good friday 2012 at st andrew’s: covenants broken
TRANSCRIPT
Leader: On this Good Friday,
when the sun failed,
when the crowds fell silent,
when Jesus died,
let us look at our world
and regret our part in its wrongs.
All: On this Good Friday,
when Jesus forgave his enemies,
let us worship God.
There is a green hill far away,
without a city wall,
where the dear Lord was crucified,
who died to save us all.
We may not know, we cannot tell,
what pains he had to bear,
but we believe it was for us
he hung and suffered there.
O Lord, O what have we done?for we break your covenants
with us.
I made earth and sea and sky,
And the creatures that live in them,
And my rainbow bound them and you,
But you trampled on them.
Thousands of marine animals and more than 1 million birds die each year as a
result of plastic pollution.
Annually, the UK raises and kills 800mchickens for meat, often causingskeletal problems and lameness.
O Lord, O what have we done?for we break your covenants
with us.
I called Abraham and his wives,
Their descendants like stars in heaven,
More in number than grains of sand -
But you turn from family.
The most common type of antisemitic incident in 2011 in the UK (300) involved
verbal abuse randomly directed at visibly Jewish people in public.
‘‘Persistent staring,
spitting, calling names,
throwing of eggs or stones,
and pulling women’s veils
off are the overwhelming types of anti-
Muslim hostilities
In Scotland, sectarianism is most often related to Protestant and Roman Catholic
divisions within Christianity and the bigotry that manifests itself through
abusive actions and words.
O Lord, O what have we done?for we break your covenants
with us.
I gave Moses ten laws to keep:
How to honour and praise my name,
How to live with each other well;
But you could not keep them.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not
hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
In the book of Leviticus, the prohibitions on stealing are expanded to include
dealing falsely in trade and negotiations.
You shall not covet your neighbour's house... your neighbour's wife... or
anything that belongs to your neighbour.
O Lord, O what have we done?for we break your covenants
with us.
I came down myself to you,
I showed what forgiveness is,
I poured out my blood like wine
For the covenant-breakers.
He died that we might be forgiven,he died to make us good,
that we might go at last to heaven,saved by his precious blood.
O dearly, dearly has he loved,and we must love him too,
and trust in his redeeming blood,and try his works to do.