GOOD FRIDAY
Joshua Chen OFM
Introduction
Holy Week is at the heart of the Christian experience. The Church
proclaims her Lord’s death to his faithful and to catechumens of all times,
until he comes again. Through the yearly pilgrimage of these liturgies we
discover once more who we are and who we belong to. We learn the meaning of
life by professing again our baptism faith. We journey, through the cross and
the tomb, to life beyond every expectation.
The keynote of Holy Week, even on Good Friday, is the passage from death
to full life. The Easter Triduum
includes the last three days of Holy Week: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy
Saturday-Easter Sunday.
History
In the first centuries, the Church did not divide the paschal mystery
into stages and celebrate them one by one. The Lord’s passion and resurrection
were commemorated on the same Easter day. The liturgy showed the unity of
Christ’s death and resurrection and that life came from death.
Gradually the Church separated a single indivisible mystery into three
days. In the fourth century the Church in Jerusalem commemorated the
crucifixion on the Friday before Easter Sunday. Pilgrims carried this practice
to their own countries.
The apparent division of the one mystery should not lead us to fragment
the unity of the mystery. Each day celebrates the one mystery of Christ’s
passing over from death to life. It does not separate the stages but focuses on
each in turn: service at table on Holy Thursday, the wood of the cross on Good
Friday, the vigil at the tomb on Holy Saturday, and the end-time meal on Easter
Sunday.
Meaning
Good Friday is a day for celebrating the Lord’s Passover under the image
of his life giving death on the cross. Mass is never celebrated on this day. It
was already forbidden in 416. At one time the prohibition would have included
all fast days and all weekdays of Lent except the Annunciation. This is still
the Byzantine tradition.
We fast and abstain today because we unite with all creation in
hungering for the redemption promised. But it is not a day of depressing
ritual.
The altar is completely bare without a cloth, crucifix, or candlesticks.
The bare altar could be misleading and make us forget that the death of Christ
is in fact a triumph. But bare altars were common in the early Church. The
priest wears red for Christ, the King of Martyrs.
Jesus’ passion is a glorious passion. We understand this in the context
of the Gospel of St. John if we go back before the Last Supper. Just before
Passover, Jesus foretold his death: “and I, when I am lifted up from the earth,
will draw all men to myself.” (12:32). The words “lifted up” reveal by what
death he was to die. But he also foretold his glorification through his death.
“The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to
you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone,
but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (12:23-24).
Liturgy
The first Christian liturgy followed the pattern of the Jewish liturgy
of the synagogue. The Jews read the Law and the Prophets followed by
acclamations. The congregation said prayers for all the needs of the community.
The liturgy finished with a final blessing.
In ancient Roman practice, the service began with the bishop prostrating
himself and praying in silence. He then read two readings and solemn
intercessions. The precise order followed in this ancient Good Friday liturgy
of the Word varied in detail from place to place and from period to period.
The liturgy of today is the “celebration of the Lord’s passion”. It
consist of three sections: the Liturgy of the Word, veneration of the cross,
and reception of Communion reserved from Holy Thursday. The suggested time for
celebrating the central liturgy is about 3 o’clock unless pastoral reasons require
another time.
The liturgy of today is the ancient form of liturgy. There is no
entrance rite and no Gloria. It begins immediately with a collect and readings.
The priest invites the people to pray then he says either of two
prayers. The opening prayer focuses our attention on the mystery of the
victorious Passover that is the source of our new life. It sums up the whole
history of salvation.
Reading
The celebration of the Word is basic everywhere on Good Friday.
Isaiah
52:13-53:12
The reading is the fourth
song of the “Servant of God”. The Servant is a collective personality. The exegetes
do not agree on his identity. Some believe him be the prophet himself, others
think Israel is meant. In any case, the Church reads this text as a description
of the Christ who is laid low, accepts death as an expiatory sacrifice and
brings life to the human race.
The text vividly portrays the Servant’s suffering and ignominy. The
first verse, “Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted
up”, predicts the exaltation of the Servant and the accomplishment of his
mission. Then the song describes his suffering, the reason for it, and the
result of his being killed and buried as a criminal. It is seen as foretelling
the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Isaiah (53: 4-12) points out that the Servant is innocent and that his
death was vicarious and redemptive and that it avails for the entire human
race. “Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed
him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted…because he poured out his soul to
death, and was numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Psalm
31 serves as the response to the
proclamation of Isaiah’s Messiah. Its verses are like an echo of the passage
from Isaiah. It first expresses his confidence in God. Then it describes his
experience as an object of reproach and scorn. However he is convinced that God
will ultimately restore him. It is a thanksgiving song. It concludes on a note
of joy: “to trust in the Lord is the source of courage.”
Hebrews
4:14 – 16; 5:7 – 9
The author emphasizes Jesus as high priest. He clearly affirms Jesus’
divinity, but also emphasizes his humanity. He prayed for deliverance from the
coming passion. He struggled, was tempted, and learned to be obedience to
death. The humanity of Jesus makes him a high priest who can appreciate the
weakness of the human being. It is surely a reason for us to feel confident and
to approach God. Obedience led him to his high priestly status and enables him
to save all those who obey him.
John
18:1 - 19:42
The Gospel of John is read on Good Friday in accordance with an ancient
tradition. Compared with the Synoptics, St. John’s narrative of Jesus’ passion
is short and less anecdotal. There are three parts in John’s passion story:
Jesus arrested and questioned; Jesus before Pilate; the crucifixion, death and
burial of Jesus.
Nonetheless it contains vibrant theology. First of all, Jesus is
obedient to the Father’s will. It is John’s favourite theme. John also shows us
Jesus’ kingship by stressing his absolute freedom. He is the master of his own
fate (10:18). His Passover (pascha) is achieved in the ultimate act of
freely offering himself.
Intercessions
The prayers of the faithful were part of the Roman eucharistic liturgy
from the time of Pope Gelasius I (492-496). Since the fourth century, the
Eastern and Western rites began to be differentiated. They took on different
forms on Good Friday as well.
In the West, the celebrant announces the intention and everyone prays in
silently. Then the celebrant says a prayer and the congregation responds with
“Amen”. In the East, the deacon proclaims the intentions and answers each with
a Kyrie eleison or a similar
response. Only at the end, the congregation answers “Amen”.
The order of the intentions has been changed since the liturgical
reform. There are ten intentions. After each proclamation there is a moment of
silent prayer then the celebrant prays a collect in the name of all present.
The solemn intercessions are prayed after the proclamation of the Word.
The faithful are first penetrated by the word of God, are transformed by the
Word, and then join in prayer for the important intentions of the Church.
We pray for the Church, for the Pope, for the clergy and laity, for
catechumens, for the unity of Christians, for the Jews, for those who do not
believe in Christ, for those who do not believe in God, for those in public
office and for all people in their special need.
In these intentions we see the Church’s care for the individual needs of
her members and of all people.
Veneration
of cross
The sign of the cross distinguishes the Christian from others. Egeria,
the fourth century Spanish traveller, was the first Western witness of this
liturgical custom. She brought this practice to Spain. Rome observed a ritual
of veneration similar to what Egeria saw, but it came directly from Jerusalem.
After the solemn intercessions, the veneration of the cross occurs. Only
one cross should be used although the use of multiple crosses is allowed for
various pastoral reasons. The wooden cross should not carry a figurine of the
dead Christ. The sung acclamation during the veneration should clearly focus on
the “wood” of the cross.
The cross is lifted up and shown to all. The veneration of the cross is
an assertion of the decisive victory that Jesus Christ has won over the power
of evil in the world. He is lifted up, meaning that mankind who had been
dispersed has been gathered into unity again.[1]
The priest holds up the cross triumphantly as if at a victory parade. “This is
the wood of the cross on which hung the Saviour of the world”. We kneel in
veneration: “Come, let us worship.”
From the eighth century, the procession of the faithful to the altar to
venerate the Cross was accompanied by the singing of Ecce lignum crucis (“Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung
the salvation of the world”) and Psalm 118 “Blessed are those whose way is
blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.”
During the ceremony, silence should be long and profound. We adore Jesus
Christ who reveals the love of the Son for the Father, and the love of the
Father and the Son for us. He suffered for us. He saves us from darkness and
dividedness. He fully expresses God’s faithfulness and love.
Receiving
the Communion
The reception of Communion on Good Friday was not practised at Rome
until the seventh century. Pope Innocent I (401-417) wrote that during these
two days the apostles were filled with grief and no doubt fasted. This view
prevailed at that time. On this day we unite with all of creation in hungering
for the redemption promised in the life-giving death of Jesus.
In the eighth century, distributing Communion to the faithful from the
reserved sacrament became a part of the Good Friday liturgy at Rome.
In the present Byzantine rite, the liturgy of the pre-sanctified is not
celebrated on Good Friday. In the Roman liturgy at around the ninth century
people received Communion under two species. The consecrated bread and
consecrated wine were reserved for reception on Friday.
From the thirteenth century until the liturgical reform of 1955, only
the Pope or the celebrant received Communion at Mass.
After the 1955 reform of the Holy Week liturgy, the reception of
Communion by the faithful was reintroduced. Some people feel regret at this
restoration. The reason is that the practice may distract attention from the
focus for Good Friday, which is centred on the wood of the cross, and from the
climax of the sacred Triduum, which
is the reception of the Eucharist during the Easter Vigil.
Concluding
In the liturgy of today we participate in the salvation of the human
race through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is not a day for celebrating
the Lord’s pascha under the icon of his self-giving on the cross.
In the first reading we meet the suffering servant. And yet in the first verse we see the servant’s exaltation and glory through his death. The second reading gives us a theological vision of the Lamb who is sacrificed. It expresses a great hope of salvation. The Gospel of John emphasizes Jesus the high priest, our powerful mediator.
We venerate the cross because “through the cross you brought joy to the
world”. The antiphon at the veneration of the cross sums up the real meaning of
the ceremony.
We move on in anticipation of Easter.
Bibliography
Nocent, Adrian O.S.B. The
Liturgical Year. Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1977.
Neumann, Don A. Holy Week in the
Parish.
Flood, Edmund O.S.B. Making More
of Holy Week.
Craghan, John F. Yesterday’s Word
Today. Minesota: The Liturgical Press, 1982.
Fuller, Reginald H. Preaching the
New Lectionary. Minesota: The Liturgical Press, 1974.