March 31, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Acts 10.34-43 — Peter tells Jesus’ story

Ps. 118.14-24    —  God’s right hand does valiantly..open the gates…the stone the builders rejected

1 Cor. 15.1-11 — Christ died, and was raised, and appeared

Mk. 16.1-8 — Women come to the tomb. An angel says, “Go to Galilee.” They rush out, afraid—…
        or
Jn. 20.1-18 — Mary comes to the tomb, then Peter and John. Mary encounters Jesus, and goes back and proclaims the risen Christ.

Preaching Thoughts

Not just the afterlife.
        Whenever we talk about resurrection we’re always talking about both Jesus’ resurrection on that Easter day (though it wasn’t Easter, yet, was it?) and our own experience of resurrection. Our faith suggests there is some kind of mystery that we can think of as Life after we die. But we should be cautious about describing it. Honestly, we really don’t know what we’re talking about. Sure, there are reports of people who have “died and returned,” but I think of that as part of the death experience. What’s beyond that? We don’t know. But I trust it’s good. Sometimes people need to be comforted with belief in a lovely afterlife. I think that’s OK. But it’s not the point. Jesus seems to have been much more concerned with how we experience being alive that how we experience being dead. The point is how we live, now.

First you die
       The mystery of resurrection is not just a promise of the afterlife; it’s a guide to how we live. Resurrection is not a happy ending. It’s a new beginning after a tragic ending. It’s the mystery that when we surrender our lives in love God gives us a new one. Resurrection begins in death. Jesus literally, physically died on the cross when he said “Into your hands I commit my spirit” and breathed his last. But he “died” long before that. Jesus practiced saying “Into your hands I commit my spirit” every moment of his life. Remember he said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn. 12.224). That’s the heart of his desert temptations, and the heart of his prayer in Gethsemane: “Not my will but yours.” Long before Good Friday Jesus had already died and been given over to eternal life. It’s what gave him the love and trust and courage to go to the cross. So it’s true that on Good Friday the risen One was crucified.

A new beginning
       Our “worldly” life is dominated by the struggle for survival, power, security and belonging. (Think of Jesus’ temptations.) To “die” is to let go of “life in this world” as Jesus calls it in John 12, or “life according to the flesh” as Paul calls it in Romans 8. It means to let go of the delusion that we are lonely individuals separate from God, bound by our bodies and led by our egos. When we let that “self” die God welcomes us into a richer, deeper life of connection with God and others and all Creation. The resurrected life is free of selfishness and fear, full of love, generosity and power. Our worldly life can be threatened and controlled and even taken from us; but the resurrected life can’t be marred, diminished or taken from us. It’s eternal. To live the Risen life is to trust that grace, to be willing to give ourselves in love no matter what the cost and trust we will be given an even richer life.

Not a comeback but transformation
       Sometimes resurrection comes to us when we suffer an awful loss of something dear that is wrenched from us, like the disciples’ loss of Jesus, and sometimes it comes when we choose to let go, like Jesus’ own willingly facing the cross. Either way, resurrection comes to us out of loss and ends up in grace. (Think of the beatitudes…) And either way, resurrection changes us. Maybe that’s why Mary doesn’t recognize Jesus in the garden. (They didn’t at Emmaus, either.) He’s been changed. Resurrection isn;t about “coming back” to life. It’s about going on to a new life. Resurrection isn’t just about a happy resolution of a sad event; it’s about being transformed into people of deeper trust, greater power, and the radiance of love.

Mark
       Mark’s gospel ends so abruptly that we’ve wondered: did he mean to do that? Or are we missing a page? I think he meant to. For one thing it’s realistic to imagine the women’s first reaction is fear and confusion. Hopefully as we read that endingless ending, we feel the urge to finish the story that Mark doesn’t finish—which is his point. He’s shown us what resurrection is. Now when it happens, he doesn’t need to show us. He leaves it for us to finish the story: to internalize the good news and to get out there—go to Galilee— and live the good news for the world.

John
       In John Mary is the first Christian preacher to proclaim the resurrection. (The woman at the well was the first evangelist.) Being a woman, she will be ignored as a preacher for most of history, but there she is. (The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.) John tells us Peter and the other disciple saw the empty tomb but “did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” Mary apprehends Jesus from a different angle. Think of Peter as representing the rational mind with its need to understand, to analyze, and judge with dualistic thinking. The problem is, as The Cloud of Unknowing says, God can be loved but not thought. Mary isn’t trying to understand; she just loves Jesus. Maybe that’s what it takes to meet the risen Christ: not wisdom, learning or understanding, but love-or maybe even just the desire for love.

Call to Worship

1. I suggest using the gospel proclamation (Mark or John, either 20.1-18 or 1-10) as the first element of worship. The “Call to worship” is then a response to the gospel story.

2.
Leader: Christ is risen.
All: Christ is risen indeed!
Love has conquered fear.
Life has overcome death.
By the powers of evil and injustice
the Beloved was crucified.
But by the power of grace
God has raised Christ from the dead.
Christ died bearing all our sin and fear.
But Christ rose in love,
and with Christ we too are raised
to life that is eternal, life that is new,
life in you, O God of love. Alleluia!

2.
[You can do this with one reader. But to create a sense of crescendo, I like to have two readers read the plain type, alternating on the first two lines and reading the third together, as indicated here. You’ll want to remove the 1 / 2 business from the printed or projected version .]

Reader 1: Christ emptied himself and became obedient to death,
All: obedient to death on a cross.
Reader 2: But Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed!
Both: He is not among the dead anymore!
The stone has been rolled away!
Reader 1 The Crucified One is risen again!
He has come out of the tomb!
Reader 2: Christ has conquered by the cross!
All our hope is in him! Alleluia!
Both: God has rescued us from the power of darkness,
and brought us into the dominion of God’s beloved Son.
Reader 1 Alleluia! Reader 2: Alleluia! Both: Alleluia!
Alleluia! ALLELUIA!

Prayers

1.
Loving God, we thank you and praise you for the mystery of your grace. For on the cross Jesus your Christ bore all that separates us from you and from life; yet sin and oppression and suffering and death were unable to defeat the power of love . By his glorious resurrection you have delivered us from the power of death. Eternal God, make us die every day to sin. Birth us anew, so that we may walk in newness of life with Christ, in the joy of eternal life and in the company of the Holy Spirit, O God, our Creator and our Redeemer. Amen.

2.
Loving God, we thank you for your grace. Raise us to new life with Christ. Forgive our sin, heal our sorrows, transform our despair, strengthen us in our struggles, and create us anew. Receive our death and give us life eternal, life in you. Grant that we may live new lives in Christ, free of our old ways, free of fear and distrust. God, you are our life, which is eternal. Sustain us with your mercy, fill us with your love, and bless us that we may serve you for the sake of healing, justice and joy in the name of Christ. Amen.

3.
Holy One, Christ is risen, and we are in awe. You have burst the bonds of possibility. Death has lost its grip on us. Something stuck has slipped free. In the light of Christ rising, shame and fear evaporate like morning dew. Love is undiminished, undaunted, unending. You have set us free to live by the power of your Spirit alone. God of grace, raise us continually with Christ from the grave of our fears to the new, risen life of love, by the power and the mystery of your Spirit. Amen.

4.
God of love and mystery, the Christ you have raised from the dead is the Christ who lives in us. By this mystery you give us courage to love, willingness to trust, and faith to endure. Your love can’t be defeated. Your presence can’t be taken from us. All the powers of evil and injustice, even sin, even death, are vulnerable to your grace. May Christ rise in our hearts, fill us with your light, and lead us with joy into new lives. We pray in the continually renewing Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Listening Prayer

(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)

Risen Christ,
though we do not recognize you,
in the garden
you call our name
and, deeper than we can understand,
you are present for us,
and we open our hearts.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1. (1 Pet. 1.3; Eph. 2. 4-6 Rom. 6.4; Col. 3.3 Ps. 51.10)

Alleluia! Blessed be the God and Life-Giver of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Mercy God has given us a new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
God, rich in mercy, out of great love for us, has made us alive together with Christ,
and raised us up and seated us with Christ.
We have been buried with Christ by baptism into death,
so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of God,
we too might walk in newness of life.
Gracious God, we have died, and our life is hidden with Christ in you.
Spirit of Life, create us anew!
Create in us a clean heart, and put a new and right spirit within us.
Forgive our sin, and wash us clean
in the water of new birth. Heal us, redeem us, and set us free.
Spirit of Blessing, be our freedom and our life!
Through your risen Son grant victory over the enemies of life,
and crush beneath your children’s feet all evil powers.
Through your crucified and risen Christ, we pray for your church,
that, committing our spirit into your hands,
we may die and rise to newness of life.
We pray for all those who suffer, struggle or despair,
that they may find renewal, hope and peace.
Grant us the joy of your life-giving resurrection,
and make us by your grace a new and holy people. Amen.

2.
Leader: Alleluia! God of Love, the sun of your grace rises upon us.
All: Alleluia! You have raised Jesus your Christ from the dead.
Jesus bore our sorrows, and shared our suffering;
and you raised him from the dead.
He accepted our mistreatment and bore our injustice,
and you raised him from the dead.
He confronted evil; and the powers of oppression killed him,
and you raised him from the dead.
He experienced our loneliness, and stood in the gap between us and you,
and you raised him from the dead.
We poured out on him all our judgment, yet he forgives us entirely,
and you raised him from the dead.
God of grace and miracle, you have joined us to Christ,
so that as you raised Christ from the dead by the power of your love,
you have raised us from the dead with Christ, to walk in new lives.
God of resurrection, fill us with the power of your love,
love that overcomes evil and death, love that is the light of life.
Spirit of love, create new hearts in us, and make us a new and holy people,
the Body of Christ, risen in love. Alleluia!

3.
A prayer of Baptismal Renewal

When the sun rose upon the empty tomb,
it brought a new day,
Everything was changed:
there was a new Creation.
God of resurrection,
by the light of Christ’s rising,
grant us a new day.
By the mystery of your grace,
raise us up to new life
in the Spirit of Christ.
All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death.
Therefore we have been buried with him
by baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of God,
so we too might walk in newness of life.
By God’s great mercy
God has given us a new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
and into an inheritance
that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.
Blessed be God!

[Here people may be invited to interact with baptismal water, for instance by touching it, or making a cross on their foreheads… or it may be sprinkled on everyone with greens.]

Eucharistic Prayer

[After the introduction, the body of the prayer may be read responsively with the presiding leader(s) and congregation, or by the leader(s) alone.]
—————— #1 ——————
God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.

We thank you God, for in the beginning in love you called light out of darkness.
In mercy you brought Israel out of slavery.
By your grace you raised Christ from the dead.
And in your faithfulness you raise us with Christ, out of death and into new life.
In Jesus you have accepted the dough of our brokenness with love,
buried it in the oven of death, and raised us, bread of life, made new.
Therefore we come to feast on the bread of your grace,
singing your praise with all Creation:

            [Sanctus, spoken or sung:]
        Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
        heaven and earth are full of your glory.
        Hosanna in the highest.
        Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God.
        Hosanna in the highest.
               [or alternate version]

Blessed are all who come in your love, and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He healed and taught with love; he confronted injustice with courage,
and he gathered a community of grace, forgiveness and healing.
He poured himself out for us. He loved us to death.
The powers of oppression crucified him—but you raised him from the dead.
Alleluia!

[The Blessing and Covenant…]*

Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
As often as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection until he comes again.
Remembering these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving
as a living and holy sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

             [Memorial Acclamation, spoken or sung:]
        Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
                     —or—
        Dying, Christ destroyed our death. Rising, Christ restores our life.
        Christ will come again in glory.
             [or alternative]

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ, crucified and risen,
fearless in sharing the suffering of the world
and trusting the power of your love.
In this meal may we be transformed,
raised to new life, and filled with your light.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.


—————  #2 ——————

[“Lift up…”]….

We thank you God, for out of darkness you brought light.
Out of the dust of the earth you made us in your image.
You made Covenant to be our God,
and out of slavery you came and set us free.
You are the One who brought Christ out of death to life,
who brings life out of hopelessness, joy out of despair.
You bring us out of our small lives to share in your joy.
Therefore we sing your praise with all Creation:

       [Sanctus]

Blessed are all who come in your name, and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He loved and taught and healed, and by word and miracle
showed us your grace rising always out of our doubt and fear.
For his nonviolent acts against the power of oppression he was killed,
but you raised him up, affirmed his love, and brought him victory over death itself.

      [The Blessing and Covenant…]*

     [Remembrance, Memorial Acclamation…]

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup
that they may be for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Raise up your Holy Spirit in us, that with Christ’s love living in us,
we might be the Body of Christ, raised to new life,
unafraid of death, with gentle courage to love the world
in the name and the company and the Spirit of the living Christ.
All glory and honor is yours, loving God, now and forever.

      [Amen]
____________ #3 _________

…
Blessed are you, O God, Creator of all things,
ruler of the world and all that is to come.
You brought light out of darkness, Creation out of chaos.
By mighty acts you delivered your people from slavery,
and brought them back from exile.
In our need and brokenness you sent your Son, Jesus Christ.
By the baptism of his death and resurrection
you made with us a new covenant,
that neither sin nor suffering nor death
shall ever separate us from your love in Christ Jesus.
You have doomed the powers of injustice and oppression,
and granted your children the freedom of eternal life.
Therefore with all Creation we sing as one voice:
            [Sanctus]

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ,
who is the resurrection and the life.
In your Spirit he preached good news to the poor,
brought sight to the blind and release to the captives,
set at liberty those who were oppressed,
and proclaimed the time of pardon.
Though divine, he emptied himself
and took the nature of a servant; and in human form
he humbled himself and became obedient, even unto death.
In his self-giving he has embodied your covenant
to be with us in love forever.

     (The Blessing and Covenant)*
Christ being raised from the dead will never die again;
death no longer has dominion.
We have died with Christ; we shall also live with him.
             [Memorial Acclamation]

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Spirit on us, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
having died to our fear and become free of the power of evil.
Set us free from all fear, oppression and idolatry,
that we may live anew each moment,
according to your will, to your eternal glory.
Establish your gracious Dominion in us,
that we may be the Body of Christ, crucified and risen:
one in your love, one in your Spirit,
and one in ministry, for the redemption of the world.
     [Amen]

____________
* The Blessing and Covenant
[I usually don’t print the words. I want people to be looking at the bread, not their bulletins.]

On the night in which he gave himself for us
Jesus took bread, blessed it,. broke it, and gave it to his disciples,saying,
“Take and eat; this is my body.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
blessed it with thanks and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink of this, all of you. This is my blood,
poured out for you and for many, in a new Covenant,
which is the forgiveness of sin.”
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

[Adapt as needed.]
1.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) By the mystery of your love you have raised Christ from the dead. Life has overcome death. Love has conquered fear and violence, and it is alive in and among us. We rejoice and give thanks. Send us out now to proclaim the good news, to live the resurrected life, to be the Body of the Risen Christ, by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Like a grain of wheat that has fallen into the earth, Christ has died and been raised in us, and we are now the Body of the Risen Christ, continually reborn by your grace. Send us into the world to proclaim your good news, to love as you have loved us, to serve the poor, to work for justice, and to prepare your Realm on earth; in the name of the risen Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit, who live and reign with you forever. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) May the Resurrection of Christ be food for our souls. May the living presence of Christ be light for our feet. May the glory of his rising encourage us that death has no dominion over us. Send us into the world to proclaim the good news; to live lives of love and healing, made new by your grace; and to devote ourselves to the healing of the world, in the name of the crucified and risen Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view, and hear an audio clip, on the Music page)


Easter Eucharistic Responses Nine sets of Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation and Amen set to familiar hymn tunes appropriate for the Easter season.

See Easter Communion Songs, several songs of invitation and preparation for communion.
Sample:
God of Wonder         (Tune: Infant Holy)

Alleluia! God of wonder, you have raised Christ from the grave.
You are faithful, always loving, always just and strong to save.
All our sin and all our sorrow can’t begin to stop your grace:
Christ is present here among us, speaking with us face to face.

Christ, we meet you; Life, we greet you! Alleluias loud we sing.
You invite us to your table. To the feast our gifts we bring.
Bread is broken; hearts are mended; truth is spoken; wine is poured.
In our love and joyful sharing we behold you, living Lord.

Holy Spirit, life eternal, gift of grace, all praise to you!
In this feast of resurrection raise us up to lives anew:
free, forgiving, deeply loving, gently living without fear,
Christ in us, alive, forever! Christ in us, your presence here!


Resurrection Light         (Tune: Joyful, Joyful)

     As always you can choose your verses.
     I’ve most often used these verses in various settings
     Sunrise service: 1, 2, 4, 5
     Brief service : 3, 4, 5
     Full worship: 3, 4, 5, 6

1
Lord, we come in early morning as the light begins to rise,
like the women bearing spices to the grave where Jesus lies.
Here we bring our shattered hopes, our broken hearts, our deep despair.
Lord, we come as tender mortals, needing you, in humble prayer.

2
Now we stand before the grave, the dark of death, the depth of sin,
all that would prevent our loving, all that kills the life within.
Here is buried our Beloved: wine poured out and broken bread.
But we find the grave is empty! Christ is not among the dead!

3
Holy God, we sing your praises, and we give our thanks to you!
On this day of resurrection all things are created new!
Sin and death you have defeated, raising Christ from death to life.
All of life now shines, transfigured by your resurrection light.

4
In your mercy you have shattered every tomb we cannot flee.
From whatever binds and traps us you have set your children free:
free to live in every moment life that is a gift from you,
life unfettered, in your Spirit, life unbounded, always new.

5
Help us to receive this life that rises up and soars above.
Grant us courage for self-giving; grant us trusting, fearless love.
Help us lose the lives we cling to; with compassion and delight
give our lives, receiving new ones, bright with Resurrection light.

6
God, you raise us up in glory! How we overflow with praise!
Christ within us, rising, mighty, scatters light throughout our days.
Make our lives your Alleluia, ever growing, deepening.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Joyful, we shall always sing!


                     Songs especially suited to a Sunrise Service

Christ Is Our Sunrise (Tune: Morning Has Broken)

Christ is now living— Alleluia!—
wondrously giving life out of death,
hope gently spoken when we were hopeless,
when we were broken, life-giving breath.

God, you have sought us deep in our suffering,
and you have brought us out of our fear,
gently revealing your presence in us,
tenderly healing, drawing us near.

Christ, in your rising you are our sunrise,
drawing surprising green from the seed.
Still your light finds us, wrapped in our grave clothes;
from all that binds us, now we are freed.

God, your grace gives us brand new tomorrows.
As Christ forgives us we are made new.
Now liberated from sin and sorrow,
newly created, we follow you.


Morning Is Breaking (Tune: Morning Has Broken)

Morning is breaking, sorrowful morning,
as we are making haste to the tomb:
cold and despairing, numb and defeated,
painfully bearing darkness and gloom.

But in the dawning we see the grave now,
empty and yawning, bright like the sun.
Angels in glory say he is risen!
“Go tell the story: Death is undone!”

We came to grieve our crucified Jesus,
but, loving God, you opened his grave!
Jesus is living! Yours is the victory,
great in forgiving, mighty to save.

God, you have greeted sin with forgiveness;
you have defeated evil and fear.
Light of his rising, shine in our courage,
pure, energizing, radiant and clear.

Morning is breaking bright in our hearts now,
as we are waking, light in our eyes.
With him we offer love without fear, for
with him we suffer, with him we rise.


Spring Now Blooms (Tune: Now The Green Blade Rises)

Early in the morning we come to the tomb,bearing sins and sorrows, wounds and hearts of gloom.But what is this? The stone is rolled away!And the tomb is empty! Wonder and dismay!

* Verse 2, Synoptic version:
Then an angel greets us, speaking to our fear,saying “Christ is risen. See, he is not here.”Now our despair itself has passed away,and we feel new life rise in the dawning day.

* Verse 2, John version
So we ask the gardener where the body is—
and we hear the voice and know that it is his.
“Why do you weep?” Such sadness fills our eyes.
Then we see and fill with joy and glad surprise.

Christ now stands before us, living as he said.
Oh, what hope he brings us, rising from the dead!
Night was so dark, but with the rising sun
everything is changed now, in this grace-filled dawn.

We give God our spirits, buried just like seeds,
and emerge forgiven, healed, made new and freed.
Sorrow and dread are changed to joy instead.
Spring now blooms, for Christ is risen from the dead!

March 24, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Service of the Palms

Mark 11.11-11. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey

Psalm 118. 1-2, 19-29. Open the gates of righteousness… the stone the builders rejected…Hosanna… festal procession

Service of the Passion

Isaiah 50.4-9. I gave my back to those who struck me…God helps me; who will declare me guilty?

Psalm 31.9-16. I seek refuge…incline your ear…Into your hand I commit my spirit…They plot to kill me…

Philippians 2. 5-11. The Incarnation hymn: Christ, in total self-emptying, accepted death on a cross… and therefore is highly exalted.

Mark 14.1 – 15.47. Jesus’ last meal, his arrest, trial, execution and burial.

Guiding Thoughts

Mark 11
         The image of Jesus on a donkey recalls Zechariah 9.9: “Your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Jesus is a king (Mark quotes the royal reference in Psalm 118: “Blessed is the coming of the kingdom of our ancestor, David!”). But he’s not the usual political kind: triumphant, but humble. This is no display of conquest. A real power-wielding warrior, of course, would ride a horse, which in biblical world is the equivalent of a tank in ours: a beast of war. But a donkey is a humble beast used by humble people. Jesus’ power is love. It’s service. It’s self-giving. Love is not a vanquishing force but it is still the greatest power.
       The joy of the procession is of course saturated with irony. The people shouting “Hosanna” will soon enough shout “Crucify him!” For some people the abrupt shift from the service of Palms to the service of the Passion seems wrong. But it’s actually a part of the palm procession: we know Jesus is riding that little donkey of triumph to his betrayal, condemnation, rejection and death.

Psalm 118
       The song is a celebration of God’s protection and grace, and was sung as pilgrims entered the gates of the temple. God has honored what others have neglected, and God’s grace works in ways we overlook or even despise—God chooses the stone the builders rejected. “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength” (1 Cor. 1.25).

Philippians
       God does not play God. God lets go of control and shares the most vulnerable places in life in loving service. It is in humility, not power, that God’s majesty is hidden. God’s power structure is pretty much the opposite of ours. So it’s no surprise that Jesus confronted human power structures so radically that the Powers That Be reacted and had him killed.

The Palm and Passion service

Because few people attend Good Friday services, if we celebrate Palm Sunday one Sunday and Easter the next worshipers completely miss the story of the cross—the second most important story in our faith! Easter becomes a punchline without the joke. That certainly sits well in our shallow, happiness-addicted, pain-avoidant culture. But not with our faith. It completely avoids our facing our pain and our sin, particularly the consequences of our sin—people get hurt—and we miss witnessing God’s mighty compassion in accompanying us though both our crucifying and our own crucifixion. This is one Sunday in which there is particular power in experiencing the wide narrative sweep of the gospel story instead of the little bits we usually hear on Sundays.

The passion story is intense drama. It takes a while to experience. It deserves more than a brief drive-by viewing. But it’s a along story to read in Sunday worship. It helps to break it up. By God’s grace the arc of a worship service provides the structure for telling the palm-passion narrative. The service outline provided here follows the whole gospel story through the liturgical movements, more as a dramatic reading than a typical worship service—and more engaging of the congregation than an extended reading.

For people not familiar with the palm-passion structure it can feel jarring to suddenly turn from waving Palms to shouting “Crucify him!” Yes. It’s supposed to unsettle us. Our sin ought to. That’s the story we’re telling. The abrupt movement from the praise and confidence of the Service of the Palms to the dark, confessional Service of the Passion follows the Gospel story of Jesus’ last days in Jerusalem, from the festal procession to the awful reality of the cross and the tomb. This progression also reflects God’s presence with us and for us not just in the happy, triumphant times but also in our suffering. And it invites our humility: our praise easily turns to sin, our loyalty to betrayal. (So, in the traditional manner, the palms we wave today will be burned to provide the ashes for our Ash Wednesday worship next year.)

Most importantly, witnessing the story as a whole helps us experience the movement of the Gospel: Christ confronts the violence of our social, political and religious systems as its victim. He exposes the evil of our violence, and meets it with nonviolence, forgiveness, healing and community, setting us free to renounce all violence and live in his spirit of mercy and love. It is only in the cross—in the context of our suffering and our evil—that the grace of God’s life-giving love and forgiveness can honestly promise resurrection.

The New Exodus

Jesus’ Last Supper with the disciples is portrayed as a Passover meal. The Passover is the great celebration of Israel’s liberation from slavery in Egypt. The feast gives thanks for our freedom, and honors God’s will to liberate all people from oppression and injustice.

Jesus is the new Passover. Note the parallels between the passion story and the Exodus. Like slaves to Pharaoh, we are enslaved to sin. God Godself suffers the plague of the death of the first-born. Jesus is the slaughtered lamb whose blood marks us for freedom, and saves us from the power of death. As Moses leads the people through the Red Sea to freedom, Jesus leads us through death and Resurrection (symbolized in the Red Sea of the baptismal waters).

The Exodus is not an isolated incident, but the heart of God’s activity. Everything God does liberates. To heal, to bless, to forgive, to restore relationships, even the act of creating itself, is a liberation. In Creation God sets living things free to live. (In one sense the Exodus story is not a new story following Genesis, but a continuation of Creation, especially Genesis 1-9. Exodus involves the whole earth; as in Noah’s flood it is God’s repose to human evil and violence and involve\s death and deliverance through water, followed by a covenant.)

The Exodus story is about our liberation. We are those Hebrews. But what we usually completely miss in our White American churches is that it’s also a story about our sin. We are also those Egyptians. We Whites are a dominant group that benefits from the enslavement of blacks which, even though it legally ended 150 years ago, is still at at work today. White Supremacy is the new Egypt. As we celebrate the Exodus we are also called to notice our racism, and our willingness to impoverish certain populations. Pharaoh’s command to slaughter male Hebrew children has a parallel in the targeting of young blacks in our incarceration rates, the police murder of unarmed black men, and our treatment of immigrants in the desert on our southern border. Many of the “liberties” we celebrate in this country are not available to non-whites. We’re not out of Egypt yet.

The Exodus is God’s will not just for the escape of some slaves, but for the abolition of slavery. It’s God’s judgment against all oppression. The Exodus and the resurrection are God’s nonviolent overthrow of the forces of evil and oppression. Baptized into Christ, we are not only grateful for our own liberation; in the words of the Methodist baptismal rite we “resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.”

In that work we are not only convicted but also empowered by the cross. The cross is God’s nonviolent resistance to our sin: God exposes and overcomes our violence and our separation from God. When we hurt others, even for “righteous” reasons, we make God our victim. But God does not retaliate or punish— instead, God forgives us and reunites us with God. We are set free from the power of sin and fear of death to control our lives, free to live by the power of love alone. Jesus’ dying and rising is a new Exodus for us.

To take up the cross is to continue Jesus’ work of identifying with the suffering and the victims of violence and injustice, and changing unjust political, economic and social structures—beginning with confessing our own part in them. The cross of Jesus is not just a focus for personal piety. It is also a rallying point for God’s command to change this world on behalf of the poor and oppressed. This is the Great Passover, the New Exodus, a journey that we are still on.

Call to Worship

See A Palm & Passion Sunday Service (Mark) for a liturgy based on the Passion story in Mark.

1.
Leader: Blessed is the leader who comes in the love of God.
All: Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!
Amid the powers of this world, Christ comes humbly, riding on a donkey.
Christ alone is our savior and our sovereign.
Christ, we thank you. We honor you. We follow you.
God of love and justice, we worship you. God, save us!

2.
Leader: Hosanna to the Son of David!
All: Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest heaven!

3.
Leader: The powers of the world rise up in conquest.
All: But among them is a humble man on a donkey.
Great leaders flaunt their might; they ride forth in conquest.
But the greatest power belongs
to the little man with the holes in his hands.
His power is love, and it is triumphant.
That power alone will heal the world, and save us all.
Christ, King of Love, God, Sovereign of Grace, we worship you.
By your grace may we follow you now and always.
Hosanna in the highest!

Prayers

1.
Creator God, we praise you, for your Love rules over our lives with grace and beauty, creating us anew each moment. We thank you, for your Christ rules over us in humble tenderness, healing and redeeming us. We open our hearts to you, for your Spirit rules us from within with power, filling us with compassion. Grant that we will always turn to you alone for our salvation, and for the gift of life. Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in your name! Peace on earth, and glory in the highest! Grant us your salvation, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

2.
We praise you and thank you, O God, for the great acts of love by which you have redeemed us through your son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Sovereign. Grant that we may ever hail him as ruler of our lives, and share in his obedience to your will, in joy and confidence. Blessed is the one who comes in your name! Peace on earth and glory in the highest! Grant us your salvation, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, You are our strength and power. Open to us the gates of your presence, that we may enter and give thanks. Save us, we beg of you. Bless us with the presence of the One who comes in your name, Jesus, your Christ, our Sovereign, and our Lord. Amen.

4.
Jesus, our companion, we walk with you.
Jesus, our host, we feast with you.
Jesus, our guide, we pray with you.
Jesus, our victim, we confess we betray you.
Jesus, our savior, we worship at your pierced feet.
Jesus, our mystery, we wait with you for new life.

Prayer of Confession

1.
God, in our fear and distrust we have betrayed you.
In the failure of our love we have denied you.
In our selfishness we have crucified you.
Forgive us, heal our hearts,
and set us free to love,
in the name and the gentle grace of Christ.

2.
O Christ of Glory, you enter Jerusalem as a sovereign.
Rule our lives, and be our living law.
O Christ of Humility, you bear our insults and judgment.
Forgive us, cleanse us of our evil, and renew us.
O Christ of Love, you bear our failure.
Receive our brokenness, and make us whole.
O Christ of Peace, you bear our weakness.
Bless our fragile hearts and bodies;
fill them with your light.
O Christ of Grace, you bear our suffering.
Dwell in us always, and grant us healing.
O Christ of Life, you bear our death.
Accompany us to our graves, and bear us to eternal life.
O Christ of God, you bear us to the cross.
May we rise with you daily.
and be made new in you each moment. Amen.

Listening Prayer

1.
We wave our palms at the foot of the cross.
We sing of our delight, and our despair.
Joyous, we are grateful, and we worship you.
Brokenhearted, we confess we have crucified you, and we repent.
We clutch our palms as you bear the cross.
Swept up, we join the procession.

2.
Crucified savior,
you accept our weakness,
you receive our sin,
you bear our wounds,
you share our suffering and even our death.
We behold the mystery of the cross,
and we give ourselves to you.


3. (Psalm 118, a paraphrase)

O Deep, you are my strength, my life.
Open to me the gate of your presence,
that I may enter.

What others have rejected is holy.
But to you alone, O Mystery, I turn.
I open my heart to all who bear your presence.

In awe and gratitude I marvel in your light.
I give my heart of thanks to you,
O Infinite Compassion.

Eucharistic Prayer

[After the introduction, the body of the prayer may be read responsively with the presiding leader(s) and congregation, or by the leader(s) alone.]

1. A very brief prayer

We thank you, God, for you are the sovereign of love;
your grace rules over all.
Your love is absolute, even in the face of our sin.
In the face of our fear and greed
you come to us with forgiveness and healing.
In the face of our evil you condemn our violence and injustice;
you stand with the oppressed.
In Christ, crucified by our powers, your suffered our evil;
and yet you raised Christ from the dead,
for your love triumphs over evil.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

                  [The Blessing and Covenant]

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
crucified and risen,
for the sake of the wholeness of the world. Amen.

2.
God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your heart.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.

Holy One, we give you deep thanks,
for you create us in your image, claim us as your Beloved,
and covenant with us to be our God.
You condemn the forces of injustice,
and set your children free from all oppression.
You call us to lives of love, mercy and justice,
and you give us the gift of your Chosen One, Jesus,
to show us the reality of the Empire of your grace.
Therefore we wave branches of palm and sing songs of praise,
with all Creation extolling you as Creator and Sovereign:

            [Sanctus, spoken or sung:]
        Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
        heaven and earth are full of your glory.
        Hosanna in the highest.
        Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God.
        Hosanna in the highest.
               [or alternate version]

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ,
who taught and healed, who loved at any cost,
even the cost of his own life.
He was arrested and crucified by the powers of in justice
and the forces of oppression, yet he responded with mercy.
Even in his death he embodied your Covenant to be with us in love.

     (The Blessing and Covenant)
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
Therefore, remembering these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

             [Memorial Acclamation, spoken or sung:]
        Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
                     —or—
        Dying, Christ destroyed our death. Rising, Christ restores our life.
        Christ will come again in glory.
             [or alternative]

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
crucified and risen,
ready to love as Christ has loved us.
     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

____________
* The Blessing and Covenant
[I usually don’t print the words. I want people to be looking at the bread, not their bulletins.]

On the night in which he gave himself for us
Jesus took bread, blessed it,. broke it, and gave it to his disciples,saying,
“Take and eat; this is my body.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
blessed it with thanks and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink of this, all of you. This is my blood,
poured out for you and for many, in a new Covenant,
which is the forgiveness of sin.”
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.

Prayer after communion

1.
Gracious God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that by this grace we may participate always in the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Fill us with the Spirit of Christ, that as we behold his love, his suffering and his death, we may be moved to live lives of non-violent love and self-giving, to do justice, and to rely wholly on your life-giving grace, in the name of the crucified and risen Christ. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. You grant us to share in the self-giving love of Christ and to receive grace, forgiveness, and the promise of your faithfulness. As members of the Body of Christ may we continually die and rise, by the power of your Holy Spirit, in the name and the company of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view, and hear an audio clip, on the Music page)

See all songs with tags for “Cross,” but especially these:

Behold the Lamb of God (Original song)

Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
Come, let us follow, come let us follow
the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Kyrie – Six Versions (The traditional words set to six original tunes.)

Kyrie Eleison. Christe Eleison. Kyrie Eleison.
(“Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.”)

In Your Love        (Tune: What Wondrous Love Is This)
A communion hymn

Our thanks we give to you, holy God, Loving One.
All earth and heaven shine with your love.
You form us wonderfully, and love us faithfully,
and come and set us free by your love, by your love.
Hosanna, God on high, Loving One!

How blest is Christ, who comes in your name, in your love,
who blessed and taught and healed in your love.
In love your Christ has died, is risen at our side,
and will come to abide in your love, in your love,
and Christ will come again in your love.

Pour out your Spirit, God, on this bread, on this wine:
for they are Christ made real in your love.
Make us the Body, too, of Christ, now sent from you,
that we your will may do in your love, in your love.
We offer you our lives in your love.

O Jesus, Wounded Sovereign (Tune: O Sacred Head Now Wounded)

Dear Jesus, you who suffer and walk among the poor
whose hearts and lives are broken, whose faith is still unsure:
despised, accused and battered, you do not say a word.
So powerless, yet loving!— you are my Sovereign Lord.

You bear no arms but loving, no threats nor flags unfurled.
You wear no kingly robes, but the sorrows of the world.
Yet your forgiveness conquers each worldly rule and reign,
and rises, whole, undaunted, from evil, death and pain.

While emperors abuse you, and people shrug or stare,
and dark injustice troubles the ones for whom you care,
your mighty grace arises, and hidden from our sight,
enfolds all living beings in your triumphant light.

O Jesus, wounded Sovereign, I pray, give me the nerve
without this world’s armor to love and bless and serve.
My master and companion, rule all eternity
with grace and deep compassion, and, Love, begin with me.


Oh, Jesus (Original song— an acapella solo)

Oh, Jesus, what have you done?
Carried my burdens, every one,
All of my sorrow, all of my sin,
Like a mother gathering her children in.
Now I’m left with nothin’ at all but love,
Nothin’ but your tender, tender love.

Oh, Jesus, what have I done?
Crucified my precious one.
I didn’t want to bear the pain or loss,
So I left you alone to carry the cross.
Now I’m left with nothin’ at all but love,
Nothin’ but your sufferin’, sufferin’, love.

Oh, Jesus, what will you do?
Forgive me like you always do.
With not a word of wrath or blame,
You died with love gently sayin’ my name.
Now I’m left with nothin’ at all but love,
Nothin’ but your precious, precious love.

Oh, Jesus, what will I do?
Give me the courage to follow you,
To give my love if I live or die,
And never again to crucify.
For I’m left with nothin’ at all but love,
Nothin’ but your dyin’, dyin’ love


This Is the Passover (Original Song)

This is the Passover you have desired to share
as you deliver us out of our slavery and fear.

This is the new living covenant sealed in your blood.
Grant that it may be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.

Stripped in our suffering of all but our need for your grace,
join us to you in your dying and rising, O Christ.

Come, Holy Spirit, and grant us new life in our Lord.
gather us into your Body, made new by your Word.


Woeful Cross (Original song)

Woeful cross, saddest wood, death in me of all that’s good,
I confess. Mother/Father, bless. Mercy.

Holy cross, mystery, love from fear of death set free.
Sin’s dark lie. Here I die. Mercy.

Gentle Christ on the cross, for our life your own life’s loss.
You forgive, and we live. Mercy.

Our own cross calling us to your love and gentleness:
may we live, as you give, mercy.


You Feed Us, Gentle Savior (Tune: O Sacred head Now Wounded)

You feed us, gentle savior, the bread that makes us whole,
the wine of your compassion poured out into our soul.
the food of your own presence, your spirit, strong, within,
the grace that heals us deeply and overcomes our sin.

You bind us, gentle savior, and weave us into one,
one flesh and blood, made holy, the Body of your Son.
We gather here in hunger, one hunger, all the same;
and with one grace you bless us together in his name.

You call us, gentle savior, and send us in your name.
You teach and heal and show us how we can do the same.
So strengthened by your Spirit and nourished by your grace,
we go to be your presence in love, in every place.

February 18, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Genesis 9. 8-17. The covenant of the rainbow after the flood.

Psalm 25. 1-10. Make me to know your ways; teach me your paths….Be mindful of your mercy…

1 Peter 3. 18-22. Christ suffered to bring you to God. Baptism saves you as an appeal to God through the resurrection.

Mark 1. 9-15. Jesus is baptized and is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness where he is tempted. He then begins his ministry.

Preaching Thoughts

Today’s texts invite us into the Lenten journey with Jesus. Rooted in God’s Covenant, seen in the rainbow and in baptism, we confront our temptations so that we can more faithfully walk in God’s ways.

Genesis
       The covenant of the rainbow promises that God will not respond to our sin by destroying us. Note that it’s a covenant with all Creation, not just humans. And it’s manifested to us in Creation, in a rainbow. God tells us to repent but we won’t change. In response, God changes: God says, “I’ve changed my mind. I will no longer do that flood thing.” It”s an inherent admission that we’ll always be sinful, and that we need something other than final punishment to deal with that.

Psalm
     This is the prayer of Lent: we pray for the gift of God’s grace, for trust in that grace, and for discernment of God’s leading in our lives: “show me your ways.”

1 Peter
       We can stand before God without shame—not because of our own faithfulness, but God’s. This good news is for everyone, even people who don’t know Christ. The water of baptism reminds us that we‘ve been saved like Noah and his family. Lent is a baptismal journey of dying (drowning) and rising with Christ.

Mark
       Mark is always in a hurry, like a 30-minute TV episode. The resurrection takes three days; everything else happens “immediately.” So it may be just Mark’s breathless style—but there’s little that accidental in Mark, so maybe it’s significant that Jesus’ baptism is tied to his wilderness sojourn, as if they’re part of one story. Baptism is a journey of death and resurrection. We let our little isolated self-contained “self” die, and allow God to give us a new life—life in God, as part of God, a member of the Body of Christ. As a baby leaves the water of the womb, passes through the birth canal and enters into life, Israel left Egypt, passed through the Red Sea to freedom and entered into the wilderness wanderings for 40 years. Echoing that, Jesus rises from the baptismal waters greeted as if newborn by God as “my son, the Beloved,” and enters into the wilderness for 40 days. Entering the waters and rising from them changed is a movement that is echoed in our entering into bondage and becoming free, Jesus’ journey into the desert and his return, and the journey (both his and ours) toward the cross and through it to the resurrection. Baptism invites us into the Lenten journey of death-and-resurrection, the journey from the waters (still waters, green pastures?) to the waterless places (the valley of the shadow of death?) and back to a place of life (a table set in the house of God?). We let our old self die and we emerge re-born as new people. Lent is not just the journey toward the cross: that’s the way-station. The journey is actually toward Easter.
       The Holy Spirit may manifest as a gentle nudge; it may also be a mighty force: Mark says the Spirit “drove” Jesus into the wilderness. Jesus doesn’t go off to seminary to study books in preparation for his ministry; instead he goes of to study himself. He examines his own temptations—his desires, his habits, his human nature that automatically considers himself to be separate from God. Mark doesn’t enumerate the temptations like Matthew and Luke do, but my guess is that in real life Jesus had more than three.
      Jesus’ sojourn in the wilderness is a journey of clarifying his purpose and strengthening his will. It’s also a journey of self-awareness. What Jesus is doing is confronting his shadow side. Our shadow is the unlived portion of our psyche, the stuff we ignore or even repress. Unchecked, those unconscious energies have a lot of power. Our inner demons can get control of us, and we do hurtful things. We can get the upper hand only when we face them. Our spiritual life is rooted in our unconscious, beneath our rational awareness and beyond our conscious control. Aspects of our shadow are neither harmful nor healthy, but it’s always unhealthy (unwhole) to repress them instead of engaging them, bringing them into consciousness. Then we can give the healthy ones energy and divert the energy of the destructive ones. I can imagine Jesus’ shadow might include stuff like anger, an urge toward violence and control, and greed. Matthew and Luke’s story suggest Jesus has issues around control (turn stones to bread), security (leap from on high unharmed) possessiveness, and popularity (all the realms of the world!). Jesus doesn’t deny these energies; he diverts them into desire for God alone. This is the heart of repentance: not just to feel bad about our sin but the transformation of our desires, to redirect our hunger toward God. Our shadow side may also include some really good stuff. It may be a talent, energy, or spiritual gift that we’re afraid of, or that others have criticized in us. So men deny their femininity so not to be ridiculed; girls and women learn not to appear too smart or powerful so not to threaten men. Facing our shadow sometimes means claiming something wonderful in us we’ve repressed or maybe even never imagined. A bit that Mark doesn’t tell about but Matthew and Luke do is the suggestion that Jesus works out that it’s OK to be the Son of God.
       So: facing our temptations can be empowering! For some folks the kind of work we do when we fast or “give something up for Lent” has an air of unpleasantness about it. But it’s not like doomscrolling. It’s actually the doorway to delight. We’re getting the junk out of the way so we can really, deeply be who we are created to be, and receive and revel in God’s grace. Confession and repentance isn’t a downer; it’s a gift!
       Temptations are not the work of some “devil” who sneaks around trying to get us to do bad stuff. Nobody needs to do that; we do fine on our own. Our temptations are our desire for life, misdirected. As hunger for life, they’re actually good. But they’re harmful in their misdirection. We seek what we think of as love or life in all the wrong places. It’s not because we’re bad, but because we’re human. We’re self-conscious, which naturally leads us to assume our “self” is separate from God—when in fact we’re part of God, “in Christ,” “in the Spirit,” members of the Body of Christ. Temptations are our natural desire to protect and serve ourselves instead of trusting we belong to God, and seeking love and life in all sorts of places (“false gods”) instead of God. We are created to be in harmony with God. Because of our sin, our self-centeredness and self-preoccupation, we’re out of tune. Temptation is the desire to “do it my way,” to sing our own note regardless of what God is singing. Repentance is the work of tuning up. And any good singer will tell you, you always have to tune up. You have to listen to God, and sing with God, not sing your own note. In the wilderness Jesus is tuning up, listening to God and putting his life and his heart in harmony with God. It’s not because Jesus is pure and sinless, but because he faces his human nature honestly, that he is so close to God.
      Mark has this wonderful detail: “the wild beasts were with him.” The image has multiple dimensions. There’s something scary about it: when we’re in the grip of our temptations, our natural self-centeredness, we can be wild beasts. We can be self-serving and hurtful. I can remember times when my wild beasts were particularly with me. But there’s also something comforting about it: Jesus is in tune with all the Creator and with all Creation; he’s even at peace with the wild animals, who like to hang around him. And it suggests Jesus is with us in our own wildernesses, our wild places, the places in our lives that are untamed, scary, unknown, “uncharted territory.” And there’s something poignant about it. Among the “wild beasts” Jesus is on the outskirts of human culture. He will be an outcast, considered a wild beast by the powers that be—and indeed he will not be tamed by the System. For that independence, despite crowds that want to follow him at times, he will be on the outside of society for much of his ministry. “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Mt. 8.20).
       And there’s this little glorious tidbit: “angels waited upon him.” Even in our deepest plunge into our own darkest sinner secrets we are not on our own. We need not rely on our own strength or wisdom. God attends. When I was little we had some family friends with a swimming pool. To clean the pool Don wold put on an old bronze diving helmet—a big old round thing with windows that sat on this shoulders, just like in the cartoons. It was connected by a garden hose to an air pump operated by a broom handle. Caroline, his wife, would sit in a deck chair reading a book, pumping the broom handle back and forth, and Don would descend down into the depths. Even if the water got all murky as he scrubbed, even if he disappeared in the green and was down there for a long time, he was fine down there, even in the deepest part, as long as she pumped. Sometimes we need someone to pump air for us so we can go down into the murky depths, someone to hold us in their heart as we do the hard inner work. Sometimes we’re called to do that for each other. But even when it seems no one is around, no one pumping air for us, angels wait on us.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: God of our solitude, we worship you.
All: God of our temptations, we cry out to you.
Christ, our companion we look to you.
Holy Spirit, our hope, help us worship.
Help us love. Help us live.

2.
Leader: Creator God, you made us from the dust of the earth.
All: You breathe your Spirit into us, and it gives us life.
Loving Christ, you walk with us on the dusty roads of our human frailty.
You give us courage to face our shadows, and it gives us hope.
Holy Spirit, you drove Jesus into the wilderness.
You draw us into our lives, and it gives us gratitude.
We worship you. We trust you. We follow you into the desert.
Bless us, that we may repent and believe the good news. Amen.

3.
Leader: We gather to worship, God, because we love you.
All: We worship you because we need you.
Come with us into our wildernesses.
Accompany us into the shadowed places,
the unseen, the deserted places.
Walk with us, as we learn to walk with Jesus.
Help us to find the green, growing places.
Lead us to the springs of life. Amen.

4.
Leader: God of the desert, come with us.
All: Good shepherd, lead us from the still waters
through the valley of the shadow of death.
God of life, give us new birth in the waters of your grace.
Guide us through the birth canal and all its challenges
to new life, life in you.
Jesus, walk with us through the desert.
Accompany us to the cross,
and to resurrection as new people, in your Spirit. Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Gentle God, Jesus went into the wilderness to face his shadow side. Accompany us into the darkness of our own souls; come and heal us, shed some light, and lead us to wholeness of life. Amen.

2.
God of grace, your Spirit led Jesus out into the desert to pray, to face his temptations, and to be made new. Lead us by your Spirit, speak to us your Word, and help us to see ourselves honestly, that we may repent and be made new by your grace. Amen.

3.
Loving God, you establish your Covenant with us, and you are gracious and merciful, abounding in steadfast love. But we struggle to be faithful. Lead us with Jesus into the wilderness to confront our demons, to look into our shadows, and to find blessing. In your Word, by your Spirit, in the company of Christ, lead us to life. Amen.

4.
Gentle God, your Spirit led Jesus in the wilderness for forty days, where he wrestled with his temptations and found a deeper way to you. Bless us that we may enter that wilderness where we are alone with you. Grant us the grace to face our temptations, to repent of our sin, and to undergo the transformation of our desires, by the leading of your Spirit. e pray in the name and in the presence of Christ. Amen.

Listening Prayer

(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)

In the wilderness of silence,
fasting from our busy thoughts,
hungry for your grace,
we listen for your Word,
soft as a desert wind,
the breath of life.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: The grace of God be with you.
All: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
Most merciful God, we confess that our love is wounded.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
But your love is perfect.
And so we open ourselves to your love:
to receive your forgiveness,
and to be transformed by your grace,
so that our repentance may be love overflowing
to you, to all people, and to the ends of Creation. Amen.
           Silent prayer… The word of grace

2.
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
All: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
Gracious God, Fountain of Life,
we confess to you the deserts of our lives,
the dry places… barren places… rough places.
Go with us into our wilderness.
Show us the way.
Lead us to living waters.
       Silent prayer…
Dearly Beloved, God turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
The paths of righteousness
lead through the valley of the shadow of death
to the table of God.
Take heart, for in the grace we see in Christ
God forgives all your sin,
heals your fears, and sets you free
to live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
now and forever.
Amen.

3.
The grace of God be with you.
And also with you.
As Jesus went into the wilderness to confront his sin and to be transformed by God, so let us confess our sin and open our hearts to the grace of God.
Merciful God, we confess that we have not lived according to your will, but by our own fears and desires. We have not loved you with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, nor have we loved our neighbors as ourselves. By your grace, forgive our sins, heal our fears, and transform our desires. Make us new Creations, in the spirit of Christ. Amen.

4.
God of love, help us to see ourselves with the eyes of love,to see all that is in us that is loving, and all that is not loving.By the grace that we know in Christ, receive us, forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.

Readings

Psalm 25, a paraphrase.         (Ps. 25.1-7, 16-18, 22)

To you, O Holy One, I give myself;
          I pour my soul into yours.
I am as safe as a star
          shining in your sky;
the destroyers of my life
          can never reach me.
Sitting with you in stillness I fill with glory.
          Those who would assault me leap
          and fall into an abyss.

Beloved, you are my truth; lead me.
          You are my path; take me.
Be my mind, my heart, my will;
          for you alone are my life.
You are all I wait for;
          every moment is an opening to you.

Heavenly Lover, your whole heart is mercy;
          your will is steadfast love:
source of the world, it has never failed
          in all of time or before it.

You see me not through my sins,
          but through your steady love.
You are free from my past,
          steadfastly faithful to your goodness.

I am alone in the room of my affliction,
          yet you are present within me;
your grace breathes beneath my troubles
          and bears me out of this narrow place.
You know the corpse in me.
          Bring it to life.

You save us, O God,
          in all our troubles.

Eucharistic Prayer

See Eucharistic Responses for eleven musical versions: the Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation and Amen set to familiar hymn tunes.

[After the introduction, the body of the prayer may be read responsively with the presiding leader(s) and congregation, or by the leader(s) alone.]

God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.
We thank you, God, for you create us as the image of your love.
When we obscure that image, you restore us with love.
You make covenant to be our God.
When we break the covenant, you restore us with grace.
You set us free to live by the guiding and power of your Spirit.
When we are enslaved, you set us free again.
So with all Creation we praise you, singing with one voice.

            [Sanctus, spoken or sung:]
        Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
        heaven and earth are full of your glory.
        Hosanna in the highest.
        Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God.
        Hosanna in the highest.
               [or alternate]


Blessed are all who come in your name, and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He healed and taught with love. He confronted the powers of injustice.
In the desert he faced his temptations. In his ministry he acknowledged his shadow.
In his love he gave of his life, and you raised him from the dead. [The Blessing and Covenant…]

Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
As often as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection until he comes again.
Remembering these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving
as a living and holy sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

             [Memorial Acclamation, spoken or sung:]
        Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
                     —or—
        Dying, Christ destroyed our death. Rising, Christ restores our life.
        Christ will come again in glory.
             [or alternative]
         Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ.
Set us free from all that binds us and that distorts our love,
so that with Jesus we might bring good news to this world,
in his name, and in the Spirit of your love.

                [Spoken or sung:]
Amen.

____________
* The Blessing and Covenant
[I usually don’t print the words. I want people to be looking at the bread, not their bulletins.]

On the night in which he gave himself for us
Jesus took bread, blessed it,. broke it, and gave it to his disciples,saying,
“Take and eat; this is my body.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
blessed it with thanks and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink of this, all of you. This is my blood,
poured out for you and for many, in a new Covenant,
which is the forgiveness of sin.”
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

[Adapt as needed.]
1.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) We have feasted on your love. Transform our hungers, redirect our desires and purify our love for you and for others, for te sake of the healing of the world, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Lead us by your Spirit in this Lenten season to repent in hope, to serve you in faith, and to die and rise with Christ. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Even in our brokenness, you sustain us, and angels wait upon us. Send us into the world, strengthened by your Word and trusting in your love, to do your will, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

4.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Bless us that strengthened by this grace we may turn toward life, and serve you always. Send us into the world now, to share the bread of life with those who hunger, in the name of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view, and hear an audio clip, on the Music page)

                                 Brief (repeatable) prayer songs

Kyrie, Six Versions     (All original tunes. Some are part of Eucharistic settings)
     Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.
          (Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.)

The Jesus Prayer         (Original song)
        Jesus, Beloved of God, have mercy on me, for I need you.

God, Be Merciful to Me         (Original song)
        God, be merciful to me.
        With empty hands and open
        I turn to you for mercy.

Eucharistic Responses (Eleven sets of Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation and Amen set to the tunes of familiar hymns appropriate for Lent.
Two of them also include “table songs” of invitation/preparation for communion.)


Table Song: Feed Us Your Grace (Tune: Finlandia)

You call us, Christ, to take our cross and follow,
but first you bring us here to feast with you.
Our gifts we bring, to celebrate your loving.
Our lives we give, to die and rise anew.
Feed us your grace, your spirit of compassion;
make us your body now, your will to do.


                                  Regular Songs

Becoming Whole     (Original song)
We are a broken people becoming whole again.
We are a wounded people being healed again.
We are a hungry people being fed again.
We are a wandering people coming home again.
We are a captive people walking free again.
We are dead and buried, being raised again.
We are a grateful people giving thanks again.


God, I Surrender      (Original song)

God, I surrender myself to you,
all that I have and all I do.
All my desires I give to you.
Take them from me and make me new.

God, I surrender myself to you,
all that I have and all I do.
Trusting you wholly I follow you
Take my life and make me new.


God of Mercy (Original Song)

Refrain: God of mercy, you forgive me,
may I myself forgive.
Now confessing, I ask your blessing.
By your grace I shall live.

God, heal my sin, brokenness deep within.
Too often I bear pain I make others share.
Set me free from what I have been. Refrain

You are gentle with me; gentle I learn to be.
You touch me and heal; deep in my soul I feel
burdens gone, and I am free. Refrain

Note: The last line of the refrain, “By your grace I shall live,” may be repeated ad lib. As a repeated chant it may also be used separately as a Response to confession, prayer, Eucharist, or other moments.



God, we are broken      (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)

God, we are broken, for all flesh is weak.
Grant us the healing and peace that we seek.
For all that pains us, beyond our control,
grant us your healing, our bodies made whole.

God, we are broken; our hearts are not one.
Sometimes it seems that our souls come undone.
Bring us renewal and calm in our soul.
Grant us your healing and make our hearts whole.

God, we are broken: for families and friends
suffer when love fails and faithfulness ends.
May your forgiveness and grace play its role.
Grant us your healing; make covenants whole.

God, we are broken, for many are poor,
and we ignore those who lie by our door.
God, may your justice like great rivers roll.
Grant us your healing; make all people whole.

God, we are broken for hate and all war
wound us so we are not free anymore.
Make us one people from pole to pole.
Grant us your healing, and make the world whole.


God, you have searched me (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)
            [ Psalm 139, Psalm 51]

God, you have searched me; you know from within
all of my beauty, my wounds and my sin.
Deep in my heart—I’ve not spoken a word—
you know my soul, and my thoughts you have heard.

You who have made me and always are near,
help me to shed my illusion and fear.
Help me be truthful, and truthfully see,
humbly transparent to your grace in me.

Your loving presence within me each day
go with me, guide me, and show me your way.
Give me the eyes of your mercy and grace,
to walk in love in each moment, each place.


Grant Me Your Vision    (Tune: Be Thou My Vision )

Grant me your vision, O God of pure light.
May your deep wisdom and love give me sight.
Help me to see who I am as you see:
lovely and wounded and worth setting free.

Take my illusions, my fear and my lies;
shedding my veil, Lord, I open my eyes,
seeing my beauty, my wounds and my sin,
past all pretending, in truth deep within.

Give me the eyes of your mercy and grace;
help me to see you in each time and place.
God, you who know me, please guide me, I pray,
following Jesus in his loving way.

Into the Darkness – (Original song)

Only the seed that has died and is buried lives to bear fruit, Jesus said.
Lead me then into the darkness and dying, so you can raise me up from the dead.
Jesus, help me die and rise.

All of my living, my loves and desires, all of the things that I cling to,
now I surrender to die and be buried. Raise me in following, serving you.
Jesus, help me die and rise.

Lead me to truth, and have mercy, and wash me dep in the dark of my being.
A spirit like bread that is taken and broken: this is the death that is freeing.
Jesus, help me die and rise.

Give me a clean heart, a heart poor in spirit, willing and steadfast and made new.
My life I lose; let your cross lift me up now. One joy restore to me: life in you.
Jesus, help me die and rise.


O God, Creator of Each Thing
(Tune: Tallis’ Canon, O Love, How Deep, or The Gift of Love/The Water Is Wide)

O God, Creator of each thing,
in thanks and praise to you we sing.
In hunger sore we come to you:
Creator God, make us anew.

Our wounds you heal, our sins forgive.
You serve this feast that we may live.
You set us free; you make us new.
In us shines love that comes from you.

How blessed is Christ, who loved and healed,
who by your grace, your love revealed.
For Christ has died. And Christ is risen.
And Christ will come in love again.


Out of the Deepest Depths (Original song. Includes version for 4-part choir.)
      [Psalm 130]

Out of the deepest depths I cry to you, O God.
O listen with your heart, and hear my pleading voice.
If you counted sins, then no one could stand with you;
but Love, you forgive.

I wait for you, my God, for in your word I hope.
I wait for you, Love, more than those who wait for dawn,
yes, more than those who watch for the morning light
I wait for you.

O Hope, O Israel, hope in the Holy One.
For with our God is love, God’s steadfast, faithful love,
and power to redeem; for God is the one
who will redeem us from sin.


Return, My Soul       (Tune: Finlandia)

Return, my soul, from all your hungry wandering,
your fearful search for comfort and control.
Let go my grasp of things apart from God,
for God alone can heal and hold my soul.
Return to God, for God alone will love me,
and give me life, and bless and make me whole.

Return, my soul, from all the things that dull me,
that soothe my sense, but leave my sin in place.
My broken heart, return from tricks and bargains;
turn to the One who meets me face to face.
Return to God. Each moment turn again;
receive unending love and life and grace.


Oasis       (Tune: Fill My Cup, Lord)
[ A blessing song to sing to each other at the end of the service.
Can be found in a collection of Blessing Songs
to several familiar hymn tunes.]

Go in peace now, my dear beloved,
in the grace and presence of the Lord.
In the desert, go with love to all who thirst;
be a spring, an oasis of the Word.



Your Will Be Done (Original song)

Father, take my willfulness.
I surrender it to you grace alone.
Mother, be my willingness.
I can only ask: Your will be done.

Jesus, take my brokenness.
I surrender it to you grace alone.
Jesus, heal my brokenness.
I can only ask: Your will be done.

Spirit, take my empty hands.
I surrender them to you grace alone.
Spirit, with my empty hands
I can only ask: Your will be done.