April 3, 2026
Good Friday
John 18:1-19:42 | "No King But Caesar" 

This service is shaped by the Good Friday tradition of remembering the Seven Last Words of Christ, but instead of using the typical quotations and scripture readings that combine the crucifixion stories from the four Gospels, this service uses quotations and sayings of Jesus and others from the passion story in the Gospel of John.  Each section includes a scripture reading, prayer and song suggestion.  

Word 2 is in the style of a prayer of confession and could be expanded accordingly. A single sermon/reflection could be included with Word 4 or 5, or shorter reflections with some or all of the sections, or there could be no sermon/reflection at all.  An Invitation to Generosity and Offering could be included with Word 6. 

With gratitude to the singing movements in Minneapolis and elsewhere, song suggestions primarily come from the Singing Resistance Songbook and all can be sung as just the melody or with simple harmonies, and unaccompanied.  

Call to Worship
Leader:	This is the day when our story asks us 
to place ourselves
in the middle of the struggle
between kingdom and kindom. 
Assembly:	Holy the ground.  Holy the fight. 

Leader:	This is the day when our tradition invites us
to bear witness 
to the ways radical love
brings out our best and our worst.
Assembly:	Holy the beholding. Holy the lament. 

Leader:	This is the day when our lineages want us 
to reckon with
the unrelenting violence
of the death machine.  
Assembly:	Holy the truth. Holy the rage. 

Leader:	This is the day when our worship calls us
to weep and wail
for each breath that is stolen
when Love threatens to unseat the king. 
Assembly:	Holy the grief.  Holy the revolution.

Leader:	So let this be the day 
when we watch and listen, vigil and pray.
Assembly:	Holy the living.  Holy the dying.   

Song for Gathering: 	Ready by Alexandra Ahlay Blakely

The First Word: “Who are you looking for?” 

Scripture Reading: John 18:1-11

Prayer of Invocation
Let this prayer lead us
into the night
into the lanterns and torches and weapons
into the tanks and guns and explosions
into the cages and cells and shackles
into the unmarked cars and undisclosed locations

Let this prayer accompany us
into the valley
into the garden
into the place known as love and holy and ground
into the confrontations, the betrayals, the violence
into the handing over and the standing by

Let this prayer open us 
into the wound
into the world
into the breaking
into the breathing
into the rubble
into the rending. Amen. 

Song: We Walk the Same Ground by Annie Schlaefer

The Second Word: “I am not.” 

Scripture Reading:  John 18:15-18, 25-27

Prayer for Transformation
Leader: 	For the times when we have stayed in protective silence
		abandoned the deepest loves of our hearts
		and let others bear the hurt and harm, 
Assembly:	Mercy. God, have mercy. 
Leader:	For the days when defensiveness is our refuge
		from taking accountability
		when we can’t or won’t risk solidarity,
Assembly:	Mercy.  Christ, have mercy. 
Leader:	For ways we avoid, escape, ignore
		our own complicity in the violences
		that cut us off from friend and enemy alike
Assembly:	Mercy.  God, have mercy. 

Song: We Belong to Each Other by Annie Schlaefer

The Third Word: “My kingdom is not from here.”

Scripture Reading: John 18:28-38

Prayer for Kindom Dreaming
Where are you from? they demand. 
Give me your papers. 
Inhale: 	We are meant for love. 
	Exhale: 	Our freedom is not from here.  (repeat a few times)

What kind of accent is that? they taunt.
I need to see some ID. 
	Inhale: 	We are meant for belonging. 
	Exhale: 	Our power is not from here.  (repeat a few times)

You look like a criminal, they sneer. 
Show me your hands. 
	Inhale: 	We are meant for tenderness. 
	Exhale:	Our strength is not from here.  (repeat a few times)

Song: The Future is Calling by Sarina Partridge

The Fourth Word: “He ought to die.”

Scripture Reading: John 19:1-7

Prayer for Human Dignity
Leader:	When we call you a criminal,
		like Jesus,
and beat the humanity from your tender flesh, 
Assembly:	may these prayers reach behind the bars 
and whisper to you your true name: 
beloved, beloved, beloved.  

Leader:	When we call you a terrorist,
		like Jesus,
to justify the annihilation of your land and lineages,
	Assembly:	may these prayers crawl into the rubble
			and show you your own enduring beauty:
			image of the divine. 

Leader:	When we call you illegal,
		like Jesus, 
		and try to drain the dignity from your veins,
Assembly: 	may these prayers walk into the detention center
		and declare your inherent worth and value: 
		sacred, sacred, sacred. 

Leader:	When we call it a justified use of force, 
and we mock, and beat, and torture you 
		like Jesus, 
Assembly:	may these prayers pour balm over your wounds
		and offer you a soft place to stay near to your own brilliance: 
		holy, holy, holy. Amen. 

Song: This is For Our Neighbors by Lu Aya of the Peace Poets or I Send My Hope by Jordan Mudd
  
The Fifth Word: “We have no King but Caesar.”

Scripture Reading: John 19:8-16a

Prayer for Decolonizing Our Hearts
Leader:	You are invited to put your hand over your heart
		and breath deeply. 
[Pause for three deep breaths]

The story of this night calls us to take stock and tell the truth 
about who and what holds our allegiances.
What “Caesars” have you given your loyalty to, 
mistaking them for the way to safety, freedom and flourishing?
You are invited to reflect on them in the silence of your heart.  
 
Time for silent reflection

Leader:	The story of this night calls us to take stock and tell the truth
		about in whose and what power we place our trust.
		What “Caesars” have we as a community, as a society, given our trust to, 
		mistaking them for the way to safety, freedom and flourishing?
		You are invited to name them in the presence of the community.   

Time for naming

Leader:	With our hands on our hearts, let us pray: 
Assembly:	Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, 
you know the powers and principalities 
that have taken root in our bodies, minds, and spirits. 
You know the ways they shape 
our desires, our loyalties, our imagination. 
Unpledge us, Earth-maker, from these breath-stealing allegiances.
Release us, Pain-bearer, from these heart-breaking lies. 
Reclaim us, Live-giver, from these death-dealing dreams. 
Teach us again the ways of your kindom. 
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.  Amen. 

Song: We Are Here by Sarina Partridge
 
The Sixth Word: “Woman here is your son.  Beloved, here is your mother.” 

Scripture Reading: John 19:16b-27

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Dedication
Leader:	For the gift of presence in troubled times, 
and the ones who stay near to suffering, 
Assembly:	thanks be to God. 
Leader:	For the gift of kinship emerging in the worst of days, 
and the ones who say yes to love, 
Assembly:	thanks be to God. 
Leader:	For the gift of care from those most impacted by oppression
and the ones whose vision reaches beyond present horrors,
Assembly: 	thanks be to God. 
Leader:	We dedicate our lives to becoming these gifts. 
		We dedicate our gifts to becoming these kin. 
Assembly: 	In the name of all that is Holy, Just and Compassionate, 
		we would pray and live.  Amen. 

Song: Standing Stone by Melanie DeMore

The Seventh Word: “It is finished.”

Scripture Reading:  John 19:28-30

Prayer beyond Words
	The community is invited to hold silence together for a time. 

Song: Hold On by Heidi Wilson

The Community may be invited to leave in silence after the song or receive this Benediction.

Benediction
When Jesus said
it is finished
what if he was saying
there will be an end
to the powers and principalities
that steal our very breath
there will be an end 
to the culture of fear 
to all the ways we die to ourselves and each other

if resurrection begins 
when we are no longer invested in the power of death
begins with the women who will not let him die alone
who will not let the murder be unseen
who will remain close by his wounds 
and say his name
until the sky is torn in two
then this the blessing that comes when
it is finished

No King But Caesar: Service Prayers for Good Friday was written by Dr. Sharon R. Fennema who serves as a free-range facilitator, ritualist, activist, teacher, and writer whose work lives at the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, disability, and embodied spiritual practices. She is a founding member of the Liberating Lineages Collective.