The Bible readings in the pre-reformation church were more or less taken over by the Reformers as they produced for the first time a liturgy in English. The first English Prayer Book of 1549 adopted most of the readings for this week of the old Sarum Missal. By the time of the final revision of 1662, some of the readings had been extended and some slightly rearranged.
The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) of 1662, which is till our basic standard of worship and doctrine, takes us through the four gospels in the period from Sunday to Friday. So the whole of Matthew’s passion story is read on Sunday, Mark’s on Monday and Tuesday, Luke’s on Wednesday and Thursday, and John’s on Good Friday.
The name “Good Friday” is an invention of the English Reformers. It is a wonderful counter to the often funereal gloom that used to hover around the day (and all Fridays for that matter). This is the happy day on which the believer recognises and celebrates the finished work of Christ on the cross for them.
The whole of this week from Sunday to Friday is focussed on the death of Christ. In the latter part of the 20th century the Palm Sunday liturgy found its way back, in part perhaps as an attempt to include children. But even the modern lectionaries give precedence to the Passion – at least on Sunday.
This week at Christ the King we will take Mark’s gospel slowly and spend time each day on one of the final chapters in the story that leads up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. We will do this so we can weigh carefully both what happened, what it means, and how it applies to us. I encourage you to read the daily readings each day and to join in as many of the services on Monday to Thursday nights as you are able.
Dale