Matins
The service begins with a period of silent reflection.
The officiant lights 12 candles, and we all light our individual candles (or other sources of light).
Amid the stillness, we listen to some opening sentences:
Officiant:
Yours is the day, O God, yours also the night; you established the moon and the sun. Psalm 74:15 (BCP)
Silence
Luke:
If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night,” darkness is not dark to you, O Lord; the night is as bright as the day; darkness and light to you are both alike. Psalm 139:10–11 (BCP)
Silence
Margaret:
Seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning, and darkens the day into night; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth: The Lord is his name. Amos 5:8 (BCP)
Silence
First Nocturn: Psalm
The psalm is sung antiphonally. You are invited to join either the “leader” or the “responder” part (with your microphone muted).
Philip will serve as leader and Margaret will serve as responder.
Psalm 88 (NRSV, adapted)
Leader:
O Lord God of my sal-va-tion, *
Responder:
in the night have I cried be-fore you;
Leader:
O let my prayer enter into your pre-sence; *
Responder:
turn your ear to my cry,
Leader:
For my soul is filled with trou-ble *
Responder:
and my life draws near to hell
Leader:
I am counted among those
who go down into the depths. *
Responder:
I am like those who have no help.
Leader:
Like one among the dead; *
Responder:
like the slain that lie in their graves;
Leader:
Like those whom you remember no more, *
Responder:
for they are cut off from your hand.
Leader:
You have laid me in the lowest pit, *
Responder:
in places dark and deep.
Leader:
Your indignation weighs down up-on me: *
Responder:
I am drowned be-neath your waves.
Leader:
You have put my friends far ◊ from me;
you have made me a thing
of hor-ror to them. *
Responder:
I am shut in;
I cannot escape;
my eyes grow dim with sor-row.
Leader:
Every day I call on you, O Lord; *
Responder:
I spread out my hands to you.
Leader:
Do you work wonders for the dead? *
Responder:
Do the shades rise up to praise you?
Leader:
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, *
Responder:
or your faithfulness in de-struc-tion?
Leader:
Are your wonders known in the dark-ness, *
Responder:
or your saving help in the land of ob-liv-ion?
Leader:
As for me, Lord, I cry out to you; *
Responder:
in the morning my prayer comes be-fore you.
Leader:
Lord, why do you re-ject me? *
Responder:
Why do you hide your face from me?
Leader:
I am in misery;
death seems at hand;
I am numb,
and long have I suffered with a troubled mind. *
Responder:
Your displeasure has swept over me;
fear of you has un-done me.
Leader:
Terrors surround me all day like a flood; *
Responder:
from all sides they close in on me.
Leader:
My friends and my lovers you have tak-en from me. *
Responder:
My only compan-ion is dark-ness.
A candle is extinguished.
First Nocturn: Lesson
Lamentations 1:1–5 (Alter)
Philip will sing the introduction and conclusion, Luke will sing the Hebrew letters, and Stacy will sing the verses.
A candle is extinguished.
First Nocturn: Responsory
Those designated sing the responsory:
O Vos Omnes
Philip will sing part A and Margaret will sing part B.
O you who walk through the road,
turn and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow.
Turn, all you people, and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow.
A candle is extinguished.
Second Nocturn: Psalm
The psalm is sung antiphonally. You are invited to join either the “leader” or the “responder” part (with your microphone muted).
Tim will serve as leader and Hannah K. will serve as responder.
Psalm 22:1–21 (BCP)
Leader:
My God, my God, why have you for-sak-en me? *
Responder:
and are so far from my cry
and from the words of my dis-tress?
Leader:
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not an-swer; *
Responder:
by night as well, but I find no rest.
Leader:
Yet you are the Ho-ly One, *
Responder:
enthroned upon the prai-ses of Is-rael.
Leader:
Our forefathers put their trust in you; *
Responder:
they trusted, and you de-liv-ered them.
Leader:
They cried out to you and were de-liv-ered; *
Responder:
they trusted in you and were not put to shame.
Leader:
But as for me, I am a worm and no man, *
Responder:
scorned by all and despised by the peo-ple.
Leader:
All who see me laugh me to scorn; *
Responder:
they curl their lips and wag their heads, say-ing,
Leader:
“He trusted in the Lord; let him de-liv-er him; *
Responder:
let him rescue him, if he de-lights in him.”
Leader:
Yet you are he who took me out of the womb, *
Responder:
and kept me safe u-pon my mo-ther’s breast.
Leader:
I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; *
Responder:
you were my God when I was still in my mo-ther’s womb.
Leader:
Be not far from me, for trouble is near, *
Responder:
and there is none to help.
Leader:
Many young bulls en-cir-cle me; *
Responder:
strong bulls of Ba-shan sur-round me.
Leader:
They open wide their jaws at me, *
Responder:
like a ravening and a roar-ing li-on.
Leader:
I am poured out like wa-◊-ter;
all my bones are out of joint; *
Responder:
my heart within my breast is melt -ing wax.
Leader:
My mouth is dried out like a pot-◊-sherd;
my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; *
Responder:
and you have laid me in the dust of the grave.
Leader:
Packs of dogs close me ◊ in,
and gangs of evildoers circle a-round me; *
Responder:
they pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones.
Leader:
They stare and gloat o-ver me; *
Responder:
they divide my garments among them;
they cast lots for my clo-thing.
Leader:
Be not far away, O Lord; *
Responder:
you are my strength; has-ten to help me.
Leader:
Save me from the sword, *
Responder:
my life from the pow’r of the dog.
Leader:
Save me from the lion’s mouth, *
Responder:
my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls.
Leader:
I will declare your Name to my breth-ren; *
Responder:
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.
Leader:
Praise the Lord, you that fear ◊ him;
stand in awe of him,
O offspring of Is-rael; *
Responder:
all you of Jacob's line, give glo-ry.
A candle is extinguished.
Second Nocturn: Lesson
Lamentations 3:16–26,29–33 (Alter)
Stacy will sing the introduction and conclusion, Tim will sing the Hebrew letters, and Luke will sing the verses.
A candle is extinguished.
Second Nocturn: Responsory
Those designated sing the responsory:
Tenebrae Factae Sunt
Philip will sing part A, Margaret will sing part B, and Hannah K. will sing the words of Jesus.
A candle is extinguished.
Third Nocturn: Psalm
The psalm is sung antiphonally. You are invited to join either the “leader” or the “responder” part (with your microphone muted).
Margaret will serve as leader and Stacy will serve as responder.
Psalm 143 (NZPB)
Leader:
Hear my prayer O ◊ Lord:
in your faithfulness give heed to my plead-ing, *
Responder:
and answer me in your right-eousness.
Leader:
Do not put your servant on tri-al: *
Responder:
for in your sight no one li-ving is in-nocent.
Leader:
For my enemies have hunted me ◊ down,
and beaten me to the ground: *
Responder:
they have made me inhabit darkness,
like those who have long been dead.
Leader:
Therefore my spirit faints with-in me: *
Responder:
and my heart is numb with grief.
Leader:
Yet I remember times ◊ past,
I think about all you have done: *
Responder:
I meditate on the works of your hands.
Leader:
I stretch out my hands to you: *
Responder:
I thirst for you as a parched land thirsts for rain.
Leader:
Make haste to answer me Lord,
for my spirit is fail-◊-ing:
do not hide your face from me, *
Responder:
or I shall be like those who go down to the dead.
Leader:
Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morn-ing: *
Responder:
for in you I have put my trust.
Leader:
Show me the way I should walk in: *
Responder:
for to you I lift up my soul.
Leader:
Deliver me Lord from my en-emies: *
Responder:
for I have fled to you for ref-uge.
Leader:
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God: *
Responder:
let your good spirit lead me on an ev-en path.
Leader:
Keep me safe O Lord for your name’s sake: *
Responder:
and for your righteousness’ sake bring me out of trou-ble.
A candle is extinguished.
Third Nocturn: Lesson
Lamentations 4:1–5 (Alter)
Hannah K. will sing the introduction and conclusion, Margaret will sing the Hebrew letters, and Philip will sing the verses.
A candle is extinguished.
Third Nocturn: Responsory
Those designated sing the responsory:
Ecce quomodo moritur justus
Music: Jacob Handl (1550–1591)
Philip, Margaret, Luke, Tim, Hannah K., and Stacy will sing alternating sections.
See how the righteous one perishes,
and no one takes it to heart.
The righteous are taken away,
and no one understands.
From the face of evil
the righteous one is taken away,
and his memory shall be in peace.
He has made his abode in peace,
and in Zion his habitation,
and his memory shall be in peace.
❦
A candle is extinguished.
Lauds
Miserere
Psalm 51 (NRSV)
The psalm is spoken. You are invited to take a turn reading a verse whenever you wish.
- Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
- Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
- For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
- Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
- Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
- You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
- Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
- Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
- Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
- Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
- Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
- Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
- Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
- Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
- O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
- For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
- The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
- Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
- then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
A candle is extinguished.
Psalm of Praise
The psalm is sung antiphonally. You are invited to join either the “leader” or the “responder” part (with your microphone muted).
Luke will serve as leader and Tim will serve as responder.
Psalm 150 (NZPB)
Leader:
Praise the Lord, O praise God in the ho-ly place: *
Responder:
praise our God in the migh-ty heav-ens.
Leader:
Praise the Lord for many acts of pow-er: *
Responder:
praise our God for greatness be-yond mea-sure.
Leader:
Praise the Lord with the sound of the trum-pet: *
Responder:
praise our God up-on the lute and harp.
Leader:
Praise the Lord with timbrels and dan-cing: *
Responder:
praise our God up-on the strings and pipe.
Leader:
Praise the Lord with clash of cym-bals: *
Responder:
praise our God upon re-sound-ing cymb-als.
Leader:
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord: *
Responder:
O, praise the Lord.
A candle is extinguished, leaving only one remaining.
This final candle symbolizes the light of Christ.
Canticle
The canticle is sung antiphonally. You are invited to join either the “leader” or the “responder” part (with your microphone muted).
Philip will serve as leader and Hannah K. will serve as responder.
The First Canticle of Moses (The Song of the Sea)
Exodus 15:1–18 (Alter)
Leader:
Let me sing unto the Lord, for He su-urged, O surged: *
Responder:
horse and its rider He hurled in-to the sea.
Leader:
My strength and my pow-er is Yah, *
Responder:
and He be-came my de-li-verance.
Leader:
This is my God: I ex-tol Him, *
Responder:
God of my fa-thers: I ex-alt Him.
Leader:
The Lord is a man of war, *
Responder:
the Lord is His name.
Leader:
Pha-raoh’s chariots and his force *
Responder:
He pitched in-to the sea
Leader:
→ and the pick of his cap-tains *
Responder:
were drowned in the Reed Sea.
Leader:
The depths did co-ver them o-ver, *
Responder:
down they went in the deep like a stone.
Leader:
Your right hand, O Lord, is mi-ghty in pow-er. *
Responder:
Your right hand, O Lord, smashed the e-nemy.
Leader:
In Your great surging You wreck those a-gainst You, *
Responder:
You send forth Your wrath, it con-sumes them like straw.
Leader:
And with the breath of Your nostrils waters heaped ◊ up, streams stood up like a mound, *
Responder:
the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
Leader:
→ The enemy ◊ said:
“I’ll pursue, overtake, divide up the loot, *
Responder:
my gullet will fill with them,
I’ll bare my sword, my hand de-spoil them.”
Leader:
You blew with your breath: the sea co-vered them o-ver. *
Responder:
They sank like lead in the mi -ghty wa-ters:
Leader:
Who is like You among the gods, O ◊ Lord,
who is like You, mi-ghty in ho-liness? *
Responder:
Fearsome in praise, wor-ker of won -ders.
Leader:
→ You stretched out Your hand: *
Responder:
earth swal-lowed them up.
Leader:
You led forth in Your kind-◊-ness
this people that You re-deemed. *
Responder:
You guided them in Your strength to Your ho-ly a- bode.
Leader:
→ Peoples heard, they quaked, *
Responder:
trembling seized Phili-sti -a’s dwel-lers.
Leader:
Then were the chieftans of Edom dis-◊-mayed,
the dukes of Moab, shud-der-ing seized them, *
Responder:
all the dwellers of Ca -naan quailed.
Leader:
Te-er -ror and fear did fall up- on them, *
Responder:
as Your arm loomed big they were like a stone.
Leader:
Till Your people crossed o-ver, O Lord, *
Responder:
till the people You made Yours crossed o-ver.
Leader:
You’ll bring them, you’ll plant them,
on the mount of Your e-◊-state,
a firm place for Your dwelling You
wrought, O Lord, *
Responder:
the sanctum, O Sovereign, Your hands firm-ly found-ed.
Leader:
The Lord shall be king for all time! *
Responder:
The Lord shall be king for all time!
Concluding Prayers
The final candle is hidden, symbolizing Christ’s death and the apparent victory of the forces of evil.
Then, the officiant sings the memorial antiphon:
All silently pray the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
The officiant says the collect:
Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross.
After the collect, a loud noise is made, symbolizing the “great earthquake” when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to Jesus’ tomb (Matthew 28:1 NRSV). We are taking this somewhat literally with a clip from:
7 years of earthquakes in Western North America
Ben Holtzman, Douglas Repetto, Jason Candler, and Nolan Lem
Seismic Sound Lab
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Columbia University
The host will play the video. Turn up your volume! (details)
The officiant retuns the hidden candle to its place, symbolizing the resurection.
The service ends with a period of silent reflection.