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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the fellowship of
the Holy Spirit
be with you
and also with you.
Song: Meekness and Majesty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tK1hQpacs8
First Reading Matt
26:17-25
Jesus Eats the Passover
Meal with His Disciples
17 On the first day of the
Festival of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, “Where
do you want us to get the Passover meal ready for you?”
18 “Go to a certain man in
the city,” he said to them, “and tell him: ‘The Teacher says, My hour has come;
my disciples and I will celebrate the Passover at your house.’”
19 The disciples did as
Jesus had told them and prepared the Passover meal.
20 When it was evening,
Jesus and the twelve disciples sat down to eat. 21 During
the meal Jesus said, “I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
22 The disciples were very
upset and began to ask him, one after the other, “Surely, Lord, you don't mean
me?”
23 Jesus answered, “One
who dips his bread in the dish with me will betray me. 24 The
Son of Man will die as the Scriptures say he will, but how terrible for that
man who will betray the Son of Man! It would have been better for that man if
he had never been born!”
25 Judas, the traitor,
spoke up. “Surely, Teacher, you don't mean me?” he asked.
Jesus answered, “So you
say.”
Prayers of Penitence
Our Lord Jesus Christ
says:
‘If you love me, keep
my commandments.’
‘Unless I wash you, you
have no part in me.’
‘Let us confess to
almighty God our sins against his love,
and ask him to cleanse
us.
Have mercy on us, O
God, in your great goodness;
according to the
abundance of your compassion blot out our offences.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Against you only have
we sinned
and done what is evil
in your sight.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Purge us from our sin
and we shall be clean;
wash us and we shall be
whiter than snow.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May the Father
forgive us
by the death of his Son
and strengthen us
to live in the power of
the Spirit
all our days.
Amen.
Second Reading Matthew
26:26-30
The Lord's Supper
26 While they were eating,
Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to
his disciples. “Take and eat it,” he said; “this is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup,
gave thanks to God, and gave it to them. “Drink it, all of you,” he said; 28 “this
is my blood, which seals God's covenant, my blood poured out for many for the
forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will never
again drink this wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in my
Father's Kingdom.”
30 Then they sang a hymn
and went out to the Mount of Olives.
Song: Behold the Lamb https://youtu.be/XR77xKx_0CQ
Third Reading Matt
26:31-35
Jesus Predicts Peter's
Denial
31 Then Jesus said to
them, “This very night all of you will run away and leave me, for the scripture
says, ‘God will kill the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be
scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised to life, I
will go to Galilee ahead of you.”
33 Peter spoke up and said
to Jesus, “I will never leave you, even though all the rest do!”
34 Jesus said to Peter, “I
tell you that before the rooster crows tonight, you will say three times that
you do not know me.”
35 Peter answered, “I will
never say that, even if I have to die with you!”
And all the other
disciples said the same thing.
Song: How Deep the Father’s
Love for us https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzQj7XvKFmA
Fourth Reading: Matt
26:36-46
Jesus Prays in
Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus went with
his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here
while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took with
him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. Grief and anguish came over him, 38 and
he said to them, “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me.
Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 He went a little
farther on, threw himself face downward on the ground, and prayed, “My Father,
if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet not what I want, but
what you want.”
40 Then he returned to the
three disciples and found them asleep; and he said to Peter, “How is it that
you three were not able to keep watch with me for even one hour? 41 Keep
watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing,
but the flesh is weak.”
42 Once more Jesus went
away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup of suffering cannot be taken away
unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 He
returned once more and found the disciples asleep; they could not keep their
eyes open.
44 Again Jesus left them,
went away, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then
he returned to the disciples and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting?
Look! The hour has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to the power of
sinners. 46 Get up, let us go. Look, here is the
man who is betraying me!”
Our Prayers:
In the power of the Spirit
let us pray to the Father
through Christ the
saviour of the world.
Father,
on this, the night he
was betrayed,
your Son Jesus Christ
washed his disciples’ feet.
We commit ourselves to
follow his example of love and service.
Lord, hear us
and humble us.
On this night, he
prayed for his disciples to be one.
We pray for the unity
of your Church.
Lord, hear us
and unite us.
On this night, he
prayed for those who were to believe through his disciples’ message.
We pray for the mission
of your Church.
Lord, hear us
and renew our zeal.
On this night, he
commanded his disciples to love,
but suffered rejection
himself.
We pray for the
rejected and unloved.
Lord, hear us
and fill us with your
love.
On this night, he
reminded his disciples
that if the world hated
them it hated him first.
We pray for those who
are persecuted for their faith.
Lord, hear us
and give us your peace.
On this night, he
accepted the cup of death
and looked forward to
the new wine of the kingdom.
We remember those who
have died in the peace of Christ.
Lord, hear us
and welcome all your
children into paradise.
Reading 5 Matt 26:47-56
The Arrest of Jesus
47 Jesus was still
speaking when Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived. With him was a large
crowd armed with swords and clubs and sent by the chief priests and the
elders. 48 The traitor had given the crowd a
signal: “The man I kiss is the one you want. Arrest him!”
49 Judas went straight
to Jesus and said, “Peace be with you, Teacher,” and kissed him.
50 Jesus answered, “Be
quick about it, friend!”[a]
Then they came up,
arrested Jesus, and held him tight. 51 One of those
who were with Jesus drew his sword and struck at the High Priest's slave,
cutting off his ear. 52 “Put your sword back in its
place,” Jesus said to him. “All who take the sword will die by the sword. 53 Don't
you know that I could call on my Father for help, and at once he would send me
more than twelve armies of angels? 54 But in that
case, how could the Scriptures come true which say that this is what must
happen?”
55 Then Jesus spoke to
the crowd, “Did you have to come with swords and clubs to capture me, as though
I were an outlaw? Every day I sat down and taught in the Temple, and you did
not arrest me. 56 But all this has happened in
order to make come true what the prophets wrote in the Scriptures.”
Then all the
disciples left him and ran away.
Song: Who can sound the
depths of sorrow? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU_Jc8apIEw
Reading 6 Matt 26:57-67
Jesus before the
Council
57 Those who had arrested
Jesus took him to the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where the teachers of
the Law and the elders had gathered together. 58 Peter
followed from a distance, as far as the courtyard of the High Priest's house.
He went into the courtyard and sat down with the guards to see how it would all
come out. 59 The chief priests and the whole Council tried
to find some false evidence against Jesus to put him to death; 60 but
they could not find any, even though many people came forward and told lies
about him. Finally two men stepped up 61 and said, “This
man said, ‘I am able to tear down God's Temple and three days later build it
back up.’”
62 The High Priest stood
up and said to Jesus, “Have you no answer to give to this accusation against you?” 63 But
Jesus kept quiet. Again the High Priest spoke to him, “In the name of the
living God I now put you under oath: tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of
God.”
64 Jesus answered him, “So
you say. But I tell all of you: from this time on you will see the Son of Man
sitting at the right side of the Almighty and coming on the clouds of heaven!”
65 At this the High Priest
tore his clothes and said, “Blasphemy! We don't need any more witnesses! You
have just heard his blasphemy! 66 What do you think?”
They answered, “He is
guilty and must die.”
67 Then they spat in his
face and beat him; and those who slapped him 68 said,
“Prophesy for us, Messiah! Guess who hit you!”
Song: O Sacred Head now
wounded https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRvMx8uWaX4
Reading 7 Matt 26:69-75
Peter Denies Jesus
69 Peter was sitting
outside in the courtyard when one of the High Priest's servant women came to
him and said, “You, too, were with Jesus of Galilee.”
70 But he denied it in
front of them all. “I don't know what you are talking about,” he
answered, 71 and went on out to the entrance of the
courtyard. Another servant woman saw him and said to the men there, “He was
with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 Again Peter denied it
and answered, “I swear that I don't know that man!”
73 After a little while
the men standing there came to Peter. “Of course you are one of them,” they
said. “After all, the way you speak gives you away!”
74 Then Peter said, “I
swear that I am telling the truth! May God punish me if I am not! I do not know
that man!”
Just then a rooster
crowed, 75 and Peter remembered what Jesus had told him:
“Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you do not know me.”
He went out and wept bitterly.
Lamentations:
How lonely sits the
city that once was full of people!
How like a widow she
has become,
she that was great
among the nations!
She weeps bitterly in
the night, with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has no one to comfort her.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
return to the Lord your God.
The roads to Zion
mourn, for no one comes to the festivals;
all her gates are
desolate, her priests groan;
her young girls grieve,
and her lot is bitter.
Her children have gone
away, captives before the foe.
Is it nothing to you,
all you who pass by?
Look and see if there
is any sorrow like my sorrow.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
return to the Lord your God.
From on high he sent
fire; it went deep into my bones;
he spread a net for my
feet; he turned me back;
he has left me stunned,
faint all day long.
For these things I
weep; my eyes flow with tears;
for a comforter is far
from me, one to revive my courage;
my children are
desolate, for the enemy has prevailed.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
return to the Lord your God.
All who pass along the
way clap their hands at you;
they hiss and wag their
heads at daughter Jerusalem;
‘Is this the city that
was called the perfection of beauty,
the joy of all the
earth?’
The thought of my
affliction and homelessness is wormwood and gall.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
return to the Lord your God.
The steadfast love of
the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come
to an end;
they are new every
morning; great is your faithfulness.
‘The Lord is my
portion,’ says my soul,
‘therefore I will hope
in him.’
The Lord is good to
those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
return to the Lord your God.
It is good that one
should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for one to
bear the yoke in youth,
to sit alone in silence
when the Lord has imposed it,
to put one’s mouth to
the dust (there may yet be hope),
to give one’s cheek to
the smiter, and be filled with insults.
For the Lord will not
reject for ever.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
return to the Lord your God.
We end in silence