Good Friday Prayers

John 18:1 – 19:42 

1. 'I am he' 

Praise/ Call to worship 

You are the one we look for

You are the one we seek

You are the one we follow

You, the one we try to defend

You are the one who corrects,

the one who shows the Way

You are the one who heals,

You, the one who always forgives

You are the one we look for

You are the one we seek

Amen 

2. 'The cock crowed' 

Confession 

You saw it

You said it

You knew 

You know our hope

You know our fear

You know our tendency to let fear win

We're sorry

We are so sorry

With Peter, we are dismayed 

3. 'Standing near the cross' 

Intercession 

we pray for the soldiers,

the ones following orders

they may prefer to ignore

we pray for the leaders

giving orders, making judgements,

not always able to be courageous 

we pray for parents and children,

for goodbyes, for new connections,

we pray for the ones we love 

we pray for ourselves

encountering this story again: 

confront us, disturb us, leave us not unchanged 

The fateful day

Passion Sunday / Good Friday 

Mark 15:1–41 

1. Pilate 

Could I have resisted

the tsunami of jealous rage,

its sharp long intake of fear,

its thunderous crash at my gate? 

Could I have trusted

my twisting, knotted gut

responding to his silence,

his resistance, peaceful, calm, and true? 

Could I have insisted

on punishing the guilty,

letting innocence be free

from their corruption, from the fire? 

It is done. 

I let them win. 

No less fearful than his foes. 

Much less than I could have been. 

2. Soldiers 

on my own,

I thought him noble 

on my own, 

I found him compelling

on my own, 

I keep bindings looser than to cut 

but

with the whole cohort

he was an enemy

with the whole cohort

he seemed a mockery

with the whole cohort

he bled from our own wounds 

3. Simon of Cyrene 

I was relieved

that moment they released

me from the crossbeam 

I was glad

to walk away, aching

but not nailed to the wood 

then I collapsed,

some greater weight convulsing

me with weeping, weeping, weeping 

I was with him

in the walking to the hill,

I'm with him still, though free, though free 

4. Women 

from a distance

we were watching 

bearing witness

bearing courage for each other

bearing love and soul and all

at the tearing of the sky

the tearing of the veil

the tearing of our hearts – 

wail! 

wail! 

wail! 

He is dead.

He is dead. 

He is dead. 

The turn on the cross

Psalm 22 for Good Friday 



Forsaken

Alone

Unanswered

Faithful

Reaching

Despised

Scorned

Remembering

Faithful

Alone

Hounded

Spent

Thirsty

Mocked

Pleading

Faithful

Remembering

Remembering

Faithful

Proclaiming

In their garden

John 18:1–19 Good Friday



His words of love hung
in the air between
them, walking to the garden
so familiar: words
of love floating by disciples
unsure how to catch them.

Their swords and torches
tore the night apart: Judas
with the soldiers
and police of priests and teachers.

Who do you seek?
Jesus the Nazarene.
I am he.

Clattering stumble backwards,
officers fall to the ground.

Who do you seek?
Jesus the Nazarene.
I told you: I am he.

A flash of silver, from beside
him: the world stood still.

Malchus’ blood dripped louder
than their breathing – Peter
froze, but officers found their feet:
Jesus bound
Jesus taken
and the clamouring of misunderstood
words falling to the ground
deafened all with ears.

Then Peter sheathed his sword
and followed the light
as it left the garden.

his prayer, from a cross of wood : Good Friday

Psalm 22






God?
God?
forsaken
alone
groaning
the psalmist cried out
all day long and all
through his restless night.
where have you gone?
where is your throne?
God?

You are holy
ancestors trusted
they trusted
you were there.
despised
scorned
no more than a dirt-bound worm.
mocked
taunted
God?
God?
are you there?

you were there
at my birth
you have been with me
ever since
do not leave me
now
there is no one else
to help me

bulls
circling
lions
roaring
thirsty
broken
melting
empty
dogs
circling
scavenging
tearing my clothes
gnawing at my bones
do no leave me now
for the dog’s teeth
the lion’s mouth
God?

God?
rescue me, please,
my Holy, Sacred, Home
bring me home
you are God
you alone
I live for you
I die for you
I live
you live

Amen