The assembly gathers in silence.

Prelude: Processional to Calvary

Responsive Reading: Psalm 22
¹    My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you
so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
²    O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by
night, but find no rest.
³    Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
⁴    In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you
delivered them.
⁵    To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and
were not put to shame.
⁶    But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others,
and despised by the people.
⁷    All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they
shake their heads;
⁸   “Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver— let
him rescue the one in whom he delights!”
⁹    Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me
safe on my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother
bore me you have been my God.
¹¹ Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no
one to help.
¹²  Many bulls encircle me, strong bulls of Bashan
surround me;
¹³  they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and
roaring lion.
¹⁴  I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of
joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my
breast;
¹⁵  my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks
to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
¹⁶  For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers
encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled;
¹⁷  I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me;
¹⁸  they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my
clothing they cast lots.
¹⁹  But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come
quickly to my aid!
²⁰  Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power
of the dog!
²¹  Save me from the mouth of the lion! From the horns of the
wild oxen you have rescued me.
²²  I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the
midst of the congregation I will praise you:
²³  You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of
Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of
Israel!
²⁴  For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the
afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard
when I cried to him.
²⁵  From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my
vows I will pay before those who fear him.
²⁶  The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him
shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever!
²⁷  All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to
the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship
before him.
²⁸  For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the
nations.
²⁹  To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I
shall live for him.
³⁰  Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told
about the Lord,
³¹  and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying
that he has done it.

Prayer of the Day:
Let us pray,
Merciful God, your Son was lifted up on the cross to draw all people to himself. Grant that we who have been born out of his wounded side may at all times find mercy in him, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Passion Hymn: ELW 262 “Wait for the Lord”
Wait for the Lord, whose day is near.
Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart!

Passion Reading & Solemn Reproaches: John 18:1-19:42
The passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to John.

Congregation reads the portions in bold.

18 ¹After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. ²Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. ³So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. ⁴Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” ⁵They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replied, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. ⁶When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they stepped back and fell to the ground. ⁷Again he asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁸Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” ⁹This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, “I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.” ¹⁰Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus.  ¹¹Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

¹²So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. ¹³First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.
¹⁴Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people.

¹⁵Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, ¹⁶but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. ¹⁷The woman said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” ¹⁸Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.

¹⁹Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. ²⁰Jesus answered, “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. ²¹Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said.” ²²When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?”
²³Jesus answered, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” ²⁴Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

²⁵Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him,

C: “You are not also one of his disciples, are you?”

He denied it and said, “I am not.” ²⁶One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” ²⁷Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

²⁸Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰ They answered,

C: “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.”

³¹Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.” The Jews replied,

C: “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.”

³² (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)

Centering Hymn: ELW 348 “Stay with Me”
Stay with me, remain here with me,
watch and pray. Watch and pray.

Solemn Reproaches:
O my people, O my church, what have I done to you?

How have I offended you? Answer me.

I led you out of slavery into freedom, and delivered you through the waters of rebirth, but you have prepared a cross for your Savior.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

O my people, O my church, what more could I have done for you? Answer me.

Forty years I led you through the desert, feeding you with manna on the way;

I saved you from the time of trial and gave you my body, the bread of heaven, but you have prepared a cross for your Savior.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

O my people, O my church, what more could I have done for you? Answer me.

I led you on your way in a pillar of cloud and fire, but you led me to the judgment hall of Pilate; I guided you by the light of the Holy Spirit, but you have prepared a cross for your Savior.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

Passion reading continues.

³³Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” ³⁴Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” ³⁵Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” ³⁶Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” ³⁷Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” ³⁸Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”

After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no case against him. ³⁹But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰They shouted in reply,

C: “Not this man, but Barabbas!”

Now Barabbas was a bandit. 19 ¹Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. ²And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. ³They kept coming up to him, saying,

C: “Hail, King of the Jews!”

and striking him on the face. ⁴Pilate went out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.” ⁵So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” ⁶When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted,

C: “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.” ⁷The Jews answered him,

C: “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”

⁸Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. ⁹He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰Pilate therefore said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” ¹¹Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

¹²From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out,

C: “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.”

¹³When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. ¹⁴Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, “Here is your King!” ¹⁵They cried out,

C: “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!”

Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered,

C: “We have no king but the emperor.”

¹⁶Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus; ¹⁷and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. ¹⁸There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them.
¹⁹Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” ²⁰Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. ²¹Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,

C: “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’”

²²Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

²³When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. ²⁴So they said to one another,

C: “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.”

This was to fulfill what the scripture says, “They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

²⁵And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

²⁸After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” ²⁹A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth.
³⁰When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Centering Hymn: ELW 616 “Jesus, Remember Me”
Jesus, remember me when you come in to your kingdom.
Jesus, remember me when you come in to your kingdom.

Solemn Reproaches:
O my people, O my church, what more could I have done for you? Answer me.

I planted you as my fairest vineyard, but you brought forth bitter fruit; I made you branches of the vine and never left your side, but you have prepared a cross for your Savior.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

O my people, O my church, what more could I have done for you? Answer me.

I poured out saving water from the rock, but you gave me vinegar to drink; I poured out my life and gave you the new covenant in my blood, but you have prepared a cross for your Savior.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

O my people, O my church, what more could I have done for you? Answer me.

I gave you a royal scepter, but you gave me a crown of thorns; I gave you the kingdom and crowned you with eternal life, but you have prepared a cross for your Savior.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

O my people, O my church, what more could I have done for you? Answer me.

I struck down your enemies, but you struck my head with a reed; I gave you my peace, but you draw the sword in my name, and you have prepared a cross for your Savior.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

Passion reading continues.

³¹Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. ³²Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. ³³But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. ³⁵(He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) ³⁶These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, “None of his bones shall be broken.” ³⁷And again another passage of scripture says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.”

³⁸After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body.  ³⁹Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. ⁴⁰They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. ⁴²And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Solemn Reproaches:
O my people, O my church, what more could I have done for you? Answer me.

I opened the waters to lead you to the promised land, but you opened my side with a spear; I washed your feet as a sign of my love, but you have prepared a cross for your Savior.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have
mercy on us.

O my people, O my church, what more could I have done for you? Answer me.

I lifted you up to the heights, but you lifted me high on a cross; I raised you from death and prepared for you the tree of life, but you have prepared a cross for your Savior.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

O my people, O my church, what more could I have done for you? Answer me.

I grafted you into my people Israel, but you made them scapegoats for your own guilt, and you have prepared a cross for your Savior.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

O my people, O my church, what more could I have done for you? Answer me.

I came to you in the least of your brothers and sisters, but I was hungry and you gave me no food, thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me, and you have prepared a cross for your Savior.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

Hymn of the Day: 338 “Beneath the Cross of Jesus”
Beneath the cross of Jesus I long to take my stand;
the shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land,
a home within a wilderness, a rest upon the way,
from the burning of the noontide heat and the burdens of the day.

Upon the cross of Jesus, my eye at times can see
the very dying form of one who suffered there for me.
And from my contrite heart, with tears, two wonders I confess:
the wonder of his glorious love and my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, your shadow for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of his face;
content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss,
my sinful self my only shame, my glory all, the cross.

Procession of the Cross:
Behold the life-giving cross, on which was hung the Savior of the whole world.

Oh, come, let us worship him.

Behold the life-giving cross, on which was hung the Savior of the whole world.

Oh, come, let us worship him.

Behold the life-giving cross, on which was hung the Savior of the whole world.

Oh, come, let us worship him.

Brief silence

Bidding Prayer:

Silence for prayer follows each bid.

The assembly prays for the following:
the church throughout the world
leaders in the church
those preparing for baptism
Christians in other churches
the Jewish people, first to hear the word of God
those who do not share our faith in Christ
those who do not believe in God
God’s creation
those who serve in public office
those in need.

At the conclusion of each prayer:

through Christ our Lord,
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer:
Finally, let us pray for all those things for which our Lord would have us ask.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory,
forever and ever.      Amen.

We Glory in Your Cross:
We glory in your cross, O Lord, and we praise your holy resurrection, for by your cross joy has come into the world.

May God be merciful and bless us; may the light of God’s face shine upon us. Let your way be known upon earth, your saving health among all nations.

We glory in your cross, O Lord, and we praise your holy resurrection, for by your cross joy has come into the world.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. May God give us blessing, and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe.

We glory in your cross, O Lord, and we praise your holy resurrection, for by your cross joy has come into the world.

Brief silence.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

All are welcome to remain for prayer and reflection
for as long as desired. When ready, worshipers are invited
to come forward and reverence the cross. 

All depart in silence.