Good Friday — 2016/03/25

Good Friday is the only day when we don't have a Mass. There is a liturgical service, but we do not consecrate bread and wine to become the Body and Blood of Christ. At the service, we do, however, receive Communion using hosts (altar breads) which were consecrated at the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Thursday. In a way, this underlines our belief that Jesus' sacrificial death on Calvary was made present in sacrament in the offering of his Body and Blood to the disciples at the Last Supper and is made present to us sacramentally at every Mass. The consumption of the consecrated elements from yesterday's Mass signifies the identity of both events. Today we are commemorating the same event we commemorate at every Mass.

The service begins simply, in silence. The clergy and ministers enter the sanctuary in silence, and after a few moments of silence, the priest begins with the opening prayer. There is no greeting or penitential rite, as at Mass. After the liturgy of the Word (the scripture readings and homily) instead of the preparation of gifts and Eucharistic Prayer, containing the consecration, there is a rite of veneration of the cross. Then comes Communion, using the hosts reserved from Thursday, folllowed by two concluding prayers and a silent departure.



As on Holy Thursday, our first reading is from the Hebrew Scriptures. This time it's from Isaiah (Isaiah 52:13 — 53:12). This is the fourth and longest of the Servant Songs: a passage about a servant of the Lord who is led like a lamb to the slaughter — bearing our guilt as he is tortured and killed — but who ultimately has life and takes away the sins of many. Many of the phrases are familiar to those who know Handel's "Messiah" since the libretto uses many of the traditional texts used in the Church. Of course, we see this passage as fulfilled in Jesus. It is his sufferings and death which take away our sins.


The responsorial Psalm — verses from Psalm 31 with a refrain from verse 6: "[Father,] into your hands I commend my spirit" — is a meditation on the mind of Jesus as he undergoes his passion and death. It is a prayer for deliverance as well as one of confidence in God.



Next, the Epistle to the Hebrews (4:14-16; 5:7-9) speaks of Jesus' obedience the the Father as the thing that makes him the source of salvation for all who obey him as well as our eternal high priest.



The gospel reading is the Passion according to St. John — John 18:1—19:42 — which shows Jesus who willingly going to his death on the cross to accomplish the purpose for which he came into the world. (The synoptic Gospel accounts of the passion are read on Palm Sunday year by year.) Pilate clearly believes that Jesus is undeserving of death, but ultimately can't withstand the pressure of the priests and the crowd. I'll just point out the passages which are directly referred to in this gospel.

• 18:14 — Caiaphas' prophecy that Jesus would die for the people is at 11:49-50.
• 18:32 — Jesus' indication of how he would die is found in 3:14, 8:28, and 12:32, all of which speak of his being "lifted up" — like the bronze serpent Moses lifted up in the desert (Numbers 21:49) — and drawing all men to himself.
• 19:24 — the dividing of garments and casting lots is a quote from Psalm 22:19 — the Psalm whose opening words are quoted by Jesus in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 (implying he prayed the whole psalm).
• 19:36 — not breaking a bone is a commandment given the Israelites concerning the passover lamb — Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12 — which indicates the identification of the paschal lamb as a type (prefigurement) of Jesus by the first Christians.
• 19:37 — looking on the one they have pierced refers to Zechariah 12:10, which tells of grief over the death of the one they have thrust through.

Jesus' sufferings and death, willingly accepted, bring the human race redemption from sin.