Tenebrae Service

Here is a tenebrae liturgy adapted from the Anglican Book of Occasional Services. We shortened it to about an hour and added more interactive elements.

This is a service of darkness that leads to the death of Christ. The big visual was the gradual extinguishing of candles through the service until there was only one candle left in the room. It was then hidden from view at the end of the service.

Tenebrae Service
Mark 15:33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land…

Introduction:
Last week the light of Christ shone brightly during his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This week death encroaches and attempts to snuff out and extinguish the light of Christ. Tonight we are celebrating a medieval liturgy called the Tenebrae. Tenebrae is the Latin word for darkness or shadows and this service is a representation of the darkness that covered the world at the death of Jesus.

First Nocturn
Song: Prepare the Way
Song: Here I Am to Worship

Lesson 1 – Sam
A Reading from the Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet. [1:1- 14]
How solitary lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow has she become, she that was great among the nations! She that was queen among the cities has now become a vassal.
She weeps bitterly in the night, tears run down her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies.
Judah has gone into the misery of exile and of hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; all her pursuers overtook her in the midst of her anguish.
The roads to Zion mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan and sigh; her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.
Her adversaries have become her masters, her enemies prosper; because the Lord has punished her for the multitude of her rebellions; her children are gone, driven away as captives by the enemy.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God!

Responsory 1 In monte Oliueti
Vic: On the mount of Olives Jesus prayed to the Father:

Lindsey: Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Vic: Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation. L. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Lesson 2 - Lynnette
And from Daughter Zion all her majesty has departed; her princes have become like stags that can find no pasture, and that run without strength before the hunter.
Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and bitterness all the precious things that were hers from the days of old; when her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her; the adversary saw her, and mocked at her downfall.
Jerusalem has sinned greatly, therefore she has become a thing unclean; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; and now she sighs, and turns her face away.
Uncleanness clung to her skirts, she took no thought of her doom; therefore her fall is terrible, she has no comforter. "O Lord, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed."
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God!

Responsory 2 Tristis est anima mea
Vic: My soul is very sorrowful, even to the point of death; remain here and watch with me.

Lindsey: Now you shall see the crowd who will surround me; you will flee, and I will go to be offered up for you.

Vic: Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Lindsey: You will flee, and I will go to be offered up for you.

Lesson 3 - Mark
The adversary has stretched out his hand to seize all her precious things; she has seen the Gentiles invade her sanctuary, those whom you had forbidden to enter your congregation.
All her people groan as they search for bread; they sell their own children for food to revive their strength. "Behold, O Lord, and consider, for I am now beneath contempt!"
Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted, on the day of his burning anger.
From on high he sent fire, into my bones it descended; he spread a net for my feet, and turned me back; he has left me desolate and faint all the day long.
My transgressions were bound into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; their yoke is upon my neck; he has caused my strength to fail. The Lord has delivered me into their hands, against whom I am not able to stand up.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God!

Responsory 3 Ecce vidimus eum
Vic: Lo, we have seen him without beauty or majesty, with no looks to attract our eyes.

Lindsey: He bore our sins and grieved for us, He was wounded for our transgressions, and by his scourging we are healed.
Vic: Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows:

Lindsey: And by his scourging we are healed.

Lauds
Let us read this Psalm together in unison.

Psalm 63:1-8 Deus, Deus meus.
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you;my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Song: Kindness

Lectio Divina

Background: Hezekiah was King of Judah in the time after Israel had been conquered, but before the Babylonian captivity. He was a good King who was faithful to the Lord. Hezekiah became sick and was about to die when the Lord answered his prayers and miraculously healed him. This is Hezekiah’s song of thanksgiving.

Instructions: I’m going to read it once and give you some time to reflect on the story. Just relax and listen on this first reading. Offer several minutes of silence after reading. I am going to read the passage a second time. This time listen for a word, image or phrase that stands out to you for some reason. Offer several minutes of silence after reading the passage. Share this word or image with the people around you. Allow plenty time for people to share. I'm going to read the passage one last time. In what ways is Hezekiah’s story similar to what Christ is going through? Offer several minutes of silence after reading the passage and allow people to share with each other once again.

The Song of Hezekiah [Isaiah 38:10-20]
10 I said, "In the prime of my life must I go through the gates of death [a] and be robbed of the rest of my years?"

12 Like a shepherd's tent my house has been pulled down and taken from me. Like a weaver I have rolled up my life, and he has cut me off from the loom; day and night you made an end of me.

13 I waited patiently till dawn, but like a lion he broke all my bones; day and night you made an end of me.

15 But what can I say? He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this. I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul.

17 Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.

18 For the grave [c] cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.

19 The living, the living—they praise you, as I am doing today; fathers tell their children about your faithfulness.

20 The LORD will save me, and we will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the temple of the LORD.

Stations of the Cross and Candles
Song: Tell Me I’m Mistaken with Stations of the Cross Slides.
Vic will play and sing the song while power point slides of the crucifixion play on the TV. These slides are the eight Stations of the Cross mentioned in scripture. Each slide should stay up for at least 30 seconds. As one slide dissolves into the next, one candle should be blown out. There are eight candles total. At the end of the slides, the screen will be black and only one candle will remain lit. DO NOT BLOW IT OUT!

After a moment of silence, the remaining candle is taken from the stand and hidden behind a black sheet (symbolizes the tomb)

More silence

Closing Prayer: Christus factus est
Christ for us became obedient unto death, even death on a cross; therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the Name which is above every name.

People leave in silence.
We handed out out cards at the close of the service with these instructions:

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

Matthew 27:51

As you left the Tenebrae service Sunday, Christ lay dead in his tomb. We symbolized this by placing a candle behind a black curtain. Yet the liturgy continues.
At the moment of Christ’s death, the curtain in the temple was torn in two. Previously, it separated God’s presence in the Holy of Holies from the people.
This piece of black cloth was torn from the one we used Sunday. It represents the temple curtain at Christ’s death.

This week reflect & pray on the extraordinary promises from the Song of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79). Carry your torn piece of curtain with you & ponder the implications it has for your life

The Song of Zechariah Benedictus Dominus Deus (Luke 1:68-79)
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *born of the house of his servant David. Through his holy prophets he promised of old,that he would save us from our enemies, *from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers *and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, *to set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship him without fear, *holy and righteous in his sightall the days of our life. You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation *by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God *the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.