Tetelestai
At the center of Good Friday is the cross of Jesus Christ. If every service of worship is a thanksgiving for Jesus’ death and an outpouring of gratitude, Good Friday is the chief of them all when we focus most especially on Jesus’ passion and death.
The death of Jesus is the moment of His glorification, creating the curious intersection on Good Friday of sorrow and joy, heartbreak and victory, contrition and thanksgiving. The triumph of Jesus, the enfleshed son of God, is also the triumph of humanity. The occasion calls for somber celebration, which is then confirmed and finally celebrated in fullness on Easter. It is on Good Friday that the Church remembers that God the Son tasted death so that we might have life!
The shape of the Good Friday service is unique. It is referred to as the Chief Service, and it is a Divine Service with Holy Communion. However, it is set within the larger context over three days called the Triduum. Maundy Thursday is the first of these three days, on which the pastor speaks the invocation but not the benediction. Then on Good Friday the service begins immediately with the collect and ends with Holy Communion, but again has no benediction. Finally the service is completed at the Vigil which begins jarringly but is finally concluded with the benediction.
Looking at the Good Friday service itself, the middle of these three services, it is comprised of three parts, the Mass of the Catechumens, the veneration of the cross, and Holy Communion. During the Mass of the Catechumens (which can be understood today as the Service of the Word), the collect and readings take place. The Gospel reading comes from St. John’s Gospel, where the record of Jesus’ passion retains the victorious tone: the Savior speaks the last word even in his death—“tetelestai” or “it is finished!” The service of the Word ends with the bidding prayer. During the veneration of the cross, the crucifix, which was previously veiled on Judica Sunday, is brought into the sanctuary in three stages. It is partially unveiled during each stage until at last it is fully visible once more. The fasting from the cross, which took place visually during Passiontide, is now finished when the full glory of Christ’s cross is revealed. Finally, the service of communion takes place. This aspect of Good Friday was, in fact, a slightly later addition, which we discuss more below.
The reproaches and meditation provided on the seven last words of Christ are other elements unique to the Good Friday service that call the Christian into a deeper experience of Jesus’ passion.
Brief History
The Good Friday service is in some ways as old as Easter itself and was understood from the earliest centuries of the Church as a part of the Paschal observance insofar as Easter was seen as the Passover of the Resurrection and Good Friday as the Passover of the Crucifixion. By the fifth century, as Holy Week began developing into the form it has today, Good Friday splintered off from Easter and became a day solely devoted to Jesus’ death on the cross. It took on a more somber tone while remaining a restrained celebration of Christ’s victory. As such, the service is somber, and the rubrics are simple. Sometimes the organ is omitted entirely, for example.
The Lutheran Church has devoted much energy to pondering the depths of Good Friday in her hymnody, which is why some of the most beautiful poems and compositions in history are contained in the Lent and Holy Week sections of our hymnal. These pieces open up vast springs of material worthy of spiritual contemplation for this day.
The observance of Good Friday with the celebration of the Holy Communion wasn’t well known until the eighth century, and even in the years following the Reformation the Lutheran church didn’t come to unanimous agreement surrounding the practice. In some places a fast from communion was maintained between Maundy Thursday and the Vigil, but in others, the argument prevailed that no better day exists to partake of the reality of the crucifixion by receiving Jesus’ new testament in his blood.
Collect
Almighty God, we beseech Thee graciously to regard this Thy family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Lessons
Resources
Issues, Etc. interview with the Rev. David Petersen on Good Friday
Propers found in Daily Divine Service Book: A Lutheran Daily Missal, edited by the Rev. Heath Curtis
References:
1. Lindemann, the Rev. Fred H. The Sermon and The Propers, Volume II: Pre-Lent to Pentecost. Concordia Publishing House. 1958.
2. Pfatteicher, Philip H. Journey into the Heart of God. Oxford University Press. 2013.
2. Weedon, William. Celebrating the Saints. Concordia Publishing House. 2016.
Images:
1. The Crucifixion, Lucas Cranach the Elder, German, 1502.
2. The Passion, Hans Memling, Netherlands, 1470.
3. The Isenheim Altarpiece, Matthias Grünewald, Germany, 1515.
