Body and Blood. After receiving Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament is reposed in the chapel to provide a place for us to watch and pray with the Lord. The Maundy Thursday portion of the Triduum concludes with the striping of the altar, as we recall the Lord’s betrayal and arrest.
Good Friday is observed with solemnity and without instrumental music, as we recall the suffering and death of the Lord. The Holy Eucharist is not offered on Good Friday. The observance includes Scripture lessons, the Solemn Collects, the chanting of the Passion Gospel, and veneration of the cross. Following the Good Friday Liturgy, the Scriptural Stations of the Cross will be prayed in the nave.
The Great Vigil of Easter
The Saturday evening Great Vigil of Easter is the first celebration of Eastertide. The service begins with lighting a new fire and the chanting of the Exultet. By candlelight and through multiple readings from the Hebrew Scriptures, the story of God’s covenant with humanity is recounted. We renew our Baptismal vows before the proclamation of the Resurrection of the Lord and the Gospel. The first Festive Holy Eucharist of Eastertide is then celebrated.
THE WORD OF GOD
Good Friday Liturgy
(as revised by the Episcopal Church’s General Convention in 2024)
On this day the ministers enter in silence.
All then kneel, as able, for silent prayer, after which the Presider begins the liturgy with the Collect of the Day.
COLLECT Please stand or kneel, as able.
Presider Let us pray.
Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be handed over, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Please be seated.
The First Lesson Isaiah 52:13-53:12
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.
Reader: Here ends the lesson.
PSALM 22 Deus, Deus meus
Cantors intone first half of each verse. Observing a longer pause at the asterisk,
All join singing after the asterisk.
1 My God, my God, why have you for-/ saken me? *
and are so far from my cry and from the words / of my distress?
2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not / answer; *
by night as well, but / I find no rest.
3 Yet you are the / Holy One, *
enthroned upon the praises / of Is-ra-el.
4 Our forefathers put their / trust in you; *
they trusted, and you / delivered them.
5 They cried out to you and were de-/ livered; *
they trusted in you and were / not put to shame.
6 But as for me, I am a worm and / no man, *
scorned by all and despised by / the people.
7 All who see me laugh me to / scorn; *
curl their lips and wag their / heads, saying,
8 “He trusted in the Lord; let him de-/liver him; *
let him rescue him, if he / delights in him.”
9 Yet you are he who took me out of the / womb, *
and kept me safe upon / my mother’s breast.
10 I have been entrusted to you ever since I was / born; *
you were my God when I was still in / my mother’s womb.
11 Be not far from me, for trouble is / near, * and there / is none to help.
The Epistle Ephesians 1:3-14
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
Reader: Here ends the lesson.
Passion Gospel John 18:1-19:37
The Passion Gospel is chanted by Stephen Kennedy, Thatcher Lyman, and Michael Ruhling.
Please remain seated until the indication at John 19:17 that those who are able should stand.
The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to John
18:1 After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley
to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.
2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place,
because Jesus often met there with his disciples.
3 So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with guards from the chief priests and the
Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
4 Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him,
came forward and asked them, “Whom are you looking for?”
5 They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replied, “I am he.”
Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.
6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they stepped back and fell to the ground.
7 Again he asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”
[9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, “I did not lose a single
one of those whom you gave me.”]
10 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.
11 Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath.
Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
12 So the soldiers, their officer, and the Judean guards arrested Jesus and bound him.
13 First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.
14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Judean leaders
that it was better to have one person die for the people.
15 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest,
he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest,
16 but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So. the other disciple, who was known to the high
priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in.
17 The woman said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?”
He said, “I am not.”
18 Now the slaves and the guards had made a charcoal fire because it was cold,
and they were standing around it and warming themselves.
Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.
19 Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching.
20 Jesus answered, “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in
the temple, where all the Judeans come together. I have said nothing in secret.
21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said.”
22 When he had said this, one of the guards standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying,
“Is that how you answer the high priest?”
23 Jesus answered, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong.
But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”
24 Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him,
“You are not also one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”
26 One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked,
“Did I not see you in the garden with him?”
27 Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.
28 Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning.
They themselves did not enter the headquarters,
so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover.
29 So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”
30 They answered, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.”
31 Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.”
The Judean leaders replied, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.”
32 (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)
33 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus,
and asked him, “Are you the King of the Judeans?”
34 Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”
35 Pilate replied, “I am not a Judean, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have
handed you over to me. What have you done?”
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world,
my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Judeans.
But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”
37 Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that 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.”
38 Pilate asked him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went out to the Judean leaders
Again and told them, “I find no case against him.
39 But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover.
Do you want me to release for you the King of the Judeans?”
40 They shouted in reply, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a bandit.
19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.
2 And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head,
and they dressed him in a purple robe.
3 They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Judeans!” and striking him on the face.
4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you
to let you know that I find no case against him.”
5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.
Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
6 When the chief priests and the guards saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.”
7 The Judean leaders answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die
because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”
8 Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever.
9 He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?”
But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Pilate therefore said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that
I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you
from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
12 From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Judean leaders cried out,
“If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor.
Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.”
13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench
at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha.
14 Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon.
He said to the Judean leaders, “Here is your King!”
15 They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify
your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the emperor.”
16 Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus;
17 and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull,
which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. (All who are able, please stand.)
18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them.
19 Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.
It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Judeans.”
20 Many of the Judeans read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified
was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.
21 Then the chief priests of the Judeans said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Judeans,’
but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Judeans.’”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts,
one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; (now the tunic was seamless,
woven in one piece from the top).
24 So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.”
(This was to fulfill what the scripture says, “They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”)
25 And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother,
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her,
he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.”
27 Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
28 After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished,
he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.”
29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine
on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.”
Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
(A silent pause is observed, all bowing down, as able, until the chant resumes.)
31 Since it was the day of Preparation, the Judean leaders did not want the bodies left on the cross
during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed.
32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other
who had been crucified with him.
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.
35 (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe.
His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.)
36 These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, “None of his bones shall be broken.” 37 And again another passage of scripture says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.”
The Sermon The Rev. Joel D. Wilber, Transitional Deacon
A time of silent reflection is kept after the sermon.
THE SOLEMN COLLECTS
Deacon:
Dear People of God:
Our heavenly Father sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that
the world through him might be saved; that all who believe in him might be delivered
from the power of sin and death, and become heirs with him of everlasting life.
We pray, therefore, for people everywhere according to their needs.
Deacon: Let us pray for the holy Catholic Church of Christ throughout the world;
For its unity in witness and service
For all bishops and other ministers and the people whom they serve
For Kara, our Bishop, and all the people of this diocese
For all Christians in this community
That God will confirm the Church in faith, increase it in love, and preserve it in peace.
Silence
Presider: Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people
is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Deacon: Let us pray for all nations and peoples of the earth, and for those in authority among them;
For the President, Congress, and Supreme Court of the United States
For the Governor, Senators, and Representatives of this state of New York
For the mayor and city council members of this city of Rochester
For the Members and Representatives of the United Nations
For all who serve the common good
That by God's help they may seek justice, mercy, and truth, and live in peace and concord.
Silence
Presider: Almighty God, kindle, we pray, in every heart the true love of peace, and guide with your wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth; that in tranquility your dominion may increase, until the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Deacon: Let us pray for the Jewish people who by the grace of their eternal covenant with God were delivered from bondage to freedom;
For their continued faithfulness
For their flourishing in peace as witnesses to God’s sustaining love;
For their safety from all malice and harm;
For their liberation from all forms of antisemitism and hatred
For the fullness of redemption for the sake of God’s Name.
That unity and concord may exist between Jews and Christians, in obedience to God’s will.
Silence
Presider: God of Abraham [and Sarah and Hagar], you planted your people Israel as the root and grafted all peoples as wild branches into a single olive tree of praise to you: As we come near to the cross, we lament Christian acts of prejudice and violence against your faithful people, of whom Jesus Christ was born. Bless the children of your covenant, so that together we may attain the fullness of your blessing for the world. Amen.
Deacon: Let us pray for all who suffer and are afflicted in body or in mind.
For those who are hungry and unhoused, poor and oppressed
For those who are ill or disabled in body, mind, or spirit
For those who are lonely, fearful, or anguished
For those who face temptation, doubt, and despair
For those who are bereaved and sorrowing
For those who are prisoners, refugees, and captives, and those detained
or deported without legal recourse or due process
For victims of war, genocide, and trafficking, and all those in mortal danger
For those who are persecuted for the sake of Christ
That God will comfort and sustain them, and give them the consolation of God’s love, and that the Holy Spirit will stir up in us the compassionate commitment to minister to their needs.
Silence
Presider: Gracious God, the comfort of all who sorrow, the strength of all who suffer: Let the cry of those in misery and need come to you, that they may find your mercy present with them in all their afflictions; and give us, we pray, the strength to serve them for the sake of him who suffered for us, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Deacon: Let us pray for those who have not embraced Christ’s redemptive love;
For those who have never heard the word of salvation,
For those who have lost their faith,
For those who are hardened by sin and indifference,
For those who are contemptuous and scornful,
For those who are persecutors of Christ’s disciples
For those who in the name of Christ have persecuted others
That God will open their hearts to truth, and lead them to faith and obedience.
Silence
Presider: Merciful God, creator of all the peoples of the earth and lover of souls:
Have compassion on all who do not know you; let the Good News of your salvation
be preached with grace and power to those who have not heard it; turn the hearts
of those who resist it; and bring home to your fold those who have gone astray; that
there may be one flock under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Presider Let us commit ourselves to God, and pray for the grace of a holy life, that, with all who have departed this world 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
Presider O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; 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, for ever and ever. Amen.
Veneration of the Cross
A simple wooden cross is brought into the sanctuary for veneration. All are invited to venerate the cross, either from their pew or by coming forward to do so.
The anthems below are chanted by the cantors during the veneration.
Anthem 1
We glory in your cross, O Lord, and praise and glorify your holy resurrection;
for by virtue of your cross joy has come to the whole world.
May God be merciful to us and bless us, show us the light of his countenance, and come to us.
Let your ways be known upon earth, your saving health among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
We glory in your cross, O Lord, and praise and glorify your holy resurrection;
for by virtue of your cross joy has come to the whole world.
Anthem 2
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy cross
you have redeemed the world.
If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Anthem 3
O Savior of the world, who by thy cross and precious blood hast redeemed us:
Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
Please stand, as able.
HYMN 166 Sing my tongue the glorious battle, verses 1,2 and 4.
The Lord's Prayer recited in unison
Presider: As our Savior Christ has taught, we now pray
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
Concluding 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 with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
This second portion of the Paschal Triduum ends in silence.
The Stations of the Cross will be prayed here beginning in 10 minutes.
The Paschal Triduum resumes with the
Great Vigil of Easter to be celebrated here
tomorrow night, Saturday April 19 at 7 PM.