At the Good Friday service we celebrate Jesus' passion. In the celebration powerful symbols are at play: the cross, the barren sanctuary, the red vestments, the memories of suffering and death. While these symbols bring back vividly, the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus, the focus ought to be on renewing our personal commitment to die to self in order to find new life. The two primary components of today's liturgy are:-
The Reading of the Passion according to John:
John's account of the Passion has always been read on this day because of the strong focus on the crucifixion as victory; as the free laying down of Jesus' life in love as gift given to all. John supplies no story of the Agony in the Garden, and places less emphasis upon the pain and suffering endured by Jesus. For John, the Cross is not so much an instrument of torture and death as it is the place upon which God manifests His self-giving love for the world.
Veneration of the Cross:
This ancient ritual serves to direct our focus as a community on the Cross-our tree of life-as it sums up the Lenten/Spring season of struggle between death and life as we have experienced it in our own hearts, spirits and bodies. The Cross which we trace on ourselves should fill the prayer of this day as we reflect on the ways it defines our lives as Christians. As far back as the seventh centuary, the chant "This is the Wood of the Cross on which hung the Saviour of the World" and its response "Come let us worship Him" was part of the Good Friday liturgy. As we sing that chant today, we express our faith in the Cross in a variety of ways: tuching, kissing, genuflecting, bowing or quietly praying in the presence of this sign of both paradox and victory.During this period, SFX Church also held its traditional sale of Hot Cross Buns which have long been a symbol of Good Friday. Each bun has an icing cross on top to signify the crucifixion.
Photos for this article were taken at the 3.00pm Good Friday service.
