A Simple Tenebrae Service for Good Friday
This is a simple Tenebrae style service designed for Good Friday, which can be used with the resources in our Tell Me Something Good series for Lent—Easter. “Tenebrae” is a Latin word meaning “darkness.” As the service unfolds, candles are extinguished, and the sanctuary grows darker as we near Jesus’ final moments and the extinguishing of the Christ candle. You are free to adapt the following worship outline to fit your community.
Please use the following credit line for this service: “Liturgy by Rev. Anna Strickland | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org.”
PREPARATION
Supplies needed:
Four candles (with holders if needed);
Christ candle;
Candle lighter or small taper candle;
Candle snuffer (optional);
Image for visio divina;
Any materials needed for the “Reflecting on the Cross” portion (see below).
Before the service:
Print an image for visio divina on the front of bulletins, and/or prepare to project it on screens in the worship space. Some options from our image library are linked below.
Place four candles around the Christ candle on the Communion Table. Begin the service with only the Christ candle lit. The other four candles will be lit at the beginning of service from the flame of the Christ candle, using a candle lighter or a small taper candle. Throughout the service, the four candles will then be extinguished. If you have a candle snuffer, place it on the Table.
Choose what you will offer for the “Reflecting on the Cross” portion of the service (about 15-20 minutes) and prepare accordingly. You might perform Act II of “Something Good” (an intergenerational Lenten play included in the Tell Me Something Good Lent bundle), set up prayer stations within the worship space (suggestions included in the outline below), or deliver a sermon.
At the end of the service, you might choose to follow the extinguishing of the light with a strepitus. The strepitus (Latin for “great noise”) symbolizes the sound of the tomb being shut and the earthquake described in Matthew’s Gospel. If you choose to include the strepitus, prepare how you will make the sound. Some options include dropping a hymnal on a pew, slamming shut a large Bible, or extinguishing the Christ candle by turning it over and slamming it onto the Table below. (Tip: If you choose to violently extinguish the candle, prepare your Table by removing any glass.)
ART FOR GOOD FRIDAY
The following images from our image licensing library can be licensed for visio divina:
ABOUT THIS LITURGY OUTLINE:
Italicized lines are notes for worship leaders.
Unbolded lines are to be spoken by worship leaders and, when appropriate, printed in bulletins or projected on screens.
Bolded lines are to be spoken by the congregation and printed in bulletins or projected on screens.
Order of Worship
Welcome
Before the service begins, light the Christ candle.
Welcome to our Tenebrae service this evening. The word “Tenebrae” means darkness in Latin, and this service of deepening darkness mirrors the darkness that came over the world at the crucifixion. As the service unfolds, candles will be extinguished as we remember the final hours of Jesus’ life and the reality of his death. When we extinguish the final candle, the Christ candle, we will experience the utter darkness which fell upon the world with Christ’s final breath. At the end of the service, we will depart in silence without a benediction, because until Easter Sunday, there is simply nothing more to say.
Candle Lighting
During the opening litany (adapted from Genesis 1 and John 1), progressively light the four candles from the flame of the Christ candle.
In the beginning, darkness covered the face of the deep. Then God said,
“Let there be light.”
And there was light. And every day since, the light has come and gone.
The sun has risen and set.
The moon has waxed and waned.
The light is still with us.
In the beginning was the Word, which brought all things into being. What has come into being through him is life,
the light of all people.
The light shined in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overtake it.
When God made the light, when the light of all people came into the world, God did not send away the dark.
The darkness remains.
God created the night for dreams and clarity,
an exhaling of the light.
Let us enter this holy darkness to bear witness to the light of the world who was extinguished by violence.
Let us worship our Incarnate God.
First Reading: Arrest
Read Luke 22:47-53 in the translation of your choice. Then, extinguish one candle.
Visio Divina
Display an image on screens and/or print it on the front of your Good Friday bulletin. Some licensable images are linked at the top of this post. Lead the congregation through a time of contemplation using the following prompts, pausing for a minute of silence between each.
I invite you into a time of prayerful contemplation as we look deeply at the art on your bulletin [or, on the screens]. Take a moment to let your eyes move about the image.
Pause.
Now consider, what stands out to you? Where are your eyes immediately drawn? What pieces of the image did you initially overlook?
Pause.
Look at the people/person in this image. What stories and emotions do you imagine for them? [or, Look at the symbols in this image. What emotions do they bring up in you?]
Pause.
If you were to place yourself in this image, where would you be? How would you interact with what surrounds you?
(Optional) To close, read the artist’s statement or an excerpt from the artist. If time allows, you could also provide time for worshipers to discuss what they see in the image in small groups.
Hymn
Suggested hymns for this service include:
“You Seize No Sword” by Adam M. L. Tice [↗]
“O Sacred Head Now Wounded” by Bernard of Clairvaux, translated by James W. Alexander [↗]
“Ah, Holy Jesus” by Johann Heermann, translated by Robert Bridges [↗]
“Go to Dark Gethsemane” by James Montgomery [↗]
“He Never Said a Mumbalin’ Word” (African-American spiritual) [↗]
Second Reading: Sentencing
Read Luke 23:13-25 in the translation of your choice. Then, extinguish one candle.
Call to Confession
In his book What Will You Do with King Jesus? James A. Harnish writes, “Is it possible that our world still knows better how to deal with a bandit, a murderer, and insurrectionist than it knows what to do with the Prince of Peace? … Is it possible that we would rather deal with raw power that rides on a stallion than with this one who comes on a donkey, with the weapons of love, patience, suffering, and peace? Given the choice, isn't it possible that we would take Barabbas, too?”*
Friends, the passion narrative invites us to place ourselves in the story, to examine our own complicity in cycles of violence. And the good news is, we don’t have to do this alone. The God who made us knows our hearts, knows our flaws, and knows all our best intentions. We don’t have to hide. There’s no need to save face. Let us simply turn to God in prayer with our whole hearts.
*What Will You Do with King Jesus? Pictures of the Kingdom of God in Matthew, by James A. Harnish, (The Upper Room, 1986).
Prayer of Confession
Holy God, we can easily see ourselves in any number of the people surrounding Jesus in his final days.
We are Judas, betraying what we hold most dear for status, wealth, and security.
We are the soldiers, using our power to maintain the status quo which serves us.
We are the disciples, brandishing our weapons to fight violence with violence,
and we are the high priest’s servant, victims of a world hell-bent on winning.
Prince of Peace, forgive us.
We are Herod, finding our entertainment at the expense of other people’s dignity.
We are Pilate, excusing ourselves from the blame that is rightfully ours.
We are the crowd, foaming at the mouth and demanding blood,
and we are Barabbas, our lives spared while others are crucified.
Prince of Peace, forgive us.
Forgive us, we pray, for the parts we have played. Set us free from the sin that chokes the world, threatening to extinguish all that is good and beautiful. Break the cycles of violence, step into the machinery of a world fueled by division and disrupt us.
Forgive us, Prince of Peace. Kyrie eleison. Have mercy on us. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Family of faith, the impossibly good news is that we are forgiven. No matter what we have or haven’t done, our God is always waiting with open arms to receive us.
Hymn
Suggested hymns for this service include:
“You Seize No Sword” by Adam M. L. Tice [↗]
“O Sacred Head Now Wounded” by Bernard of Clairvaux, translated by James W. Alexander [↗]
“Ah, Holy Jesus” by Johann Heermann, translated by Robert Bridges [↗]
“Go to Dark Gethsemane” by James Montgomery [↗]
“He Never Said a Mumbalin’ Word” (African-American spiritual) [↗]
Third Reading: Crucifixion
Read Luke 23:33-38 in the translation of your choice. Then, extinguish one candle.
Reflecting on the Cross
Some options for this time, about 15-20 minutes, include:
Performing Act II of “Something Good,” an intergenerational Lenten play included in the Tell Me Something Good Lent bundle.
Prayer stations set up within the worship space, allowing for reflection on the crucifixion, such as:
A wooden cross with a hammer and nails. Invite worshipers to hold a nail as they pray for people experiencing violence and death, then drive the nail into the cross.
Information about the Innocence Project, the Equal Justice Initiative, or a similar organization. Provide tangible ways to support their work such as a QR code for worshipers to donate or postcards for worshipers to write to leaders, advocating for justice system reform.
Pieces of bread and a cup of red wine vinegar. Invite worshipers to take a piece of bread, dip it into the cup, and taste the sour wine Jesus was offered.
Paper strips, markers, and a stapler for creating a paper chain. Invite worshipers to write on a strip of paper something that keeps people bound to systems of violence, then staple the strip of paper into a loop at the end of the chain as they pray for liberation.
A sermon reflecting on the crucifixion.
Hymn
Suggested hymns for this service include:
“You Seize No Sword” by Adam M. L. Tice [↗]
“O Sacred Head Now Wounded” by Bernard of Clairvaux, translated by James W. Alexander [↗]
“Ah, Holy Jesus” by Johann Heermann, translated by Robert Bridges [↗]
“Go to Dark Gethsemane” by James Montgomery [↗]
“He Never Said a Mumbalin’ Word” (African-American spiritual) [↗]
Fourth Reading: Death
Read Luke 23:44-46 in the translation of your choice. Then, extinguish the fourth candle.
Final Meditation
Turn down the lights in your worship space as much as is feasible, leaving only reading lights for those offering a final meditation on the violence of Christ’s crucifixion, such as a special music offering or a reading. Some suggested readings and anthems include:
“God of the Mountain” by William Loader [↗]
“Love & Love & Love Again” by Sarah A. Speed [↗]
“Ave Verum Corpus” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [↗]
“Defenseless Now He Hangs” by Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr. and Bob Moore [↗]
Extinguishing the Light
Extinguish the Christ candle. You might follow the extinguishing of the candle with a strepitus.
Departing in Silence
Leave the lights turned low for a moment following the extinguishing of the Christ candle. Then, raise them slightly so the congregation may depart in silence.
Rev. Anna Strickland
Creative Partner & Operations Support
Anna Strickland (she/her) looks for the Divine in the everyday like treasure in clay jars and first encountered God in the integration of her spiritual self and artistic self. She is a former teacher and college minister, a proud Texas Longhorn and graduate of Iliff School of Theology, a Baptist to the core ministering in ecumenical spaces, and a lover of chaos anchored by the belief that the Spirit is most active in the spaces between us.