April 6, 2007

Good Friday Tenebrae Service

Preparation for Worship

Blessed Are They

O love, they die in yon rich sky,

They faint on hill or field or river:

Our echoes roll from soul to soul,

And grow for ever and for ever.

Blow, bugle, blow, and set the wild echoes flying,

And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying.

Lord Alfred Tennyson

“TENEBRAE” is a Latin word meaning “shadows.”  It is the name given to a service that dates back to eighth-century Rome, in which the death of Jesus Christ is commemorated.  Tonight we will read the account of Jesus’ passion from the Gospels, along with one of the prophet Isaiah’s Servant Songs, a Hebrew text which may have been in the mind of Christ and on his lips as he suffered. After each of twelve readings, a candle is extinguished. As the light diminishes and the shadows lengthen, the symbolism points clearly to the physical and spiritual darkness and despair which accompanied the passion of our Lord.  After the eleventh lesson, the sanctuary is stripped of all ornamentation and symbols of Christ's life.  After the thirteenth and final reading, the last light is removed in silence as our Lenten journey has led us to the tomb.  Just as there   is no end to life in Christ, so too is there is no formal end to this   service.  The bell will toll once for each year of Christ's life.  After the tolling has ceased, you are invited to remain in the sanctuary, continue to pray among the shadows, and depart in silence.