The word tenebrae means “darkness” and refers to a worship service in which the progressive extinguishing of candles represents the approaching death of Christ. The Tenebrae service is one of prolonged meditation of the suffering of Christ. The service is divided into seven chief parts. At the end of each part the sanctuary will become darker. At the end of the service, the church will be very dark. No offering will be taken during the service. As you leave in silence you may place your offering in the basket in the back of the church.

On Good Friday we remember the crucifixion and death of our Lord both with sorrow and solemn joy. Though the events of this day fill us with horror, the implications of those events give us every reason for praise. Jesus’ death had this breathtaking significance. Once and for all, it paid for the guild of all of us and for all of time. Standing in our place, our substitute was forsaken by his Father on the cross so that we could be reconciled to God and have an eternal home in heaven.

We look at Jesus on the cross, and there is sorrow. He is there because of us. He is there because he loves us that much, so much he gave us his last breath. Jesus took all our guilt into the tomb with him. It will stay there. He will not. That is why we can call this Friday good.
This year we will use a visual to help us contemplate the love of Jesus on the cross. All who wish to do so will be invited to come forward and place a nail in the cross on the main floor of church. The nail has a red ribbon attached to remind us that it was our sins that caused Jesus to shed his blood. This truth pains us. This truth causes us joy because Jesus’ life and death is the sacrifice that paid for the guilt of our sins and the sins of the whole world.

We use the word “integrity” to refer to something being in good condition. So, when we talk about the structural integrity of a building or of a ship’s hull, we mean those things are “sound” and “whole.” We use “integrity” in reference to people, too. Generally, if we speak of someone having integrity, we mean that there’s a wholeness to their character. Their morals are sound. If someone lives with integrity, it is not simply that they talk and behave decently. We would say the reason their behavior is proper is because their values and desires are proper.

The first six Commandments deal with our relationships with others: God and our fellow man. The final four Commandments get at the question of personal integrity. When someone steals, lies, or covets, it is a clear indication that their values and desires are highly improper. Such a person lacks honesty, empathy, and contentment. They say and do bad things because they are bad, not “sound and whole.” It is harsh, yet unfailingly true. Thus, when we break one of these Commandments, it is pointless to make excuses. Let us simply cry out, “Lord, have mercy, for failing to live with integrity!” And let us trust the Christ, who died so that we might be made “sound and whole.”

This week we see how our Father makes the treasures of his house available to any and all. He places them in the last place we’d expect—the trash. In God’s family, the things the world prizes and pursues are counted as worthless. Conversely, what the world rejects and discards is considered priceless and worth pursuing.

The best example of this is Jesus Christ himself. The Father sent his greatest treasure—God the Son—to earth. And many considered Jesus to be a trash that needed to be taken out. . . a troublemaker that needed to be killed. In truth, Christ is the precious cornerstone that God used to build his house, the one with the open door.

This week we see how our Father makes the treasures of his house available to any and all. He places them in the last place we’d expect—the trash. In God’s family, the things the world prizes and pursues are counted as worthless. Conversely, what the world rejects and discards is considered priceless and worth pursuing.

The best example of this is Jesus Christ himself. The Father sent his greatest treasure—God the Son—to earth. And many considered Jesus to be a trash that needed to be taken out. . . a troublemaker that needed to be killed. In truth, Christ is the precious cornerstone that God used to build his house, the one with the open door.

“Let us make mankind in our image” (Gensis 1:26). God’s intent was that being made in his image, mankind would not only live in close communion with him, but that we would reflect God’s love and care in our dealings with each other. The Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Commandments are all about different aspects of healthy human relationships: respect and obedience for those God places in a position of authority; valuing and defending the life and well-being of others; expressing relational bonds, particularly marriage, in appropriate ways. God wants us to treasure our fellow man. Yet, in virtually every type of relationship that can exist—parent and child, husband and wife, employer and employee, neighbor and neighbor—we invent new ways to hurt one other.

Breaking these Commandments shows how we feel about our fellow man. More, that disobedience speaks volumes about how we really feel about our God. Jesus said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. . . Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not due for me” (Matthew 25:40,45). This week we see that Jesus is the only one who lives up to God’s expectations of how we should treat each other. So, in Lenten faith, we cry out to him, “Lord, have mercy for treating others like trash, not treasure!”

The Second and Third Commandment both relate to how our merciful God saves us. The Second Commandment deals with God’s name. God’s “name” is more than words we use to refer to Him: the Lord, Jehovah, Jesus. God’s name includes His reputation, i.e., everything the Word tells us about God. The Third Commandment deals with the Sabbath rest God wants His children to enjoy: resting from fear of condemnation, resting in His promise of mercy.

When we use God’s name flippantly… when we take God’s reputation lightly… when we are apathetic about His Word… when we have little interest in the spiritual rest He offers… we demolish these Commandments. That hurts us way more than it hurts God. Disobedience of these Commandments are attempted acts of spiritual suicide. If we continue in this rebellion, we are guaranteeing that hell is our eternal home. So, this week, we ask the Spirit to give us the ability to sincerely pray, “Lord, have mercy, for demonstrating irreverence for your name and despising your Sabbath rest.”

If a loved one needed serious heart surgery, would you prefer a first-year medical student to perform the operation, or would you rather it be a seasoned doctor who has done that surgery two-thousand times? How about if you were accused of a serious crime you didn’t commit? Would you be content with a legal intern defending you? Or might you want a more experienced, skilled attorney? You want the person who will best care for you. So, apply that reality to the First Commandment.

When God tells us not to have any other gods, our sinful nature’s first inclination is to think it is because God is a narcissist who craves the attention. That is projecting what we are often like onto Him. But God commands us to have no other gods, not because He seeks attention, but because He knows there is no one who loves us as much as He does…no one who can care for us anywhere close to as well as He can. It is He, by an infinite margin, who can best care for us. Therefore, when we love or trust anyone or anything else more than God, the sin doesn’t simply offend Him. It is incredibly self-destructive. As we begin our worship series on the Ten Commandments, by the Spirit teach us to say, “Lord, have mercy, for our incessant idolatry.”

Throughout this season of Epiphany, Jesus has described the governing principles of his kingdom being completely opposite to the governing principles of the world. This week Jesus asks us to befriend our enemies, to love those who hate us, and to repay evil with good. Worldly logic would say that is a recipe for being walked all over. Yet haven’t we seen this tactic work? When we were Christ’s enemies, he loved us to the point of death. He repays our daily wrongs with the daily goodness of his mercy. In doing so, he won us for himself.

Here is the epiphany we badly need to have. Following the strategy Jesus lays out—loving our enemies—is not a capitulation to evil. It is a means of conquering it.