Year A – Page 4 – Unfolding Light

5th Sunday of Easter

May 3, 2026

Lectionary Texts

Acts 7.55-60 — Stephen, one of the early followers of Jesus, is stoned to death for his faith.

Psalm 31.1-8 — You are my rock and my fortress…. Lead me and guide me… .. You have noticed my struggles and set my feet in a broad place…. Into your hands I commit my spirit. [Like Jesus, Stephen quotes these words as he dies.]

1 Peter 2 .2-10 — We are “living stones, built as a spiritual house” for God. We are a “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, so that we might proclaim the mighty acts of God, who called us out of darkness into God’s marvelous light.”

John 14.1-14 — “There’s lots of room in my Abba’s house… I am the way, the truth and the life … You who trust will do the works that I do, and even greater…”

Preaching Thoughts

1 Peter
The claim that we’re a royal priesthood is not unique to us Christians. It reflects Exodus 19.6, spoken to the Jews: “You shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.” Our mission is to be priests: not to convert people but to be their connection with God: to pray for them, and to mediate God’s presence to them. The text describes our transformation—receiving mercy, becoming God’s people—but it’s not for our sake: it’s so that we will proclaim (live out) the good news. It’s not a favor; it’s an assignment.

John 14
“In my Father’s house there are many mansions.” Everybody wants this at their funeral. But, as usual, Jesus is talking about being alive, not being dead. Yes, the afterlife is sweet. But not yet. Is “God’s house” just the afterlife? I think not. Psalm 23 promises I’ll live in God’s house all my life. This life. I think God’s house is God’s presence. Where God is. The present moment. There’s room in God’s household for people of all kinds, even all religions. God’s love includes everybody. This is the scandal of Jesus’ gospel: God doesn’t exclude, but includes. Trusting this transforms us.

“I go and prepare a place for you; I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. The “there” Jesus speaks of isn’t a place, any more than the Realm of God is a place. It’s like the table God sets for us that we heard of last week in Psalm 23. It’s the ”place” of God’s presence. We can think of it as the afterlife, but Jesus is also talking about the community of radical love. It’s a state of being, a way of relating. Jesus is saying, “I’m going ahead of you preparing a community of radical love and inclusion, and then bringing you into that community.” Kind of like “You prepare a table before me…”

“I am the way, and the truth and the life.” To the disciple’s question about how to get close to God, Jesus says “There is no method. I am the method. You don’t need certain practices, or certain beliefs about me. Just receive my love.” It’s about a living relationship in which we listen, trust and follow. It’s daily attentiveness. Like being married, it’s not just about having the ring; it’s about the little daily actions in which we live in love with Jesus.
Jesus’ ”I am” statements echo God saying “I AM” in the burning bush. So they each say something about what Jesus is like, and also specifically that he is of God—or maybe even that he is God. John the gospel writer thinks so. John the evangelist emphasizes more than for the other three gospel writers that Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love. (“The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but God who dwells in me does God’s works. Believe me that I am in God and God is in me” [Jn. 14.10-11].) Jesus is speaking on behalf of God. So God is saying “I am the way.” God says, “My house is wherever I am. It’s my presence. And I am infinite. So everywhere you are, you are in a room of my house. You are with me. You are in me. So you want to get close to me? You’re already there. You want to find the way to God? I AM the way. Let me love you—and you’re home.” God is not a lawgiver who demands our obedience, but a life-giver who invites our intimate relationship, a God who is our truth, who is our way, who is our life.

“No one comes to God but through me.” Again, Jesus, as the embodied love of God, is speaking on behalf of God. In other words, “No one comes to God except through God’s gracious love and mercy, which I offer you.” There’s no technique, no requirements, no religion. Just grace. Just love. Jesus represents that love, and offers it to us. We come to God “through” Jesus, that is, by participating in his life. Jesus says that we who follow him will do the same things he does. (v. 12). “No one comes to the Father except through me” does not mean that no one can come to God except by being a Christian. It means the way we know God is to receive God’s love, and live lives of love. This can happen in the context of any, or no, religion.

“I am in God, and God is in me.” This is not only the raw materials of our image of the Holy Trinity, it’s also the raw materials of the spiritual life. Sharing in the love of Jesus, we come to know ourselves to be not just close to God but in God. The secret is that we’re in God whether or not we know it or feel it.

By the way: Did Jesus really say all this stuff? Probably not. The Gospels are not historical records, they’re faith statements in narrative form. They’re icons. John, especially, is not a record of what Jesus said and did, but an image of the Jesus we believe in. (“These are written so that you may believe” [Jn. 20.31].) John puts our beliefs on Jesus’ lips the same way an artist puts a halo on Jesus: it’s not about what happened but what it means to us. I don’t think Jesus ever claimed to the the Only Begotten Son of God. But John believes he is, and so he has Jesus say so. The Jesus in John is not the Jesus of history but the Jesus in our hearts. So let go of trying to parse what Jesus may actually have said. This is the story. Tell it.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: God, in your house there are many dwelling places—
room for for all your Beloved.
All: We belong to you.
Christ, you prepare a place for us and come for us and take us into yourself.
We come to you.
We are in you, and you are in us, and we are in Christ.
We worship you. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Loving God, we praise you!
All: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Christ, our way, lead us in the path of love.
Christ, our truth, open our eyes to what is.
Christ, our life, come and renew us.
Make us a part of you, so that we may share in your life.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

3.
(1 Peter 2. 4-10)
Leader: Come to God! For God has called you out of darkness into God’s marvelous light. Once you were not a people but now you are God’s people. Once you did not know mercy, but now you have received God’s mercy.
All: We worship you, O God.
God has chosen what is rejected by mortals: you are chosen and precious in God’s sight. You are living stones being built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, through Christ.
We thank you, O Christ.
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of God.
We serve you, O God. In the grace of your Spirit we offer ourselves as a spiritual sacrifice, a gift to you, which you accept through Jesus Christ. Alleluia.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of love, you have called us out of darkness into your divine light. You have chosen us. You have done mighty acts in our lives. We remember with gratitude. We thank you. We listen for you life-giving Word, that we might proclaim your good news in all we do. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, you have given us your Word in Creation, and in Scripture. You speak your living Word to us in our hearts, and in the presence of the risen Christ with us. Help us to listen, to hear, and to be made anew. Amen.

3.
Loving God, Jesus said we come to you through him. By your grace we enter into his love, receiving his mercy, open to his healing, being built into his house, made into his royal priesthood. We are in Christ, who is in you. Bless us, and make us your people, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Christ, our way,
lead us.
Christ, our truth,
illumine us.
Christ, our life,
bring us to life.
Make us your people.
Amen.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
(John 14.1-14)
      We believe in God, creator of all that is and all that is to come, in whose house are many rooms; and who prepares a place for us, so that where God is, we may be also.
      We trust in Jesus, who is our way, and our truth, and our life. Through him we have seen God, who lived and worked in him.
      We live by the Holy Spirit, who lives and works in us; so that we may do the works that Jesus does, and even greater works; so that God may be glorified. Alleluia.

2.
(1 Peter 2. 4-10)
      We worship you, O God. We come to you in gratitude, humility and praise. For you have called us out of darkness into your marvelous light. Once we were not a people but now we are your people. Once we did not know mercy, but now we have received your mercy.
       We thank you, for you choose what is rejected by mortals; and by your grace we are chosen and precious in your sight. As if we are living stones you build us into a spiritual house through Christ.
       We serve you, O God, For you have made us a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, your own people, in order that we may proclaim your mighty acts. By your Spirit in us, we offer ourselves as a gift you. Alleluia.

Eucharistic Prayer

Click here for eight settings of the Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation and Amen to familiar tunes suitable for the Easter season.

[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.

Loving God, at your table Christ prepares a place for us.
We come to your table, grateful for our belonging.
In your house there are many rooms.
In your house we have many roommates,
siblings who are also God’s beloved people.
We come as one.
You set free your people and invite us all
to your table of justice and mercy, your feast of grace.
You covenant to be with us in love always,
and so we gratefully sing your praise,
together with all who are in the many rooms of your house:
            [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.
Christ, you are the way, the truth, the life.
We come to feast on the truth, to follow the way, to embody the life.
You draw us to yourself, so that where you are, we may be.

     (The Blessing and Covenant)

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]

God, you are in Christ, and Christ is in you,
and by your Spirit we are in Christ.
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,
doing the works of Christ, with our hearts unafraid,
for the healing of the world

     [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.) You have made a place for us in your heart. Give us your grace to make a place for others, that they may know their belonging and your love. We pray through Jesus Christ, your Beloved and ours. 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.) You are our way, our truth, our life. By these gifts, we pray that you will live in us, for the sake of the healing of the world. Send us out in the name of Christ, to do his works, by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

At Home In You (Tune: Finlandia)
(John 14.2,6)

We give you thanks, O loving God, Creator,
for in your house are many rooms to dwell.
Your Christ prepares a place for all your people,
where we belong, are made one, and made well.
Give us your life; make us your holy people,
to shine with light, and your good news to tell.

The place you make, O Jesus, for your people
is not far off, but near—too near to see.
It is the home of love within God’s loving,
the place of peace where we are called to be.
Bring us to you, that love may be our dwelling,
at home in you, in love eternally.

We give you thanks, O Loving Christ, companion;
you are the truth, you are the life, the way.
For when we share in love’s divine communion,
we are by grace alive in every way.
Grant us to love, with you in blessed union,
love be our faith, our truth, our life, our way.

O Christ, My Way (Tune: The River Is Wide)

O Christ, my truth, my life, my way,
I give my heart to you this day.
I give myself, yes all of me,
that where you are I too may be.

O Christ, my way, the path I take
is love alone, for your love’s sake.
O be my heart, my strength and nerve,
that I may love and bless and serve.

O Christ, my truth, in you I see
the God who dwells in you and me.
But God remains yet far above
until I live in humble love.

O Christ, my life, I give my heart,
for when in you I take my part
and share your love, your work and strife,
I share in full your risen life.

4th Sunday of Easter

April 26, 2026

Lectionary Texts

Acts 2.42-47 describes the life of the early church, and the Christians’ care for each other. They studied, worshiped, ate and served together, sharing all their possessions.

Psalm 23 — God cares for us as a shepherd for their sheep… guides us through dark places… and as a host welcomes, protects and provides for us as guests, and even household members. (Here are nine paraphrases of Ps. 23.)

1 Peter 2.19-25 encourages us to endure suffering, entrusting ourselves to the care of Christ, who is the shepherd of our souls.

John 10.1-11. Jesus speaks of himself as a shepherd whose sheep follow him because they know and listen for his voice.

Preaching Thoughts

(Here are nine paraphrases of Psalm 23.)

It’s nice to think of being personally shepherded by Jesus. But it’s not all about our own smug comfort in green pastures. Jesus doesn’t call us just for our sake. It’s to follow him— on the road, healing and proclaiming grace. People certainly gained benefits from being among the early Jesus-followers. But they also worked, prayed and shared for the sake of the community. Jesus isn’t trying to shepherd us to heaven. He’s shepherding us into the world, to serve with love.

It’s also tempting to believe that in Jesus’ care we’ll encounter no pain, difficulty or loss. Oh, yeah? To seek justice is to risk suffering. The calm, idyllic, pastoral 23^rd Psalm leads us right out of green pastures into the valley of the shadow of death. But we go there willingly, because it’s how we stay close to Jesus. We often think of the shepherd pushing the sheep ahead, as sheep dogs do. But in cultures such as ancient Israel (I’ve seen this myself) the shepherd walks in front and the sheep follow. Wherever we go with Jesus, we know that he has gone before us. Even in shadowy places, Jesus is there with us The Good Shepherd Jesus doesn’t promise ease and comfort: he promises his loving presence even in awful times. “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” To follow Jesus is to take up a cross, not a lawn chair.

This reality may be especially acute these days, when practicing our faith can bring us into direct conflict with an authoritarian regime that does not want to shepherd people to green pastures, but to take food away from people, and deport people to the valley of the shadow of death. To follow Jesus means to oppose this injustice, which means to take risks. The Good Shepherd leads us in the paths of justice, from our own green pastures to a place of suffering. We follow willingly because we trust Christ is there with us, and we trust the rod and staff of God’s grace will sustain us.

Jesus’ image of the good shepherd is one of mutual intimacy. “The shepherd calls his sheep by name … and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.” He knows them personally, by name. Jesus encourages us to believe in a God who knows us, understands us, and believes in us, who doesn’t just react to us according to the formula of laws and requirements. And the sheep know him well enough to recognize his voice. The point of our faith is not to believe some stuff about Jesus, but to know him like a friend, to engage in a living relationship. I think that’s what it means when he says “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” In our relationship with Jesus we enter into a place of rest and belonging, of nurture and empowerment. And we follow him. We know him well enough to listen to him. We’re invited to reflect on what it means to “know the shepherd’s voice,” to recognize what leads us to life, to love, toward intimate connection with the world; and what it means to listen to Jesus, to be open-hearted to ways we may be nudged, attentive to where the “voice“ of Jesus is in our lives: in praying with scripture, interacting with people, observing nature, reflecting on our own inner life….

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Abundant life doesn’t mean abundant possessions or interesting experiences. It means being fully alive, in a free giving-and-receiving relationship with God and the world, receiving all life has to offer, connecting with the presence of God in all things. It means all of life throbs and hums in us, and we are part of all living things. It means not being deadened. It means death has no dominion over us. It means that life overflows in us and can’t be diminished, controlled or taken away. (I don’t think it means anything different from “eternal life,” life that can’t be taken from us.) I think of Luke 6.38: “A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.” I think of John 4.14: “a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” We are the creek God flows through. Abundant life is the gushing flow of God through us into the world.

Following Jesus is not a personal privilege. It is a communal act. To follow Jesus is to join his community. When the Psalmist says “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” it certainly refers to the ancient understanding of hospitality: that a host is obligated to protect a guest from their enemies. But as Jesus lives out that Psalm he sets the table… and then invites my enemies! So he did when he put Judas in the place of honor at the last supper. Such is the mystery of the Eucharist. Following the Good Shepherd means being brought into community, even with my enemies.

The Psalter, Epistle and Gospel all show us God or Jesus lovingly shepherding us. Acts shows us what we’re like when we follow the shepherd. We study, worship, share and pray together, we practice awareness that leads to awe, and we reach out to others. Again, it’s not just for our own sake. This passage provides a template with which to look at your own congregation. Do we do all this? Where are we strong? Where are we weak?

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Shepherd of mercy, you provide for us and protect us.
All: Shepherd of love, lead us in your way.
Shepherd of justice, you gather your flock, and care for the lost and neglected.
Shepherd of love, lead us in your way.
Shepherd of our souls, you guide us toward your own heart, and we follow.
Shepherd of love, lead us in your way.
In gratitude and trust, we worship you. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Loving God, shepherd of our souls, we come to you.
All: Tender Christ, companion on the way, we follow you.
Holy Spirit, guide among the shadows, we depend on you.
Loving God, shepherd of our souls, we listen for your voice.
In stillness… in hunger… in hope… we listen.
Loving God, shepherd of our souls, we come to you.

3. (Psalm 23)
Leader: Loving God, Shepherd of our hearts, by your grace we lack nothing!
All: You give us rest in green pastures;
you lead us beside still waters; you revive us.
You lead us in paths of justice for the sake of your will.
Even though we walk through deathly shadows, we are not afraid,
for you are with us:
your Word and your presence are our safety.
You set a table for us: abundance in the face of all that would diminish our lives.
You shower us with your delight.
Our lives overflow with your grace.
You accompany us with goodness and mercy all our days.
So we come to live in your house, O God,
now and our whole lives long! Alleluia!

4.
Leader: Loving God, we praise you!
All: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Jesus, gentle shepherd, you have brought us out of death,
and led us in green pastures of life, beside still waters of blessing.
Alleluia! Shepherd us, dear Savior, and lead us into life.
Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of love, Shepherd of our souls, we listen for your voice,
the voice that speaks the world into being,
the voice that calls our secret name,
the voice that leads us to abundant life.
Speak to us. We are listening, ready to follow. Amen.

2.
So many voices clamor for our minds, so many noises.
God of love and truth, you speak beneath them all.
In the stillness, we listen.
For your grace, we listen.
For your voice, we listen.

3.
Loving God, Gentle Christ, Life-Giving Spirit, you shepherd us from death to life, from loneliness to community. You know us, and you speak to our deepest hearts. Even deeper than our conscious thought, something in us knows your voice, and responds. So we listen, God, for your Living Word. Speak to us now, and always, and lead us to life. Amen.

4.
Gentle Shepherd, you guide us and protect us and nourish us. You gather us as one flock; and we find grace in one another’s companionship. Your voice leads us to abundant life; your steps lead us in serving. Speak to us now, so that, recognizing the voice of love, we might follow. Amen.

5.
Loving Shepherd, you renew our souls; our cups brim over, and we give you thanks. We are mindful of those whose cups are not full, who are denied access to the green pastures of this world. Lead us in the paths of justice for their sake. And if the path of Jesus should take us into shadowy places, we will not fear, for you are with us. Help us to trust the staff of your grace, so that we may welcome all to the table of your mercy. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Jesus, gentle Shepherd,
you speak with the voice of life,
the voice of love.
You call us each by name.
We listen,
and we will follow.

Readings

Here are nine paraphrases of Psalm 23.

Poetry

Haunt me

Holy Mystery,
may your voice haunt me all this day,
your blessing cling to me like a smell,
your beauty drip through my veins,
your hand be my own shadow beneath me,
your Way be the light I walk through,
your heart the path I travel,
your Word the breath I take
your blessing my world.
Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

________________________

2.

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, O God, for from the beginning you have shepherded us
and given us all that we need.
You have fed us in the green pastures of Creation.
You have led us by the waters of your Word.
You have restored us with the breath of your Spirit.
You have led us in the paths of justice for your name’s sake.
You have led us from captivity to freedom, from fear to compassion.Therefore with all Creation we sing your praise:

            [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]

Even in the shadows of death you have been with us.
Your Word and your Presence, they comfort us.

[… The Covenant and Blessing … ]

Therefore 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]

You prepare a table for us, and invite even our enemies, and make us one.
You anoint us with your joy.
The cup of blessing that you give us overflows.
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.
May goodness and mercy fill us all our days.
May we dwell in your presence now and in eternal life. Amen.

     [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.) In gratitude for all you have given us we give you our lives, symbolized in these gifts. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. Shepherd us by your gentle Word; lead us to follow you and to do your will, for the sake of the world, in the name 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.) You have led us beside the still waters of your peace. You have fed us in the green pastures of your grace. You have led us in the paths of your love. Shepherd us as we go into the world, following your voice, living by your Spirit, sharing your love. 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.) You have led us in peace and fed us with grace; our cup overflows. Grant that we may always listen for your voice and follow, into the world, serving our sisters and brothers, whom you love so much that you would lay down your life for them. We pray in the name and the Spirit and the company of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Dear Gentle, Watchful Shepherd. (Tune: O Sacred Head Now Wounded)

Dear gentle, watchful shepherd, you lead us as we graze,
and guide, us when we wander, to find again your ways.
And when we stray in darkness, alone and lost and weak,
unseen, you still are with us, your dear ones whom you seek.

We pray for those who struggle through life all on their own,
who find no path to guide them, who think they are alone.
You fold them in your mercy in every lonely place,
and with your hand upon them you bless them with your grace.

O lead us, loving shepherd to seek the last and lost,
to love them with your passion, and serve at any cost.
Send us to find the lonely, forgotten and ignored:
it’s there that we shall meet you, our saving, healing Lord.

Jesus Our Shepherd (Tune: Morning Has Broken)

Jesus, our shepherd, gently you lead us
to these green pastures’ sheltering place.
By the still waters guide and refresh us;
gather and feed us here with your grace.

Jesus, our shepherd, gently you bless us,
granting us peace and life-giving breath.
Through the dark valleys still you are with us.
Lead us to new life out of our death.

Jesus, our shepherd, gently you call us.
We hear your voice and follow with you.
Lead us to serve you, loving each other,
always receiving life that is new.

Lead Me, My Shepherd (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)

Lead me, my shepherd, in paths that you show.
Not by my own will, but yours, may I go.
By the still waters of baptism’s grace
dear God, renew me, and show me your face.

Love, may your rod and your staff be my guide.
Even in death’s shadow walk by my side.
Help me to listen, to trust and obey,
going wherever you show me the way.

Dearest companion of blessing and weal,
you who provide and forgive me and heal,
still now, I listen and wait for what’s true:
your voice that leads me to life, and to you.

Psalm 23 (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)

God is my shepherd; I have all I need. God
Makes me lie down in green pastures to feed.
By the still waters God gently will lead.
Love, you’re my shepherd. I have all I need

Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I
fear not, for you are as close as my breath.
For you are with me, your staff and your rod
they are my comfort, my shepherd, my God

You set my table before all my foes. You
pour out your blessing; my cup overflows.
Goodness shall be with me wherever I roam,
and I will live with you, my Heart, my Home.

2nd Sunday of Easter

April 12, 2026

Lectionary Texts

Acts 2.22-32 — Peter tells a crowd the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Psalm 16 — God cares for us (“you hold my lot”) and guides us (“you show me the path of life”).

1 Peter 1. 3-9 — “God has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Christ.” It is a gift that can’t be taken away from us, and that is eternal and perfect. It enables us to endure trials, knowing that in the end we will see, even though we don’t now.

John 20. 19-31 — The risen Jesus appears to the disciples. He breathes on them, giving them his Spirit. Thomas hears of it, but wants to see for himself. And he does.

Preaching Thoughts

The Gospel reading comprises two scenes. The first is John’s Pentecost. Jesus breathes the Spirit on his followers. This is why Jesus has risen from the dead: not to prove anything, not to exalt in his victory over death, but to breathe his living spirit into the disciples. Now they are his risen body. Notice this. People ask, “So, if Jesus rose physically from the dead, where’s his real, physical body?” The answer is: us. We are the real, physical body of the Risen Christ. Christ is no longer an individual, but a community.

In the second scene, Thomas (the “Twin”) has said he won’t believe unless he touches the wounds. Maybe that’s doubt. But doubt is neither a bad thing nor is it all that Thomas shows us. Resurrection isn’t something you just think is true because someone said so; you believe it because you’ve experienced it. We don’t want to hear beliefs about resurrection; we want to see evidence of resurrection. When Thomas does see Jesus, what convinces him is not the wounds (he never does touch them) but simply the overwhelming (and I assume loving) presence of Jesus. Thomas represents all those to whom we want to proclaim resurrection. Words alone won’t suffice. What our souls most want is not proof of the idea of resurrection; but to experience resurrection.

It’s easy to criticize Thomas for not believing—though we would likely be just as skeptical, now, wouldn’t we? But we exhibit our own kind of disbelief: we may say we believe in the resurrection, but live as if we don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead. We don’t live with radical generosity, courageous love and self-emptying humility. We don’t entrust our lives to God: we trust more in our abilities, our “worthiness,” our saving accounts. In deeds, if not in words, we are Thomas.

Jesus says of many people—Bartimaeus, for example, or the woman with the flow of blood— that their faith has saved them, even though he knows little of their religious state. What he knows is that they reached out to him. Watching Jesus, I think faith is reaching out to God—regardless of the certainty behind our reaching. It’s just the reaching. Thomas wants Jesus. Thomas reaches out.Thomas seeks. This is a good thing. Searching can often look like “doubt.” Thomas encourages us to ignore people’s doubt about our doubt, and search anyway.

By the way I think sometimes we don’t really know someone till we know at least a little of their wounds. We haven’t really accepted someone until we’ve embraced their brokenness. Jesus connects with people by touching their wounds—learning where it hurts, and touching that part of them with love.

We love happy endings. But Thomas is holding resurrection to a higher standard: resurrection is not just bouncing back; it’s radical transformation from something that is truly dead—you can see the wounds—to something that is truly alive. Thomas wants to see and touch the wounds. He wants to know not just that Jesus is OK after all, but that the one who is alive and whole is indeed the one who suffered and died—the crucified and risen Jesus. He wants to know that the one who stands before him with forgiveness is the very one he denied and abandoned. (Remember when Jesus set out to Lazarus’ tomb, despite a contract out on him, and Thomas said “Let us go die with him.” But Thomas didn’t die with him. He ran away.) Now, in the wounds, and the Living One who bears them, he needs to see his own sin forgiven. As do we. Thomas is our twin. In Jesus’ tenderness with Thomas we see his tenderness with us as well.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Christ is risen!
All: Christ is risen indeed.
Death no longer has dominion
Ours is life eternal!
We reach out for the risen Christ.
We touch the living Christ in love,
in one another, in worship. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: God of our heart, we long for you.
All: Beloved, we reach out for you.
Christ, we hunger for your presence.
We ache for your touch.
Holy Spirit, we yearn for your love.
We listen for your voice.
And you come to us. Risen from the dead, you come to us.
Our Chief and our God, we welcome you. We thank you. We worship you.

3.
Leader: Christ is risen!
All: Christ is risen indeed!
Jesus has appeared to his disciples.
And we have seen his glory,
beloved as a parent’s only child,
full of grace and truth.
From Christ’s fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
No one has ever seen God,
but Christ has made God known.
In his dying, Christ embodied God’s love for us.
And in his rising, God enacts God’s delight for us.
We thank you, God!
We praise you! We worship you! We love you! Alleluia!

4.
Leader: Christ is risen!
All:Christ is risen indeed!
Living Christ, victor over death, grant us your infinite life.
Risen Christ, breathe your life into us.
Living Christ, whose forgiveness conquers all, bless us.
Risen Christ, breathe your life into us.
Living Christ, whose love defeats fear, grant us your courage.
Risen Christ, breathe your life into us.
Living Christ, whose Spirit empowers us to love, give us yourself.
Risen Christ, breathe your life into us.

5.
Leader: Creator God, we praise you!
All: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Holy Spirit, we are one body by your grace.
You alone are holy, and we worship you.
Glory be to you, O God of all Creation.
Thanks be to you, O Christ, for our salvation.
O God, you have defeated sin and death. Glory to you in the highest!
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

6.
Leader: Christ is Risen!
All: Christ is risen indeed!
Light of Christ, rising in glory,
chase away all darkness, illumine our way,
and lead us to the heart of God.
O Crucified and risen Christ,
reveal yourself to us now in our worship.
Fill us with your Spirit, trusting your presence.
Send us in your love, serving you faithfully
in the spirit of resurrection, by your grace. Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Living God, like Thomas we long to reach out and touch you.
Come to us, speak to us, and call our name. Let us touch you.
We love and trust you. We open our hearts. Amen.

2.
God of Mystery, God of truth,
hidden before us, revealed behind our eyes—
we seek your light; we treasure your Word;
we search for your presence.
We open our hearts to your eternal life within us,
your risen Christ among us,
your Living Word upon us.
Speak, for we are listening.
Amen.

3.
Gracious God, Thomas wanted to see proof of Christ’s rising. We, too, want to touch and feel your presence. We want to hear your Living Word. Come to us, speak to us, and fill us with your Spirit, so that we ourselves may be living signs of resurrection. We pray in the name of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

4.
God of truth, your risen Christ appeared to Thomas and dispelled all unbelief, and Thomas knew him as his leader and savior. As your Scripture is read today and your Good News proclaimed, may the risen Christ become present for us, that we may come to more deeply trust you and love you. Open our hearts, that we may hear with joy what you are saying to us today. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

1.
God of Life,
in the beginning you breathed your spirit
into the human form and we came to life.
On the day Jesus rose he breathed his spirit
into the disciples and sent them forth in love.
Now with every breath we take
you breathe into us you love.
We breathe deeply of your Spirit
that we may come to life anew in you.
Breathe on us, Breath of God.

2.
Loving God,
with the compassion Jesus showed Thomas,
accept our doubts, bless our searching,
grant us curiosity,
and keep us always reaching out for you.

Prayer of Confession

God, we confess that we have betrayed you,
we have not trusted you;
we have lived as if we disbelieved your rising.
Forgive the failure of our love, heal our fear,
and breathe your life-giving spirit into us.

Readings

1.
Psalm 16 (a paraphrase)

       Response
You are my only security, God.
I find my safety in you.
You are my Holy One.
There is no good in my life apart from you.
As for the noble ones, who are always accepted,
whom even I admired,
they have secretly married sorrow,
and chosen a path going nowhere.
I will not pay what they do for comfort,
or speak as they do just to be admired.
        Response

Holy One, you are my present and my future.
The estate I have inherited is you yourself!
Everything that befalls me has you in it,
therefore all that is, is gift.
I bless you, for you give me mindfulness.
you speak to my heart,
even in shadowtimes, when I see nothing.
Holy One, I hold you always before me.
Mindful of your presence, I find firm footing.
         Response

Therefore my guts rejoice; my heartbeat is delight;
my whole body rests in your grace.
I know you will not let me slip away.
You will not abandon your Beloved to oblivion.
Show me the path of life.
Your presence is a flowing fountain of joy.
Your hand is a land of abundant delight.
         Response

2.
1 Peter 1.3-9, paraphrased

Blessed be the Abba God of the Beloved, Jesus Christ!

In great mercy God has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. God has given us an inheritance that can’t ever be marred, diminished or taken away, for it is kept in heaven for you. You are being protected by the power of God, which you know through your faith, and promised a salvation that is right here but will only be revealed in the last time.

In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials. Your faith is more precious than gold—but think about it: gold, though perishable, is tested by fire. In the end the genuineness of your faith will result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you love and trust him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Poetry

Gentle love

Christ, the Gentle One, has been crucified,
and raised from the dead.

So you have nothing to fear:
be gentle and know
that the hidden power in simple love
conquers all things.

Let the power of resurrection
raise in you the strength of love,
the steadfastness of compassion,
the wisdom of forgiveness,
the confidence of Christ,
the glory of God.

Go in peace.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

(I Peter 1 .3-9)
We bless you, God!
You raised Jesus Christ from the dead,
and in so doing you gave us a new birth, a life of hope—
a gift that is perfect, imperishable and unfading.
Our lives are now in your Realm.
We trust that you save us for your purposes,
which you will reveal in your time.
Therefore we are willing to suffer in practicing our faith,
for the sake of praise and glory and honor
when Christ is revealed.
We have not seen you, but we love you;
and we rejoice with indescribable and glorious joy. Alleluia!

Eucharistic Prayer

Click here for eight settings of the Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation and Amen to familiar tunes suitable for the Easter season.

[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.

God we come to this table with gratitude, hungry for you.
You create all things, and make us in your image.
We are hungry for life that is true;
we thirst for selves that reflect your love.
You pour yourself out for us in all Creation.
We hunger for you, to taste and see your goodness.
All Creation is your Word made flesh.
The bread and cup, our food and light, all that we have,
is your flesh, offered to us in generous love.
You call us your people, and promise to be our God.
We stray from your love, and we desire to return.
You condemn all injustice, and set us free to serve you.
We thank you for our freedom in Christ. Therefore we sing your praise.

            [Sanctus, spoken]
        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——
[ sung. Tune: HOLY MANNA]
Holy, holy, holy Presence, God of mercy, God of love,
you shine bright in all Creation. Shout Hosanna! Praise above!
Blessed is the one who comes, God, in your name, the name of love.
God, we gladly praise and thank you. Shout Hosanna! Praise above.

Blessed are all who come in your name, and blessed is Jesus your Christ,
who loved and taught, healed and forgave.
He embodied your love and forgiveness; he was your Word made flesh.
He was crucified, but you raised him from the dead.
In him those who were searching could reach out and touch you.
He was crucified, but you raised him from the dead.
He embodies your living covenant to be with us in love forever.
[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]
        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—
                [sung]
         Christ has died and Christ is risen.
         Christ will come again in love.

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,
your word made flesh for all those
who will not believe until they see your love embodied.
All glory be to you, O God, now and evermore.

              [Spoken]
      Amen.
                  —or—
            [sung]
      Praise! Amen. Hosanna in the highest. Praise! Amen. 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.) You have filled us with your Spirit, filled us with yourself, so that as you have sent Jesus, you send us, to forgive and to serve, for the sake of the world. 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.) In our longing you feed us with your presence. Send us into the world so that others who long to know will see your risen presence in us, and come to love and trust you. We pray in the name and the spirit of 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.) We have seen your presence and tasted your grace. Send us into the world now, raised by your power, transformed by your Spirit and filled with your grace, to reach out our hands to the wounds of the world with the healing power of the risen Christ. We pray 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.) We have seen your wounds for us. We have touched your love. And you have filled us with your Spirit. Bless us that we may continue to come to believe more and more deeply, to love you and to serve you with trusting hearts. Send us into the world to share your love, so that others who have not seen may yet believe. We pray, as we live, in the name and the spirit of the risen Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Easter Communion Songs
[Seven songs of invitation to the table, to familiar tunes.)
Sample:
We Have Hungered ( Tune: HOLY MANNA)

We have hungered, we have longed to reach and touch you in the flesh.
Now you show yourself in glory, risen and made new and fresh.
Here we see and touch and taste you in the wine and in the bread:
in the loving, in the sharing you are risen from the dead.

God, we bring our gifts, rejoicing in your love, your love so great!
For you call us to your table, all as one, to celebrate.
Though we turn away, you hold us. We who once were dead now live.
Blest, received, adored, forgiven, now in gratitude we give.

Risen (A communion song) (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)
[This song is included in Table Songs,
a collection of communion songs to familiar tunes.]

Blessed Lord Jesus, you laid down your life for us.
Risen from death, now you bid us dine.
Grateful, we bring our gifts, as we receive from you
your love poured out in bread and wine.

Risen Lord Jesus, make your presence known to us;
come in flesh we can see and feel.
In bread and wine and prayer, in those with whom we share,
be present in this holy meal.

Now as we share this meal give to us your Spirit.
Make us your Body, your living Word.
In our forgiveness, in lives that heal and bless
may this world know our risen Lord.

Let Me Feel Your Wounds (Original song)

Risen Christ, let me feel your wounds
in the heart of the One whom I have crucified.
May I feel your forgiving,
and begin brand new living.
May I know your rising there.

Risen Christ, let me feel your wounds
in the hands of the lonely and despairing ones.
May I love with your caring.
May I hope with your daring.
May I know your rising there.

Risen Christ, let me feel your wounds
in the feet of the poor and homeless wandering.
May I weep with their weeping.
May I give without keeping.
May I know your rising there.

Risen Christ, let me feel your wounds
in the marks of our violence upon the world.
May I bless and heal.
May your peace be my seal.
May I know your rising there.

Easter Sunday

April 5, 2026

Lectionary Texts

Acts 10.34-43 Peter tells the story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

Psalm 118. A song of God’s victory. What we thought was failure God has made triumph: “the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”

Colossians 3.1-4 . We have died and been raised with Christ: be mindful that your life is “hidden in God.”

Matthew 28.1-10. The women come to Jesus’ tomb and find that he has been raised.

Preaching Thoughts

The Gospel readings
If there is both a sunrise service and a regular one, I recommend using one Gospel at each. The John reading lends itself to two scenes that may be separate readings: verses 1-10, Mary at the tomb; and 11-18, Jesus and Mary. I like to begin the service with the gospel reading (Mt 28.1-11, or Jn. 20.1-10) followed by a response as a call to worship.

Preaching Resurrection
Beware of the temptation of literalism. Some preachers think it can’t be literally true so it’s just a metaphor, and they tell lovely stories about perseverance or unexpected victories. Others try to convince you the resurrection actually physically happened as reported, and what matters is that you believe it. Neither is helpful.

For a moment, let’s consider historical reality. Pilate had Jesus scourged. That means he was whipped to within an inch of his life. When he appeared, he would have had more than holes in his hands and side. His body would have been a tattered mess. Part of crucifixion was the disgrace of being denied a proper burial. Pilate would not have granted anyone permission to take the body. The standard procedure was to dump the body in an open place until wild animals had at it. Jesus’ body was most likely eaten by wild dogs. So how did he come back? Miraculously restored, except for the holes in his hands and side? Or given a new body, a “spiritual body,” as Paul suggests in 1 Cor. 15.44? We don’t know those facts. The fact we do know is that however Jesus appeared, it radically changed the disciples, from frightened, defeated victims to bold activists. However it happened, it shaped their lives. The invitation is for it to shape ours.

Let the resurrection be a mystery. We don’t know exactly what happened or how. So skip trying to figure out the biology and physics of resurrection and focus on the spirituality of resurrection. Resurrection is not a “fact” but a worldview. What does it look like to live as if Jesus was raised from the dead? Let the story be our story, and live it.

It’s common to preach stuff that’s almost Resurrection but not really. For some folks Easter is some kind of victory party as if our team won the championship. Easter is about victory, yes, but not ours. It’s God’s victory over our sin, over our judgment of others, over our injustice and violence. It’s love’s victory over death and over our fear of it.

Resurrection is not just happy endings. Resurrection isn’t the same as “bouncing back.” There’s no “back” to it It’s about being plunged forward, into a new life that’s not just more of the old one.Resurrection is more like an unexpected beginning than a happy ending. God miraculously creates life where there was none—and no potential—before. Resurrection is not the same as near-death. It’s actual death. Failure. Surrender. It’s out of our brokenness that resurrection comes. Resurrection is not “return;” it’s transformation. (I think that’s why Jesus’ friends didn’t recognize him on Easter: he was changed.) Resurrection is the transformation that happens when we surrender to love. When we give our lives in love God gives us new ones.

It’s tempting to make resurrection the doorway to the afterlife, but it’s not only that, either. Resurrection is the doorway to this life. “Unless a seed dies and is buried it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn. 12.24). Jesus wasn’t interested in the afterlife—that is, being dead—but in living this life with love. “Eternal life” doesn’t mean immortality. (Are you kidding? People act as if they want to live forever but they can’t even abide a worship service that goes a few minutes over an hour—and they want to live for millions of years? No way.) Eternal life doesn’t mean life that’s long; it means life that’s infinitely deep. It means life with infinite life in it, with God in it. It means life that can’t be taken from us—not by what happens to us, not by our own actions, not even by death. It means harmony with the infinite love of God. When we abandon the selfish desires of our egos, and the illusion that we are separate individuals instead of members of one Body we enter into life that is greater than our own physical survival (see Romans 7 and 8).

We proclaim the resurrection of the body. Resurrection after this life is not just that we “live on” in people’s memories. It’s that the essence of who we are is
embodied in a way that outlives our earthly bodies. What does this mean, exactly? Well, maybe it means we have a body like our old one… or maybe we have a new, different body (1 Cor. 15.44). At least it means we become part of the Body of Christ, which is a real, physical earthly body! But speculation drives people away if we pretend to know. I think it’s important to affirm that resurrection is both a reality and a mystery. Overall, I’d rather focus on resurrection not as the portal to the afterlife but transformation in this life.

Resurrection is also about the rejected stone that becomes the cornerstone. Again, I don’t mean the triumph of the underdog. I mean the Divine Presence in places we don’t see it, in situations we discount and people we reject. It’s about God’s justice that comes about even if we miss it.

In this time of heightened political repression we’re given plenty of opportunity to ponder what resurrection looks like. After all Jesus did not die of old age, nor was he struck by God. He was murdered in an act of state-sponsored terrorism. He was a victim of oppression, a victim of the collusion of political and religious powers to maintain a system of privilege and exclusion. His death is reflected accurately in the murders of protestors by ICE agents—though the real blame is not on the soldiers but on the high priests, and the Herods and Pilates of this world. What does resurrection mean in light of the State murders of Rene Good, or Alex Pretti? Not just that our memories of them live on, but that their love still lives. That the love they embodied can’t be ended by their deaths. That love is greater than violence and life is stronger than any domination. That the love of God transcends all our understanding and all our power, and encompasses all of our life and our death. Even in the face of suffering, sorrow and death, we belong to a mystery that is pure grace. It’s a mystery we don’t understand, but we trust. And we live like it.

Call to Worship

1.
As I mention above, I like opening worship with the Gospel proclamation—either Matthew 28.1-10 or John 20.1-10, followed by an Acclamation:

Leader: Jesus emptied himself, shared in our sufferings, and received our scorn. All: In humility and trust he became obedient to death, even death on a cross.
But Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed!
God has raised the Crucified One to new life!
Death no longer has dominion!
God has rescued us from the power of darkness,
and brought us into the dominion of God’s Beloved.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! ALLELUIA!

2.
In love Christ became empty.
All: and obedient to death on a cross.
But Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed!
Christ is raised from the dead by the love of God!
The Crucified One is risen!
Christ has conquered by the cross!
All our hope is in him! Alleluia!
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not,
will not,
can not overcome it.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! ALLELUIA!

* I like to do this with two readers, to provide for a sense of crescendo, like this:

Reader 1: In love Christ became empty.
All: and obedient to death on a cross.
Reader 2: But Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed!
Both readers in unison: Christ is raised from the dead by the love of God!
The Crucified One is risen!
Reader 1:Christ has conquered by the cross!
All our hope is in him! Alleluia!
Reader 2:The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not,
Both readers: will not,
can not overcome it.
Reader 1:Alleluia! Reader 2:Alleluia! Both: Alleluia!
Alleluia! ALLELUIA!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Holy 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 him.
By his glorious resurrection you have delivered us from the power of death.
Gracious 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 the life-giving power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

2.
Holy Mystery, Sunrise of Love,
Daybreak of Justice, Miracle of Life, we praise you.
Into the grave of fear and death you have shone your light;
you have transformed our shadows into joy.
All that defeats and diminishes life you have laid in the tomb,
and emptied that tomb by your grace.
Christ has borne our sin into the earth, and risen, free and joyful.
Christ has borne our death into the grave,
and risen, living and radiant.
You have raised us with Christ, and we thank you.
We praise you. We worship you. Christ is risen! Alleluia!

3.
God of Love,
you have changed death into life.
You have changed our fear into courage.
You have changed despair into hope.
Change our hearts, that being raised with Christ
we may live brand new lives,
in the mystery and the power of your love. Amen.

4.
God of resurrection, we thank you,
for you have raised Christ from the dead.
To the poor in spirit you have given your Realm.
Those who mourn you have comforted with great joy.
Those who hunger for justice you have fed with grace.
To the merciful you have given tender mercy.

5.
To those who are persecuted you have given victory.
To the gentle now belongs the world.
We praise you for your grace.
May your spirit of resurrection guide and uphold us
now and always, in the company of the living Christ. Amen.

6.
The Day of Resurrection has dawned upon us, for Christ, our life, has risen. We give abundant thanks and praise to you, O God! In your victory, O Christ, help us shed all sin and death. In your rising, help us receive new life. In your power, direct our lives as your new creation. Grant that we may live new lives in Christ, free of our old ways, free of fear and distrust. Sustain us with your mercy, and bestow upon us your abiding peace and gladness, so that we may find joy in serving you. O Christ, you are our life, which is eternal. We thank you. Grant us grace to receive the gift of life, and by your Spirit to live as fearless servants of your love. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

God of Mystery, God of Glory, God of Life,
as Mary stood weeping at the tomb,
not seeing yet the living Christ beside her,
we enter the stillness of the garden
and gaze into the empty grave,
and listen in the hovering silence.

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.
May your spirit of resurrection overcome all violence, injustice, hatred and greed.
Through your crucified and risen Christ, we pray for your church,
that, committing our spirit into your hands,
we may die and be raised to newness of life.
Grant us the joy of your life-giving resurrection,
and make us by your grace a new and holy people. Amen.

2.
God of love, you have raised Jesus from death to life!
Lead us always into newness of life.
Light of Christ, rising as the sun on a new day,
overcoming the darkness of sin and death,
shine on our path, chase away all darkness,
and lead us to the heart of God.
Light of Christ, rising in glory,
be the light of our hearts!
Spirit of Resurrection, grant us your grace.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Eucharistic Prayer

Click here for eight settings of the Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation and Amen to familiar tunes appropriate for the Easter season.

[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 you brought light out of darkness.
From the dust of the earth you made us, lifted us, and breathed life into us.
You make us your people, and promise to be our God.
You walk with us through the valley of the shadow of death.
You condemn the forces of injustice and oppression, and set free the imprisoned.
You set us free from what binds us and go with us toward your new world.
You raise up what is dead and lift up those who are without hope.
Light out of darkness! Hope from despair! Life out of death!
This is your way. We give thanks, and with all Creation we praise you.
            [Sanctus, spoken:]
        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—
[sung, to the tune of “Joyful, Joyful”]
     Holy, Holy, Holy Yahweh, God of mercy, God of light,
     all Creation’s ra-diant with your loving presence shining bright.
     Blessed is the one who_ comes_ in your_ holy name, O God.
     Praise to God! Hosanna in the highest! Alleluia!

Blessed are all who come in your name, and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He loved and blessed, healed and taught.
Spurning privilege and exclusion
he created a community of love and reconciliation
whose power stood against the forces of empire and violence.
For this he was crucified—but you have 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:]
        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—
             [sung, same tune]
Christ has died and Christ is risen. Christ will come again in love.
Praise to God! Hosanna in the highest. Alleluia!

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 the Body of Christ,
who have died and have been raised to new life,
to serve you in love without fear,
in the power of your Holy Spirit
and the strength of eternal life.

     [Spoken:]
Amen.
                     —or—
             [sung, same tune]

By your mercy you have raised us up with Jesus from the dead.
In your Spirit re-create us as your new, life-giving Bread.
Send us out to die with Christ in love, and raise us up again,
serving you, with praise and glory. Alleluia. Amen.

__________
2.
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.

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 the fullness of time 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, spoken:]
        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—

(sung; tune: Christ the Lord is Risen Today)
Holy God, thou source of life, Alleluia!
All Creation bears your Light! Alleluia!
Praise, Hosanna! God above! Alleluia!
Blessed is the one who bears your love! Alleluia

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.

[… 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, spoken:]
        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—
                                          [sung, same tune]
Dying, Christ destroys our death. Alleluia!
Rising, Christ restores our life. Alleluia!
Christ in glory shall return. Alleluia!
Raise us; make our living new. Alleluia!

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts,
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.
Grant that by the grace of resurrection imparted in this meal
we may die to sin and be free of all 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.

     [Spoken]
Amen.
                     —or—
     [Sung, same tune]God, we give to you our hearts. Alleluia!
May your church your love impart. Alleluia!
Raise us up with Christ anew, Alleluia!
As Christ’s Body, serving you. Alleluia!

____________
* 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.) May the Resurrection of Christ, the Bread of eternal life, be food for our souls. 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.

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.) Christ is risen. As members of the Body of Christ, crucified and risen, may we embody love, embody resurrection, embody your victory over death and fear, over sin and injustice. May we embody your everlasting joy, to your glory, in the name and the spirit and the eternal companionship of Jesus. 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. Having fed upon the eternal life of Christ, we give thanks that death no longer has 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)

Communion Songs for Easter set to familiar tunes(
Nine songs of invitation to the table, set to these melodies:
All Creatures of Our God and King,
Infant Holy, Be Thou My Vision, HOLY MANNA,
The Gift of Love / Water Is Wide, Finlandia,
Morning Has Broken, Fairest Lord Jesus, Joyful Joyful.

Easter Eucharistic Responses
Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation and Amen set to:
All Things Bright and Beautiful (Includes Preface)
Christ the Lord is Risen Today, Fairest Lord Jesus
Finlandia, HOLY MANNA, Joyful Joyful, Morning Has Broken
Now the Green Blade Rises, Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us

Children of the Resurrection (Tune: HOLY MANNA. Alternate: Ode to Joy)

Christ is risen! Baptized in his death and rising, so are we.
Children of the resurrection, we are one now; we are free.
Fear no longer holds us, and we live with love courageously,
giving gifts and sharing love for God, who loves eternally.

* In this feast we greet the risen Christ, who calls us all in grace,
gathered into one and fed with love, we now are mercy’s face.
Now we are Christ’s risen Body; for the world we now are light,
children of the resurrection, radiant with eternal life.

* Without communion: “With glad hearts we greet the risen Christ …”

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.

Like the Sun Rising (Tune: Morning Has Broken)

Christ, we surrender all of our living
into your tender, merciful grace
Baptized in you, we join in your dying,
and rising, too, in your life’s embrace.

Christ, you are living in us in mercy,
faithfully giving life that is true.
Like the sun rising, fresh every morning,
free and surprising, we are made new.

Great Holy Spirit, live in us daily,
free from the fear that once bound us in,
free now to love our neighbors with courage,
rising above our death and our sin.

Blest and forgiven and resurrected,
set free for living by grace alone,
may we live lives of gentle compassion,
with the same light that in you has shone.

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.

Resurrection Light (Tune: Joyful, Joyful)
[There are additional verses in the downloadable document, especially for a sunrise service]

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.

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.

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.

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!

Palm-Passion Sunday

March 29, 2026

Lectionary Texts

Service of the Palms

Matthew 21.1-11. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as a King, in the imagery of the prophet Zechariah who spoke of a humble king riding a donkey instead of a war horse.

Psalm 118. A celebration of God’s protection and grace, sung as pilgrims entered the gates of the temple. God has honored what others have neglected, “the stone the builders rejected.”

Service of the Passion

Isaiah 50.4-9. God’s servant, who willingly suffers humiliation and abuse in order to encourage the weak on behalf of God.

Psalm 31. A cry for God’s help in a time of distress, trusting in God’s defense of the weak.

Philippians 2. 5-11. Christ, representing God, let go of divine power and status and shared the most vulnerable place in life in loving service. It is in his humility, not his power, that his majesty is hidden.

Matthew 26-27. Jesus’ last meal, his arrest, trial, execution and burial.
See A Palm & Passion Sunday Service (Matthew) for a complete worship service as a dramatic reading of the Passion story in Matthew.

Guiding Thoughts

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.“

We have no king but Caesar”
Over the centuries our Christian practice has turned the Palm-Passion story into a devotional, almost sentimental piece about Jesus’ sweet sacrifice, ignoring the original focus of the story: the drama of the State, with the collusion of religious leaders, eliminating someone who threatens their authority. It’s a story about the conflict between grace and Empire, between the powers of this world and the Kingdom of God, the drama of choosing God over the Emperor. In these days of deepening fascism in the US, and the rise of nationalism in many places around the world, this theme is unavoidable. This is not a story about Jesus deciding to get himself killed for our forgiveness. This is about the Empire assassinating Jesus for preaching grace and defying established power structures. It’s about the competing claims of authority of earthly rulers and the messiah of love. It’s about living with grace and faith and nonviolence under political oppression. It’s about the conflict between the power of violence and the power of love. It’s not necessary to “politicize” the story, but it’s appropriate to let people see the political nature of the story. God’s grace is superior to, and often in conflict with, human power structures—and we ought to see that clearly in our daily politics.

The New Exodus
Jesus’ Last Supper with the disciples was 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.

See A Palm & Passion Sunday Service (Matthew) for a complete worship service as a dramatic reading of the Passion story in Matthew.

Call to Worship

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!

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

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.

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.]

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.

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:

Kyrie (Original tune)

Kyrie Eleison. Christe Eleison. Kyrie Eleison.
Grant us peace and mercy.

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.

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.

Lent 5

March 22, 2026

Lectionary Texts

Ezekiel 37.1-14. The valley of dry bones.

Psalm 130. Out of the depths I cry to you…. There is forgiveness with you… I wait for God, more than those who wait for the morning. .. With God there is steadfast love.

Romans 8.6-11. The difference between life “in the flesh,” and “in the spirit.” The Spirit that raised Christ from death is in us and will raise us to new life, too.

John 11.1-44. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.
[Again, this may be presented as a dramatic reading with roles for narrator, Jesus, Mary (and possibly Martha —or give her lines back to Mary; see below) and onlookers.

Preaching Thoughts

Today’s texts explore not only God’s gift of new life, but especially the death that must precede it.

Ezekiel
The vision of dry bones is announced to people in exile: a vision of God bringing life and hope into a situation of death, loss, defeat and despair. It’s not a promise that things will be OK. It’s an acknowledgment that things already are awful—and that out of that God can make something new. Death will come first—then revival. And it’s a call to a prophetic stance, to “prophesy to the bones.” What might it be like these days to prophesy to the bones?

Psalm
A woman was doing a “fill-in-the-blank” Bible study that asked “With what are we to come before the Lord?” The answer, I bet, was supposed to have been “with joy and thanksgiving” or something like that. But what I saw she had energetically scrawled in the blank (and into the margin) was “With every human emotion imaginable, just like David did!!” Yep. The Psalms cover it all, including “the depths.” This psalm is an invitation to take our depths seriously, to befriend our “shadow” side: to be honest about our guilt, fears, wounds, rage, doubts, sorrows, evil fantasies—they’re all there in the depths. It’s out of this honest self-awareness that the Psalm can wait in hope for God, who loves us, the whole of us, including our shadows, including our depths. Redemption is nothing less than that.

Romans
       Paul does not mean that the flesh is bad. (After all, God chose for the Word to become flesh.) What Paul means by “being in the flesh” is the illusion that we are contained and confined to our flesh, our physical bodies, as if each of us is a separate, discreet object. In fact, Paul, says, we’re not separate objects at all: we’re all members of one living Being, the Body of Christ, united in one Spirit. Like your fingers, which may look like separate things but they’re all part of one hand, guided by one mind. We’re like different parts of one body, (Paul develops this more in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12.) Living in the flesh we’re guided mostly (and mostly unconsciously) by our ego and its selfish desires. Living in the Spirit we’re guided by the Spirit. Living in the Spirit is being mindful of our holy oneness in God, our belonging to God, with the Spirit of God uniting and guiding us.
         “To set the mind on the flesh is death” because it’s like amputation: when we think of ourselves as separate from God we cut ourselves off from our true source, our true life. Living in the Spirit, we connect with the Life that flows through us from God. We are part of the risen Body of Christ, included in Christ’s resurrection. Hence “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through the Spirit that dwells in you”—because your mortal life belongs to Christ’s eternal body.

Gospel
Why did Jesus wait to go to Bethany? Hm. Maybe he knew he couldn’t protect even his best friends from death and suffering.
     First you die      When Jesus decides to go to Bethany, he’s getting pretty close to the people who want to kill him. Thomas gets it. “Then let us go die with him.” Maybe Thomas understands that death has to come before resurrection, which is why later when he’s told Jesus has risen, he wants to see Jesus’ wounds: not because he doubts his friend has risen, but because he wants to make sure it was the crucified Christ who has risen.
     Martha?       In John as we know it Lazarus has two sisters, Mary and Martha. This may not have been the case in John’s original story. Elizabeth Schrader is offering up scholarship that suggests that in John’s original story Lazarus had one sister, Mary Magdalene. Martha didn’t actually exist. Mary was originally a prominent figure in the early church, the first to proclaim Jesus as Messiah, to witness his resurrection, and to be charged to preach the good news. In the second century or so, (male) church leaders began to dislike Mary’s prominence over Peter’s, so they diminished Mary’s importance by splitting her into two people—Mary and her sister Martha, borrowed from Luke—and distributed her actions to both sisters, notably Martha, so that Mary’s prominence was erased. Changes were made in the manuscripts of John 11 that effectively erased Mary Magdalene. (See details here.) What does this mean for our preaching? It doesn’t change the message of “Jesus as Messiah,” but it puts it on different lips. And it suggests that our traditions, our texts and maybe even our faith itself are subject to erasures, especially of women, that we need to be aware of.
   Hope     Both Mary and Martha scold Jesus: “If you’d been here this wouldn’t have happened.” But maybe it would have. Everybody dies. Jesus can’t heal everybody. It’s a little dangerous to think that Jesus intentionally let Lazarus die just so he could perform a miracle. God doesn’t use us as disposable stage props. God doesn’t cause us suffering just to make a point. Nevertheless, God can bring blessing out of suffering, life out of death, and something real out of impossibility. Because of God, in your life and in our world, a hopeless cause is not without hope.
Trust      Many people focus on Martha’s (or Mary’s) proclamation: “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” Generations of preachers have repeated this, as if telling congregations that Jesus is the Messiah would somehow change them. I think the point is not any special status Jesus may have, but that we are called to orient our lives around the source of life in the face of death, and the promise of resurrection in the face of injustice and suffering. The point is not Jesus’ status but our orientation. What it means to “believe” Jesus is “the One” is to live with his energy of healing, forgiveness (which is a kind of resurrection), and radical trust in God.
      Jesus wept. Out of the depths. Part of the mystery of the cross is that God suffers our pain. Even if Jesus knows he’s going to raise Lazarus, the pain is still real. He weeps for his own loss, for Lazarus’ suffering, for Mary and Martha’s grief. Of course grown men cry, unafraid to feel their own pain and the pain of others. That’s true strength. The capacity to feel pain is the capacity to love; the courage to feel it is the courage to love.
“Lazarus, come out!” Jesus calls to life what has died in us. Nothing, not even death, is as powerful as God’s love. No shame or failure, no suffering or evildoing, no past or present can hold us from living in God. No power can stop God from setting us free. “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Transformation      I wonder: what was Lazarus like after that? A changed man, I bet. When we’re raised from death it changes us. Whatever form our raising takes—surviving a crisis, receiving forgiveness, restoration of a relationship, revival of one’s spirit, recovery from addiction, healing from trauma, a commitment to a new life—we don’t just go back to life as it was. We’re raised to new life. We’re invited to let our old life die. And, yes, it can feel like death. The Lazarus story isn’t just about God’s miraculous rescue of a terrible situation. It’s about how God raises us up out of old, deadened, deadly ways of living, out of the illusion that we’re confined to the life of our mortal bodies, into new lives, new ways of living, living “in the Spirit,” living as members of the crucified and risen Body of Christ.
The fallout       The rest of the story in John 11, beyond the lectionary selection, is that after this some powerful people wanted Jesus killed. God’s life-affirming grace is a threat to human hierarchies and systems of privilege and exclusion. The powers that be will always oppose resurrection. Of course Jesus carried on. To paraphrase, “Nevertheless, he persisted.”

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Spirit of life, light of life, breath of life,
All: breathe new life into us.
Christ of love, Christ of sorrow, Christ of hope,
breathe new life into us.
Wind of God, breath of God, spirit of God,
breathe new life into us.
We worship you, open to your grace.
Raise us to new life in your spirit. Amen.

2.
Leader: I see a valley of dry bones.
All: All that is dead and ruined. All that is hopeless and despairing.
And yet, I hear a Word to the bones, a wind among the bones.
Where there was death, life!
Out of the depths comes a cry.
The song of sorrow, the voice of shame.
And yet, there is grace, forgiveness and redemption.
We wait for God, more than those who watch for the morning.
Out of old lives and the ways of death, the voice of grace calls us.
Out of the tomb of our hearts, we come,
made new, alive in Christ, and grateful.
With open hearts we worship. Amen.

3. [Ps. 130]
Leader: Out of the depths we cry to you, O God.
Holy One, hear our voice! Let your ears be attentive to our cry.
If you, O God, kept account of our sins, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness; therefore we worship you.
We wait for the Holy One; in God’s word we hope.
Our soul waits for God more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the dawn.
O people, hope in God! For with God there is steadfast love;
with God there is great power to redeem.
It is you, God, who redeems us! We thank you, and we worship.

4.
Leader: God is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
All: God does not deal with us according to our sins,
but forgives us and receives us as God’s beloved.
Come, let us walk in the light of God,
that God may teach us God’s ways,
and lead us in God’s paths.
Create a new heart in us, O God,
and put within us a new and right spirit.
Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of grace, into the dry bones of our hearts breathe your Word. Into the deep place of our sorrow speak your hope. Into what that is dead in us breathe your life. Into our trembling, fearful hands place your new life, pulsing with grace. Speak, Lord, for we are listening. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, like Lazarus in the tomb, our hearts are still and waiting for your call. Speak to us now. May your Word call us out of our death, out of old lives, into the light of your grace and your presence, and the loving companionship of Christ. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, Christ is the light of the World, and so we come to walk in his light. Christ is the resurrection and the life, and so we come to enter into his life. Christ raises us to new life, and so we come to surrender our lives to you, and be raised anew. Speak to us now, that we may hear the words of life. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: The grace of God be with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
God of love, we confess all that is in us that is not of life.
Receive our death, forgive our sin, and breathe new life into us,
that we may perfectly embody your love. Amen
[…Silent prayer … The word of grace]

2.
…
Life-giving God, we confess that we have separated ourselves from you,
and so from life: we have died in our sin.
We confess the death that is in us.
Forgive us, and call us back to life.
In your grace, we listen for your life-giving word.

Listening Prayer

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

Dry bones of my heart,
listen.
Breath of God,
enter.
Jesus, at the tomb,
call my name.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

       We love you and trust you, God, creator of the universe, who brings light out off darkness, who creates anew every day.
      We love you and trust you, Jesus, the Christ of God, crucified and risen, who healed the sick and fed the hungry, who gave hope to the despairing and raised the dead. You save and redeem us, and raise us to new life.
      We love you and trust you, Holy Spirit, in whom we live not as separate beings but members of one Body; in whom our mortal lives are given infinite life. By your grace we die and rise daily, released from old ways and called out into new lives, in love and service for the world, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Poetry

For Lazarus to Rise

When Lazarus heard his name
he took a sudden breath.
With visceral trembling blood resurged.
But then, as when awakening some days,
he lay a moment, mired,
reluctant to rise from the familiar
swaddling of his death.
Rising, even more than dying,
there could be no return:
for if he chose to stand,
all he knew would then be lost

And still now every morning,
each momentary wish for healing
is a risk, a wakening call
to change, to choose,
to leave so much behind,
and be again made new.

Psalm 130

This cry crawls up from somewhere deep,
from deep beneath all words or feelings,
deep where only you can hear, O God.
         Hear with your deepest heart
         the unheard voice of my trembling soul.

If you let our sins keep us from you
you’d be alone in this universe.
But you do not.
         I praise this miracle:
         you forgive.

I wait for you. My soul hangs on you.
To the lungs of my soul your word is air.
I wait for you,
         more than those who ache for the dawn,
         more than those who ache for the dawn.

O people, hope in God!
God is pure, steadfast love,
and the power to re-create.
         From our ruined ways
         it is God who will save us.

              Psalm 130

Out of my sea depths
         a cry, a wordless noise.
You hear, like a sound through the earth,
         Like my spine hears me.

If you measured, I would disappear.
         All of us would be too small.
But you allow us to fill you.
         So we fill you.

I hold open a space for you,
         emptiness in me that widens
like sky waiting for dawn,
         like the whole sky waiting,
and the dawn, rising,
filling the whole sky.

We, your people, of your making,
         even, even in our clutter,
we are your open space
         where your light appears.
In your spaciousness
          we become new.

Lazarus, come out!

There is no birth without pain.
There is no life without suffering.
There is no love without surrender.
There is no struggle without hope.
Though we would cry out to God
to save us from all hurt—
“Lord, if you had been here
this wouldn’t have happened”—
God won’t shield us
from the blessed demands of our own lives,
from the living that is given to us
enfolded in what is required of us,
the birth pangs wrapped in pain.
Each new gift or challenge invites us
to become new, to be born again.
The Beloved walks our boundaries;

when we meet, it opens something new,
a spring in us gushing up with life itself.
People may ask, “Is this the same person?”
and we will insist, “I am the one!”
But we will be changed, and leave behind
what once we had clung to.
Our grave wrappings are swaddling cloths,
in our travails the voice of the Beloved,
crying out to us in our tombs,
“Lazarus, come out!”

             “Come out!”

Under the roaring silence of your death,
Tunneling under the the world yelling at you,
a bird song that pierces iron walls,
a strong hand, unflinching, a voice
reaches into the dark mountain,
reaches through the cages and sewers,
the vast abandoned valleys,
into the shark’s mouth of fear,
into the cave of your death, and its own,
and finds the skeleton,
finds the bones made of stone and despair,
gathers your bones from trash piles,
and speaks to your fragments,
wraps its flesh around your bones,
gives them its blood, its breath, its life.
Only the voice of a love that fierce
can call your name
and you come out,
out of your old death
into the quiet morning,
a squinting newborn,
stunned, beloved, swaddled,
ready to be set free,
knowing nothing
but the sound of that voice.

                 Come out

Come out, you who have been entombed
in silence, in fear, in condemnation,
come out!
Come out to the one who loves you.
You who are afraid for your life,
who are afraid of your life,
you who are ashamed,
you who have been bound,
come out into your own life!
You who have been told you’re unworthy,
you who are afraid of failing,
come out into your whole life.
You who are wounded and grieving,
who are hopeless or depressed,
you who wonder if you’ll ever live deeply,
come out into life’s fullness.
You who are well defended in your fortresses,
in armor, in costumes, come out.
Gays and abuse victims, transgender and shy,
gifted and doubtful, queer and other,
you can come out.
Come out of your closets, out of hiding,
out of exile, out of the wilderness.
Ou who dwell in darkness and shadow,
you who are in prison, come out!
You have a place, and the tomb is not it.
The One Who Weeps for You
calls to you.
You are wanted. You are mourned.
Come out.
And keep coming; every day, coming out
into this bewildering, wonderful world.
And you who are hiding in lies and deception,
come out, come out in to the light.
And you who have rolled the great stones
over other people’s lives,
roll them back. Stand aside.
Never mind the stench.
Call to them. Open your arms.
Unbind them.
Let them go.

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.]

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.

We thank you God, for you create all things,
bringing light out of darkness.
Out of despair, hope!
Out of shame, forgiveness!
Out of death, life!
In your Spirit we are one, given life beyond our lives.
We thank you, and with all Creation we sing your praise.

            [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 healed the broken, fed the hungry, and raised the dead.
He wept with our sorrow; he shared in our death.
Crucified for love, he was raised in love,
and calls us into new lives
as members of his Body and partakers of his Covenant.

     (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,
dead to old lives and raised to new life,
in the name and the love of Christ,
for the sake of the healing of the world.

     [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.) You have entered our death, and fed us with the food of eternal life. Send us into the world as new people, alive in your Spirit, in the name 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.) You have called us out of old lives, out of the death of our souls, into new life, life in your Spirit, in your love. Send us into the world in the name and the love of Christ. Amen.

[Rom. 8.6-17][Rom. 8.6-17]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.) You are our light, and our life. By your grace at work in Christ, and by your Spirit alive in us, you raise us to new life. Send us into the world to live in the spirit of prayer, to walk in your light, and to proclaim your word, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Live by the Spirit [Rom. 8.6-17] (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)

God has now done what the law could not do:
God set you free and God reconciled you.
Live by the Spirit that God freely gives,
Spirit of Christ, by which each of us lives

Setting your mind on the Spirit is peace:
rooted in grace, from our sin we’re released.
Live, then, by the Spirit that raised Christ from death,
Spirit that raises us in every new breath

Go in God’s peace. Go in Christ’s gentle light.
Go in the Spirit that leads us aright.
Children of God, go in love as you do,
Dying with Christ and arising anew.

Out of the Deepest Depths (Psalm 130; Original song)

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.

Wake Us From Our Sleep (Original song)

God of mercy, wake us with your light.
Rouse our sleeping hearts and give us sight.
Raise us up from death; fill us with your breath.
Wake us from our sleep to live new lives in you.

Life comes only from the Word you give.
You alone have power to make us live.
Seeking what is True, Love, we turn to you:
springs of living water flow, and so we live.

Christ, you touch our hearts and heal our fear.
Even in our pain your grace is near.
Spirit, you who save, raise us from our grave.
Born again, dry bones who rise, we live in you.

Christ, light of the world, your radiance bright
wakens us to day out of our night:
shining in, it heals; shining out, reveals.
Help us all to live as children of the light.

Lent 4

March 15, 2026

Lectionary Texts

1 Samuel 16.1-13. God sends the prophet Samuel to anoint David as the next king of Israel.

Psalm 23 celebrates God’s gentle hospitality, guiding us through deadly places to a table of welcome. (Here are nine paraphrases of Psalm 23.)

Ephesians 5.8-14. Once you were in darkness; now you are light…. “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine upon you.”

John 9.1-41. Jesus heals a man who was born blind. An extended comedy follows the healing, as the Pharisees, blinded by their fear of Jesus, try to figure out a way to deny the power of what Jesus has done, but remain “in the dark” about it all.
Note: Consider presenting this story (and others in this season) as a dramatic reading with several roles. You can break the story up into scenes, with a brief reflection, music or prayer between scenes. (Click here for a sample script.)

Preaching Thoughts

1 Samuel
Seen and unseen
Today’s texts explore the themes of light and dark, seen and unseen, sight and blindness. God leads Samuel to anoint David according to unseen qualities, not physical appearance. That part is easy to get. Most of us (not all of us) don’t select leaders according to who’s cutest. But go deeper: what qualities do we value that are not only character traits that are not physical appearance, but often entirely unnoticed? God sees something in David that people don’t see. When we look at ourselves, and others, what are we missing? What about forgiveness, gentleness, patience, trust, prayerfulness, good listening, humble service? For that matter, what are bad qualities we often overlook, like unresolved anger, untruthfulness, manipulativeness, denial? What are qualities we don’t usually see that really do matter?

Psalm 23
Here are nine paraphrases of Psalm 23. This psalm is usually thought of as all light and loveliness, not engaging the light/dark, seen/unseen theme of the other readings. But the psalm does walk from the light of green meadows at the beginning through the shadows of the dark valley in the middle to the light again of the welcome, safety and shared meal at the end. In this way it leads us in embracing our shadow (see “Light and dark” below.). The shepherd walks us safely through the dark places in our lives, and in our own psyches. The darkness is not to be feared, but faithfully traversed.
— Consider reciting the psalm in a way that highlights this journey from light to dark to light: maybe accompanied by music in a major key in vv. 1-3, a minor key in v. 4 and again to major in v.v. 5-6. (Here is a version with handbells that does this.) — If the room you worship in accommodates it, you could also do it with lighting (though find a way to let people know it’s intentional, not just that you’ve lost power…).
—Or read vvs. 1-3 from the pulpit, v. 4 from the baptismal font, and vvs. 5-6 from the communion table.

Ephesians
Light and dark
Ephesians tells us once you were darkness, but now in Christ you are light. “Light” is often equated with “good,” and “dark” with “evil.” Be careful with this. It easily lends itself to racist ways of thinking related to skin color. Further, even aside from skin color, sometimes darkness is actually good. It doesn’t denote something that’s necessarily bad, just unseen. The Mystery. In fact as Mystery, darkness is holy. Darkness is where stars shine, seeds sprout, babies are conceived and grow. When the ark is moved into the Temple in 1 Kings 8.12 Solomon remembers that “God would dwell in thick darkness.” Faith includes a healthy embrace of the darkness of life, the unknowable stuff in which there is grace even though we can’t see it or understand it. And Jungians remind us how important it is to acknowledge, integrate and appropriately express the “shadow” side of ourselves—all that stuff that’s unseen, unconscious, even repressed—even though some of it is actually very good. How do we live in the light of God and also trust the dark mystery of God? How do we “shine the light” and also embrace our shadow?

John 9.1-41 – A Dramatic Reading
The gospel readings for Lent in Year A are all long stories of Jesus’ ministry. They certainly deserve to be told as they are written. But you might also explore breaking them up into separate scenes, with a brief reflection, music or prayer between scenes. They can also be presented as dramatic readings. Here is a script for a dramatic reading of John 9 in four scenes, for seven or nine readers.

Blind and seeing
The gospel story isn’t just about a miraculous healing: it’s about our willingness to look and see. As we are wary of the racist danger in how we think of the black/white, good/evil binary, as well as the denial of our shadow in the light/dark binary, we should also be wary of the danger of ableism in treating physical sightedness as good and blindness as somehow deficient.

This gospel story is full of humorous irony about seeing and unseeing, which makes it clear: there’s nothing “wrong” with being blind, but there is something wrong about choosing to be oblivious. The blind man sees quite well: he’s the one who sees who Jesus is. But those whose eyes work seem to be blind to what is going on: they can’t recognize the man, or behold God’s grace, or witness the miracle, or focus on the issue, or see themselves clearly. They keep asking the one who was blind to describe something he couldn’t see but they themselves saw. Their eyes work but their hearts are blind. Jesus has told them, “I am the light of the world,” but blinded by their expectations and their fear of Jesus, they are still “in the dark.” Blindness is a physical state, but denial is a moral one. What makes racism, (and all the ways we discriminate) so powerful is our refusal to see what’s going on. Cancel culture, and a whole ethos of denial and whitewashing are practices of unseeing. (Government censorship is always a sign of moral decay.) “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains” (Jn.9.41). How do we unsee our neighbors? Who do we not see? Whose suffering do we choose to not see? What wounds and injustices, and what gifts and wonders, do we overlook?

How we see
The gospel story really isn’t about seeing with our eyes, but seeing with our hearts. Do we see with the eyes of distrust, or the eyes of faith? Eyes of cynicism or eyes of wonder? Eyes of judgment or eyes of love? “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! (Mt. 6.22-23). It’s not about whether we see, but how we see. Eyes of of love fill us with light. Eyes of judgment fill us with darkness. How do we see? How do we fail to see people? How do we fail to really see them? Jesus asks us to really see people, see them for who they are, see them as God sees them, not just through the filter of our own habits, assumptions, expectations and fears. (Remember in Luke 7 when the woman anoints Jesus at Simon’s house he says, “Do you see this woman?”) How do you see your neighbor?

Ah, I see
When we understand something we say, “I see.” This story is about “seeing” as understanding. Which we actually don’t. We think we’re so damn smart. But our smug worldly wisdom is not as clever as we think. Conventional wisdom doesn’t actually see God’s truth, which is beyond our rational understanding. We see only what fits our preconceived notions. Believing is seeing. So God has to subvert our “seeing” and confound us smartypants to get us to see that we don’t see everything. John 9.39: “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” Isaiah 6.9-10: “Say this to the people: ‘Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.’ Make the mind of this people dull, and stop their ears, and shut their eyes, so that they may not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and comprehend with their minds, and turn and be healed.” 1 Cor. 1.19, 25: “It is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’… God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom.” In the ancient Wisdom tradition, Jesus thwarts Conventional wisdom and opens our eyes to the wonder of God’s grace. How good do you think your spiritual eyesight is? Will you confess you’re in the dark? It’s there, in the unknowable, that God takes our hand and shows us what we can’t see.

Healing the blind
We may not be given the gift to do miracles with people’s eyes, but we are sent to open the eyes of people’s hearts. We are sent to open people’s hearts to the world around them—to the suffering and injustice, and also the glory and beauty. To help people really see each other is a wondrous gift. To open people’s eyes to racism is a prophetic calling. It’s a miracle of healing to empower people to see themselves as God’s beloved, to enable those who despair to see hope, to help those who have been shamed to see their own beauty and dignity, to help those who struggle in life to see themselves with mercy and gratitude. Sometimes it’s a miracle just to get people to notice the beauty that’s around them.. and within them.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Creator God, your glory surrounds us.
All: Help us to see with eyes of gratitude and wonder.
Loving Christ, you come to us in the humble and needy.
Help us to see with eyes of compassion and mercy.
Holy Spirit, you work among us with power and grace.
Help us to see with eyes of faith.
We worship you with praise and thanksgiving. Amen.

2.
Leader: God of all creation, out of darkness, light!
All: We worship you.
Christ, in our blindness, healing!
We thank you.
Holy Spirit, from our old ways, new lives!
We praise you. We give ourselves to you.
Fill us with your light, that your love may be revealed in us. Amen.

3.
Leader: The grace of God be with you.
All: And also with you.
We gather in the power of the Spirit, as the Body of Christ.
We were blind, and now we see, so we come to praise our God.
We were dead, but now we are alive, and we come to worship.
But still we are blind, and still we are dead in our sins.
So we come to be healed, that we may see by God’s grace.
We come to be raised to new life, by the mercy of God.4.
Leader: The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
All: God does not deal with us according to our sins,
but forgives us and receives us as God’s beloved.
Come, let us walk in the light of God.
Holy One, teach us your ways,
and lead us in your paths.
Create a new heart in us, O God,
and put within us a new and right spirit.
Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Amen.

5.
Leader: Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine upon you.
All: Once we were darkness,
but in Christ we are light.
May we live as children of light.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of mystery, you saw something in David that others did not see, and anointed him king. So you see things in us that we do not see. Open our eyes to see ourselves and one another as you see us: beloved and worthy. Open our eyes, God, and help us to see.

2.
Gracious God, you have given us Christ as our light, and given us as light for the world. As Jesus opened the eyes of the blind, open our eyes so that we might see; and open our hearts so that we might truly serve you and set free those who sit in prisons of darkness. God, come to us, speak to us, heal us, and make us your servants. We pray in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

3.
God of light, we come to you in need of healing, for the eyes of our hearts are clouded. Embrace us in your love, touch us with your Word, and transform us by your Spirit. Make us whole, so that we might live new lives. Bless us in our worship, that we may become children of light. Amen.

4.
God of truth, as Jesus healed the blind man, we ask you to heal us. Open our eyes to see ourselves honestly, to see you clearly, to see your world as you would have us see it. Open our hearts, so that as the scriptures are read and your good news proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you are saying to us today. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
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.
God of love, with your eyes
we look on those times we have been in harmony with you,
and we give thanks. [Silent reflection…]
God of love, with your eyes
we look on those times we have been out of harmony with you,
and we receive your grace. [Silent reflection…]God of grace, we give thanks that you look upon is with love and mercy.
By the grace you show us in Christ,
forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.
[Silent prayer … the word of grace]

2.
God of love, create in me a clean heart,
and put within me a new and holy spirit.
Where there is falseness, give me your truth.
Where there is denial, give me vision.
Where there is fear, kindle your love.
Where there is guilt or shame,
let me see myself with your eyes of love.
I release all the ill I have suffered,
and repent of the harm I have done.
Forgive me, and create me anew.

3.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned
and that we are blind to our sin.
We have failed to see our neighbors in need,
and failed to hear your calling.
We have been blind to your grace,
and have sat in prisons of darkness.
Forgive us, God, heal us, and set us free;
fill our hearts with light, so that we may be light to the world,
in the spirit of Christ, who is our light.

Listening Prayer

(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)
1.
Leader: Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine upon you.
All: Once we were darkness,
but in Christ we are light.
May we live as children of light.

2.
Generous God,
you prepare a feast for me, even
in the presence of my fear and self-centeredness.
My cup overflows.
I hold it out to you.
Shepherd me, O God.

3.
Leader: Jesus said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned;
he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”
All: God, help me to trust
that with you there is no deserving,
no punishment,
no imprisonment in the past;
only grace,
and the the opportunity to receive it.
Open the eyes of my heart,
that whatever my circumstances
I may see your grace,
trust your unfinished work in me,
and know that I was born that your love
might be revealed in me,
and that, unseen,
you stand beside me
ready to heal.

Readings

1.
Click here for a script for a dramatic reading of John 9, Jesus healing the blind man and the controversy afterward. In four scenes. For seven or nine readers.

2.
Here are nine paraphrases of Psalm 23.

3. A Reflection on Ephesians 5.8-14
There are plenty in this world who sneak about in darkness, hidden, relying on lies and misperceptions. Most of them do not know it. There are those who thrive in the spotlight, but only in costume, enclosing their true selves in lightless biers that are impervious even to their own seeing. Afraid to know themselves, they avert their lives. Their defenses are thick walls that protect their frightened souls, and seal them against the light. They waste away in tombs of delusion.

But it is not so with you. You are light. You pay attention, looking to see clearly both what is before you and what is within you. You do not rush past yourself, but live deliberately enough to be able to see everything. You welcome the truth, even when it challenges you. You are transparent to the light of God shining through you. You gladly bear the beams of grace into this world. You do not lurk past anyone, but beholding all as your sisters and brothers, you humbly serve them in the ways God has given you, and draw them into the day, surrounding them with light.

Children of light, keep shining.

Poetry

                Sleeper, awake!

The healing of blindness is not a correction
         but an opening.

Repentance is not improving
but opening your eyes.

Seeing is not judging
         but letting the light in.

In the dark chaos of the deep
         let there be light.

Whether or not your eyes see it
          your very being is the light of Love.

You are the lamp;
          the Beloved is the flame.

You don’t need to birth fire,
          just become transparent.

Awake; open your eyes.
          The dawn has come.

           You are light

You don’t need to seek the light.
You are light,
light of God’s Word,
light of Gods love,
shining in your being.

Meditate on this light,
glowing from within.
Trust this light,
given, not made.

Don’t worry to shine the light;
it already shines.
Simply be mindful.
Open the shutters of your heart,
and let the divine light radiate.

You are light.

                      Today

         We must work the works of the One who sent me
                  while it is day;
         night is coming when no one can work.
         As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
                           —John 9.4-5

This is your day, your life.
Night will come, when you are no more.
Now you are God’s light in the world.
This is the time to shine,
to love, to forgive and ask forgiveness,
to speak for justice, to give yourself
to the mending of the world.
This day.

My mommy (Ps. 23)

God is my mommy.
         She’s all I need.

She gives me a soft place for naps;
         she takes me to safe places.
When I’m upset she holds me
         ’till I become myself again.
She leads me by the hand.
         Quite the pair, my mommy and I!

When I am scared to death
         you are right there. No worry.
Your strong hand and firm voice save me.

You set the table for me and
         for the siblings I’ve been fighting with.
You wash me up with that gleam in your eye.
         My plate is full.

Your motherly love stays with me every day.
         I will be your beloved kid forever.

Sweet.

[Download nine paraphrases of Ps. 23 here.]

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.]

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.

We thank you God, for you create us in the image of your love.
You have delivered us from the power of darkness
and brought us into the realm of your light.
Each of us shines with the light of your glory.
We are being transformed into your image,
from one degree of glory to another.
In love you sent us Jesus, the light of the world.
He is the light on our path and the life in our hearts.

            [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,
in whom we see your mercy and love.
As he gave sight to the blind, he opened the eyes of our hearts.
He showed us the miracle of your grace,
and enabled us to see your presence.
In him the powers saw only threat and untamable mystery,
so they crucified him.
But you raised him from the dead,
bearing your everliving 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.
May we see with eyes of love,
and by your presence in us be light for the world,
in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

     [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.) Your love has opened our eyes. Send us into the world to see your beauty, to witness your miracles, to behold your light in each person, to trust your grace in every moment. 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.) In your light we are given new vision; in your grace we are given new life. Send us into the world in faith, that your love may be revealed in us, in the name of 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.) As this food enters us and becomes part of us, may your light fill us, so that we radiate your grace. Send us out as light for the world, to open the eyes of the blind and release the prisoners, in the name 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.) May our eyes be opened to see your presence and your grace in our lives. May we continually open our hearts to your healing, and bear your healing to this hurting world. Send us into the world now to bless and to heal, to proclaim your good news, in the name of Christ, and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

5.
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 our eyes be opened to see your presence and your grace in our lives. May we continually open our hearts to your healing, and bear your healing to this hurting world. Send us into the world now to bless and to heal, to proclaim your good news, 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)

Communion Song (Tune: Just As I Am)

O God, you call us to life anew,
and so we bring our lives to you.
Forgiven, free and blessed, we give
our gifts that in us Christ may live.

With joy we set the table here
with gifts of Jesus’ presence dear.
God, in our feast may Christ be near,
and in our lives his love shine clear.

Christ Our Healer (Tune: Joyful, Joyful,
or HOLY MANNA, or Love Divine All Loves Excelling)

Christ, our healer, you have touched us, reaching through the dark divide,
healing broken hearts and bodies, casting death’s old shroud aside:
raised us from our bed of sorrows, put your arm around our pain,
raising us to new tomorrows, bringing us to life again.

Christ, our teacher, in our healing you have given us your gift:
grace to bless, your love revealing, pow’r to heal and hope to lift.
In your Spirit, your forgiveness, your compassion we embrace
ev’ry wounded, shamed or silenced child of God with gentle grace.

Christ, our savior, you are going on to every town and field,
on to every land and people, on until the world is healed.
Use us in the whole world’s mending, use us as your healing hands,
’till as one the world, made whole, takes up its mat with joy and stands.

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.

Psalm 23 (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)

God is my shepherd; I have all I need. God
Makes me lie down in green pastures to feed.
By the still waters God gently will lead.
Love, you’re my shepherd. I have all I need.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I
fear not, for you are as close as my breath.
For you are with me, your staff and your rod
they are my comfort, my shepherd, my God.

You set my table before all my foes. You
pour out your blessing; my cup overflows.
Goodness stays with with me wherever I roam,
and I will live in you, my Heart, my Home.

Sleeper Awake (Original song)

Sleeper, awake, come rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine upon you.

Lent 3

March 8, 2026

Lectionary Texts

Exodus 17. 1-7. The Israelites are traveling through the desert after their escape from Egypt. They have no water, but by God’s command Moses strikes a solid rock, and out flows water.

Psalm 95. Though the psalm ends on a sour note, it celebrates God’s life-giving grace, and refers to the event of water from the rock at Meribah (meaning a place of testing).

Romans 5.1-11. Since we are justified by faith we have peace with God…. Affliction leads to hope, which does not let us down…. God’s love has been poured into our hearts…. Christ died for the ungodly…

John 4.5-42. The woman at the well.
Note: Consider presenting this story as a dramatic reading, with roles for Jesus, the Samaritan woman, the disciples, and a narrator.

Preaching Thoughts

Exodus
                 Water from the rock
    Maybe the miracle is that there was water there. Maybe it’s that Moses, trusting God, hauls off and strikes the rock. What a great way to make a fool of himself—except that he trusts God, and God is trustworthy. Maybe the word is to act boldly for the sake of the people. Maybe it’s to trust God’s providence. We don’t need to know how God provides, just trust that what we need is there. Maybe it’s that in the dry places in our lives, even within ourselves, there are secret springs of water gushing up to eternal life—if only we trust it.

Romans
         Justified by faith
   Oh, how sadly, and often, this gets twisted into being “justified by religion:” if you believe Jesus is the Son of God then you’re saved. But “faith” doesn’t mean doctrine; it means trust. God loves you. If you trust that, you’re good. Because of the power of our ego, we are naturally out of sorts with God, and unable to fully give ourselves to God. But in love God creates a perfect relationship with us. We are saved from the selfish power of our ego, and our fear of not being good enough, simply by trusting that God loves us. God does the saving; we simply trust that. That’s faith. And when our trust falters—well, God saves us anyway, and we trust that. Of course if we really trust God saves us not by our own goodness but God’s, we trust this is true for everybody, even the folks we want to judge. Christ died for the ungodly.

                 Suffering and hope
     Of course not all suffering automatically leads to hope. Let’s not kid ourselves. Suffering often leads to despair. Paul isn’t glorifying pain as a Christian virtue. It’s not that we enjoy or value suffering. It’s that even suffering can be the soil where hope grows. Hope doesn’t mean believing things will get better. Sometimes they don’t. It doesn’t mean things will turn out OK. (They didn’t go so well for Jesus, or thousands of martyrs…) Hope isn’t really about the future as much as the present. Hope is trust in what is already present but unseen. Hope is the trust that because of God’s grace what we’re doing is worth it. Even when we’re hurting, trust in the mystery of grace turns our suffering into the soil of hope. We see the Big Picture, the reality of Love that surrounds and upholds and permeates our lives, so that even when we’re suffering we know we belong to something lovely. The sense that “all shall we well, and all manner of things shall be well,” as Julian of Norwich says, is not that things will improve in the future, but that when all is added up—all of it— it’s all good; even the bad parts are redeemed by being embedded in goodness. Trust in this mystery is what gets us through the rough patches, and enables us to endure suffering with hope.

     God’s love poured into our hearts
There’s the whole gospel. God is pure love, and pours love into our hearts. Hopefully it overflows. If we fall short, God keeps pouring. If we sin, no matter how badly, it can only be because we don’t have enough love in our heart, so God pours in more. Our calling is to receive it—let it soak in, let it fill every pore and sac and vessel of our heart—until it overflows.

           Christ died for us
     “Christ died for the ungodly.” That’s pretty universal love, huh? Some people spin this toward guilt: Jesus died for you, so you ought to believe in him—or else. But Paul is not brokering a transaction. This isn’t about what you need to do, but what God does. Jesus embodies how God thinks so highly of us that God is willing to die for us. The point is not that you should have some opinion about Jesus’ death, but that God loves you that much. Maybe faith has something to do with allowing ourselves to see ourselves as that lovable and beloved. Even at our most ungodly.

            Reconciled
     Paul says we will be saved through Christ from the wrath of God. The old substitutionary tale has it that Jesus “saves” us by taking the punishment that God originally imposed on us. Well, I don’t see how that reconciles us to God. The thought of God intending my destruction, requiring Jesus’ intervention, does not draw me close to God. No, I don’t think being saved means being saved from God. I think we’re saved from our distrust of God, by God’s self-sacrificing love. We’re saved from thinking God is wrathful toward us. In fact God is loving and loving only, and coming to trust this (through Christ’s love) is truly liberating—that’s salvation, and that’s true reconciliation with God.

Gospel
           Woman at the well
Remarkable Thing #1: Jesus knows her story. Is he omniscient? Does he read minds? Maybe he’s just a really good listener and picked up clues. Women didn’t have the power to initiate divorce. So she has been used and thrown away five times. And now the guy who she’s with doesn’t have the decency to marry her. She’s not a sinner; she’s a victim. Coming to the well at noon, long past when you want cool, clean water, clearly she’s a social outcast.
      Remarkable Thing #2. Still he treats her like a peer. He doesn’t relate to her as a needy person, a victim, a loser, but as a whole, intelligent person. Like, “I recognize your pain, but it sounds like you want to talk theology.” That in itself is healing. She’s not defined by her need. And Jesus not only oversteps social taboos about class and gender and Jews and Samaritans—especially rabbis and Samaritans—but he goes so far as to treat her as a worthy peer, to engage in theological banter as he would with another rabbi! In fact they converse longer than Jesus talks with anyone else in the Gospels. He’s in his element: no trickery, no game playing, just exploration. Note: Jesus loves questions.
      Remarkable thing #3. She left her jug. Of course. Because she knew she was coming back. She went specifically to call other people to Jesus. Her exchange with Jesus has transformed her from a pariah into an effective evangelist. Yep, the first Christian evangelist was a woman. Her work, by the way, feeds Jesus. “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”

              A spring of water
     John plays with the symbolism of the water in the well and in our hearts, and the woman’s thirst for water of both kinds. “Faith” is not about certainty or even belief at all, but about reaching out. The woman has faith because, to borrow some language from Matthew, she hungers and thirsts for righteousness. And she is satisfied. Jesus (John) gives us the beautiful image of “a spring of water in you gushing up to eternal life.” It’s a gift that comes from beyond—but from below, not above, from deep within. (Yes, God is beneath us, giving life.) The spring is unfailing, unaffected by passing weather, unpolluted by use or misuse, fresh and life-giving. Baptism and Eucharist in one gulp.

A reflection

           A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” —The woman comes to the well because she wants water—but Jesus wants something from her. What might Jesus be asking you for?
           “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) —What separates you from God, or makes you feel unwelcome, unworthy or unwanted by God? Name it… and imagine Jesus accepting you anyway.
           “Where do you get that living water?” —Where do you seek spiritual nourishment? Do you receive it it? Is it adequate? Is God leading you to dip into a deeper well?
           “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” —Imagine this spring of God’s love flowing up in and through you right now.
           “You have had five husbands.” —Jesus brings her brokenness to light—she is “damaged goods”— but he does not judge her for it. What hurt, shame, guilt or fear burdens you? Offer these to God. Let God take them from you.
           “Worship in spirit and truth.” —What does it mean to you to worship God? Be mindful of God’s presence and God’s loving grace. Be present; make yourself available to God.
           She said to the people, “Come and see…” and they left the city and were on their way to him. —She was an outcast, but like water from a well, Jesus has drawn a wonderful gift out of her. What gifts might Jesus see in you? What good news might he be asking you to bear?
           “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” —Imagine Jesus has been spending this time with you, right now—not because it’s his duty but because it nourishes him. Dare to delight in Jesus’ delight in you.
           Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony. —Jesus doesn’t regard her according to her shame, but according to the gifts he sees in her. Ask God for the gift of seeing people as Jesus sees them: as gifted, worthy and beloved, even as they are brokenhearted and in need of healing. Imagine all people in this light. Imagine God’s love flowing out from you like a “spring of water gushing up,” spreading to al people, all living beings, all creation. Give thanks for this spring of living love in you, flowing from the heart of God.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Creator God, we come, thirsty for your Word.
All: You offer to us flowing water, and we give you praise.
Loving Christ, we come to you hungry for your grace.
You touch living springs within us, and we give you thanks.
Holy Spirit, we come to you thirsty, yet you hunger for us to be vessels for you.
You nourish us for service, and we give you our lives. Thanks be to God.

2.
Leader: Everyone who drinks water will be thirsty again.
All: But those who drink of the water that Christ gives us will never be thirsty.
The water that Christ gives will become in us
a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.
Christ, give us this water, so that our spirits will never dry up.
We draw from the deep well of your love, O God.
Fill us with your Spirit, for we are thirsty for you.

3.
Leader: We wander in desert wastes,
All: We are thirsty for life-giving grace.
But there is water in the rock.
We come with our brokenness and need
But there is a life-giving spring in you.
We’re not sure how to worship.
But the Spirit and the truth is in you. Worship in spirit and truth.
God, we trust your grace,
and we offer you our thirst, and our worship.

4.
Leader: Desert thirst; fear and and doubt.
All: Water from the rock!
Shame and failure, heartbreak and despair.
A spring of water gushing up!
A people, ungodly and unwilling.
Love that would die for us!
This is the good news.
We give thanks, and worship.

5. (Rom. 5)
Leader: God, you have poured your love into our hearts.
All: Therefore we dare to draw near to you, in peace.
We trust the good news that Christ died for the ungodly.
That would be us! We are saved not by our goodness, but yours.
Through all our afflictions you have remained steadfast.
Therefore we have hope, for our trust is in you.
Despite our waywardness and inattention,
you have reconciled us with you; we are one.
Therefore we worship you with gratitude and humility.
We open ourselves to you, that you may continue
to pour your love into our hearts,
through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Generous God, your Word is a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. Like the woman of Samaria we come to the well of your Word to drink, to be satisfied, to receive life. Fill the jars of our hearts with your love. Draw from the deep well of your grace and change us. Make us living vessels of your love for a world that is thirsty for you. Amen.

2.
God of love, we are thirsty for you, thirsty for your love, your blessing, and your presence. We open ourselves to your grace—for you gush forth with the water of life. Renew us with your Word. Amen.

3.
God of love, we confess that the well of love in our souls sometimes runs dry. Forgive our sin, fill us with your Word, and open that spring of life in us, that we may flow freely with your love for all the world. We worship you in spirit and in truth. Speak to us. Jesus, help us listen. Amen.

4.
Leader: Like the woman who came to draw water at a well,
we come to draw life from you, O God
All: Jesus, as you spoke to her, so you speak to us now.
Fill us with your grace, and help us to worship in spirit and in truth.
May your grace become a spring of living water in us, gushing up to eternal life. Amen.

5.
God of abundant grace, as the woman came thirsty to the well we come, thirsting for your presence and your grace. Draw from the wells of salvation and pour out your Spirit upon us. Feed us with your Word, and refresh our souls with your living, flowing grace. Let your love in us be a spring welling up to eternal life. We pray in the name and the presence of Christ. Amen.

6.
Leader: We are tired and thirsty. We sit by the well our ancestors have dug.
All: Christ, you come, and offer us living water.
We wonder about life, about truth, about our place.
Christ, you cross all boundaries to speak with us, and your Word stirs in us.
We doubt our abilities. We believe people’s judgments. We feel alone.
Christ, your love changes us, and a spring of life wells up in us.
Give us, please, the living water of your life-giving Spirit,
gushing up to boundless love and the joy of being.
For this, God, we are thirsty.
Come and quench the thirsting of our souls. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Our hearts may be as stone, O God,
but you strike them, and out flows water.
Our hearts are empty buckets, God.
We lower them into the well of your grace.
We lower the buckets of our hearts
into the deep, clear well of your grace.
By your Holy Spirit, pour your love into our hearts.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Gracious God, we confess our need for your life-giving grace.
We are thirsty for you,
yet we have sought sustenance elsewhere.
We come again to the well of your mercy.
May your forgiveness, your healing and your love
become in us a spring of living water gushing up to eternal life.

2.
Gracious God, before you there are no secrets.
Our sins are clear. Our wounds are open.
You see us as we truly are.
O God, we repent and turn to you,
for we are thirsty for your grace,
and hungry for the life that you alone can give.
Accept us, O God, and forgive our sins.
Heal our wounded spirits.
Wash us in the living spring of your grace,
so that guided by your Word,
we may go forth to serve you in holiness and joy.
We pray in the name of the Crucified and Risen Christ. Amen.

Poetry

Living water

You are not dying of thirst in a desert,
searching for the magic well of salvation.
It is within you.

Take the jug of your soul
to the place where it is filled.
When you get there, sit.

You know where it is: a shrine or a meadow,
a holy book, silence or song,
or kneeling with someone in need.

Listen to the voice in the silence,
the song in the water,
the blessing pouring out of the moment.

Let it fill you, soak in, sink deep.
It does not pass, but becomes you.
A spring opens up in you.

That for which you most deeply thirst
wells up inside you, from deep beyond,
eternally present.

There is a place in you
where God bubbles up into the world.
Build your house near that spring.

Drink deeply from that source.
Abandon your paths to other, muddy holes.
Let your life flow with this living water.

Weather or a thief
can take the water
but not the spring.

The water is not yours.
Let if flow. Other are thirsty, too.
Draw from that well. This is life.

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.]

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.

God, we thank you, for you create us in your image, covenant to be our God,
and feed us with grace.
You judge the forces of oppression and work for the liberation of all your children;
you set us free from all that traps and enslaves us.
You have provided for us—bread in the wilderness and water from the rock.
You have given us Christ, the bread of life, whose spirit in us
is a spring of living water, gushing up to eternal life.
Therefore with all Creation we sing your praise.

            [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.
He fed the hungry; he shared water with the thirsty; he taught your Way,
feasting on your Word with all who were hungry and thirsty for righteousness.
He called for justice and subverted the world’s judgment and divisions,
befriending the outcast and gathering a community that included everyone,
calling them to your table of grace to feast on your Word and drink of your Spirit.
For opposing unjust systems he was crucified; but you raised him from the dead.

     (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 Holy Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ.
May your Spirit be in us a spring of living water,
gushing up to eternal life, for the sake of the world.

     [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.) Your Spirit flows in us, a spring gushing up to eternal life. We are vessels of your grace. Send us into the world to serve, to bear witness and to bring others to the table of your love, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

2.
Loving God, your Spirit is within us, a flowing spring of love.
May we be a vessel of your grace,
an ample jug for the water of your love for all people.
Send us, refreshed, 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)

The Heart of Heaven (Original song)

There’s a heart in heaven that knows you,
and speaks your name in love from heaven’s throne,
that has laughed and labored here beside you,
and says, “I know your journey as my own.”

There are eyes in heaven that adore you,
and weep with joy at the beauty of your soul,
for they see the courage of your living,
and share your deepest yearnings to be whole.

There’s a tear in heaven that remembers,
there’s a deep, weary sigh that understands;
there are gentle, wounded hands that know the struggle
to do the work of God with human hands.

There’s a voice from heaven within you,
a spring of life-giving water flowing free.
Let it flow, let grace and peace shine in you
with heaven’s loveliness for all to see.

Oh, the heart of heaven is within you,
the universe embraces you in love,
for the humble One who walks beside you
is the One who rules the sun and stars above.

I Am Open (Original song)

Dear gentle Jesus, I open to you
the deepest chambers of my soul.
My heart is open, wounded and broken.
Heal and forgive and make me whole.
      Open, I am open, open to your grace.

Beloved Jesus, my eyes are open;
your healing touch restores my sight.
Like open windows, they shine, and in flows
your glory filling me with light.
      Open, I am open, open to your grace.

My wounded Jesus. Your arms are open,
our hurt and dying to embrace.
When I would close them, hold my arms open,
to be so loving by your grace.
      Open, I am open, open to your grace.

Now risen Jesus, my life is open,
a flower unfolding in the sun:
by your light growing, and boldly showing
the love of God, as you have done.
      Open, I am open, open to your grace.

I Take Up My Cross (Original song)

Congregation:
Letting go, I am held. I take up my cross and follow.

Cantor:
1. Jesus, you call to me, and draw me into your life.
2. Christ, I who thirst for you, you ask of me a drink.
3. Christ, I leave all behind, to follow you in love.
4. Your Word is a spring of life that gushes up in me.

Jesus, Come Speak to Us (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)
[John 4.1-42]

God, you have gathered us, hungry for the Bread of Life,
thirsty for waters of flowing grace.
Our broken hearts are yours, open and waiting.
We want to meet you face to face.

Jesus, come speak to us. Sit beside the way with us.
Draw from the well and refresh our souls.
Shine light into our hearts, heal hidden wounds within,
call forth our gifts and make us whole.

Spirit, our Breath of Life, fill us with your grace and truth.
Make us your vessels of love and light.
Flow like a river, welling up within us
with waters of eternal life.

We Feast On Your Love (Original song)

Chorus: We drink from your presence.
We feast on your love.
This is the banquet we’ve been dreaming of. (Repeat.)

You gather us; none is unworthy;
and no one is “greatest” or “least.”
You multiply what we offer,
so multitudes may feast. — Chorus

We hunger and thirst for your spirit,
we open ourselves to your grace.
In flows the mercy you offer
in every time and place. — Chorus

We taste the sweet wine made from water,
our bread is your body you give.
“Drink of the water I give you,
so you may truly live.”

Lent 2

March 1, 2026

Lectionary Texts

Genesis 12.1-4. God calls Abram, at the ripe old age of 75, to leave his relatives and his homeland and journey toward a new land and a new life, in which, he is told, “you will be a blessing.”

Psalm 121. I look up at the hills. Where does my help come from? It comes from God, your keeper, who is faithful. God will keep yo from all evil.

Romans 4.1-5, 13-17. “Abraham believed, and it was reckoned as righteousness…. To one who does not work but trusts the one who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.

John 3.1-17. Nicodemus, in the night, visits Jesus, who says we must be “born anew from above.”
[Note: Consider presenting the Gospel lessons in this season as dramatic readings, with narrator, Jesus, and other characters. In this reading you’ll have to make some bold editorial decisions about what is Jesus’ speech and what is for the narrator.]

Preaching Thoughts

Genesis
        New identity. Repentance, the great theme of Lent, is not just about renouncing the past. It’s creating a new future. God calls us out of our established ways into new ways of living. Abram leaves behind his familiar reality to venture to a new place—and he will even become a new person, with the name Abraham.
        To be “born again,” to enter into a new life, we have to willingly leave behind an old life. What do we have to leave behind in order to repent? What do we need to learn to say No to? Sometimes we see our sins as “just part of who I am.” How are we invited to renounce part of who we thought we were to become whole new people?
        A new land. Our spiritual heritage is rooted in the lives of immigrants. This theme arise repeatedly again, for example in the lives of the Hebrews fleeing Egypt, and Ruth, and the exiles. As much as God’s Covenant seems to promise land (Gen. 12.7), it also promises God’s presence with those who are landless.

Psalm
This may have been sung by people, like Abram, on a journey: pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. The traveler looks at the mountains she must cross, where bandits hide and other religions have their shrines, and asks, how will I get through? God will keep me.

Romans
Righteousness. It’s tempting (Wait— should a preacher ever add to our temptations in Lent?? But I digress…) it’s tempting to imagine righteousness as “rightness,” somehow having the right religious answer or being on the right spiritual track. But being “righteous” doesn’t mean being “right.” It means in right relationship. And our relation ship with God, despite all our maneuvering, is established, and determined by God. And the relationship God makes with us is that we are God’s beloved. Period. No attempts on our part to be more or less deserving make any difference. It’s God, not us, who makes our relationship with God what it is, and the relationship God establishes with us is one of grace and harmony. Righteousness is simply trusting that (and acting like it).
“Righteousness” does not mean being good enough to deserve God’s blessing; it means trusting that the blessing is already there. This is the grace of God’s love: no matter how out of tune we are, God makes of it beautiful music.

Gospel
       Born again. “Born again” is a metaphor about transformation, but it has been distorted into a category of Christian belief. There’s no such things as “a” born again Christian; there’s only a being-born-again Christian. Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the dark (so to speak) and Jesus tells him we must be “born from the top,” meaning both over again and also from above, from God. Each breath is a re-birth, a receiving of life not from the status quo of having been born once but directly from God’s life-giving in each moment. That means we let go of who we think we are, who we want to be, and especially who others think we are or ought to be, and completely allow ourselves to be who God creates us to be. Imagine surrendering your whole past every moment, and starting anew with each breath. Imagine all your doubts and regrets, all your guilt and all your accomplishments wiped away. It’s just you, being made new, this instant, living fresh out of God’s love, with no other precedent, no other agenda, no other requirements, or expectations, no other identity. Abram got a new name, a new identity. Each moment God gives you a brand new “You.” Wow.

       Metaphor. By the way, note how poorly biblical literalism fares with Jesus. Nicodemus gets all literal about climbing back into this mother’s womb. “You’re a teacher,” Jesus says, “and you don’t get metaphor? Sheesh.”

       The wind blows where it will. The Holy Spirit is not an object, or some spook like Casper the friendly ghost it’s not even a spirit, but Spirit. It’s movement—a happening, like wind. The Holy Spirit is God’s love moving through us. It moves how and where love moves, not according to our will or understanding. People who are “born” from the wind move not according to their own desires, but are moved by the wind of love, like a sailboat. We can’t “see,” or logically understand, love. We can only see its work. The Spirit is not something some people have and others don’t; God’s love is always moving through us. Much of the time we’re unaware, or even willfully resistant to it. But there are times we move in harmony with that love, like a “feather on the breath of God” (Hildegard of Bingen). Those moments are what it’s like to be born anew from above.

Eternal life. As much as John 3.16 is a verse used to clobber people who don’t (yet) “believe,” it’s not about the necessity to believe. It’s about God’s love. For the whole world. That’s everybody, not just those who believe. In v.15 Jesus (well, actually John) says “that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” The fundamentalist interpretation is that if you say you “believe in Jesus”—whatever they think that means—you get to go to heaven after you die. (And if you don’t believe no heaven for you. Bad dog.) My take on it: whoever receives life breath by breath as a gift from God, whoever lets God continually re-create them, receives life that’s infinite and can’t be taken from them. (I think “eternal life” is infinitely deep, not infinitely long.) We participate in a Life—the life of God—that is eternal. It doesn’t mean we are immortal, but that we share in something that is. You don’t get your own personal eternal lifespan. Eternal life is not a privilege awarded people who believe the right things; it’s a gift that is offered unconditionally and that is infinitely present whenever we simply receive it.

Condemned. The lectionary mercifully omits v. 18, “Those who do not believe are condemned already.” But what do we do with that? Partly, we allow for John’s militant and particularly anti-Jewish proselytizing, his belief that Christians are right and others, especially Jews, are wrong. Adjust for that slant. But still, there’s something to this: those who don’t trust in God are cut off from God, and so really from their own true life. Those who don’t trust God are self-condemned to lives of self-isolation, condemned to solitary confinement in their own egos. In that sense, John is right.

Light. I often include verses 19-21 in the reading.In v. 19 we close the circuit with the fact that Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the night, in the dark, presumably so as not to be seen. John says God’s judgment is light, God’s answer to Nicodemus’ attempt to be invisible. What is hidden will be revealed. Notice God’s judgment is light, not condemnation. God’s judgment is not a divine opinion or decree about what’s “right or wrong.” (Golly- that old tree of the knowledge of good and evil again!.) It’s simply light, which illuminates the truth without labeling it. Light both reveals what is hidden, and also transforms it. Light does not judge or punish the darkness; it just changes it.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Mother God, you give birth to all Creation.
All: We your children praise you.
Mother Christ, you give us new birth, death and resurrection in your Spirit.
We your children thank you.
Mother Spirit, you give us new birth through water and through love.
Mother Spirit, we serve you with joy.
Have mercy on us, that we may be your faithful children. Amen.

2. [Ps. 103.8, 10]
Leader: God is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.All: God does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor punish us for our unfaithfulness.
Then let us turn to the Gracious One, trusting in God.
We praise you, O God, and return to you,
that you may give us new birth in your Holy Spirit.

3.
Leader: Holy One, you called Abram and Sarai and they listened.
All: Call to us. Lead us on.
Beloved, you led them to a new place.
Accompany us through the mystery.
Spirit of life, you promised blessing, and you have kept your promise.
Bless us, that we may hear and follow,
that we may be a blessing for all the families on earth.
We are yours. By your Spirit in us, birth us to new life.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of grace and mercy, Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, seeking to know your truth. We come in the day, still seeking. Bring to light our questions our wondering, and our hunger for you. Speak to us, that your Spirit may breathe through us today. Amen.

2.
God of love, like Nicodemus, we come to you seeking wisdom and life. Speak to us the Word that gives us new life, that we may be born again from your love. Amen.

3.
O God of Mercy, your grace comes to us in darkness and mystery. Your call leads us into the unknown. We know we will resist. Speak to us anyway, Lord: let your Word come to life in us, and lead us into the Realm of your grace. Amen.

4.
Leader: Nicodemus came to Jesus at night.
All: We, too are in the dark, and so we come to you, God, to teach us.
Jesus told him that God so loved the world that God gave the only Son to save us.
We are in sin, and so we come to you, Love, to save us.
Jesus said we must be born again, from above, to see the Realm of God.
We are trapped in small lives of our own making.
Speak your Word to us, Holy One, that we may see the Realm of God,
and be born again, and enter into the eternal life you give us.
Speak to us, God, for we are open to your grace. Amen.

5.
Gracious God, you loved the world so deeply that you gave us your only Son, your Word made flesh, that in communing with him we might find infinite life. We come to him now, to listen, to let our hearts speak, and to be born anew. Let the light of your truth fill us, so that in your light we become light. Amen.

6.
God of new life, Jesus said that we must be born again from above to enter into your Realm. We surrender ourselves to you now, that we might receive life from you, in this moment, and each moment to come. May your Spirit blow through our worship, and transform us by your grace. We pray in the name of Jesus, and in the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

7.
God of truth, as Nicodemus came to Jesus at night to learn from him, we come that you may lighten our darkness and bring us to new life. Open our hearts, so that as the scriptures are read and your good news proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you are saying to us today. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
God of gentle mercy,
we confess our sin,
for even the brokenness we don’t see
keeps us from loving perfectly.
Receive us, forgive us;
heal our fears and our desires;
relieve us of our shame,
and set us free.

2.
God, we recall when we have been in harmony with you, or with life, and we give thanks. [silent prayer…]
We recall when we have been out of harmony, and we seek your grace. [silent prayer…]
God of mercy, in Christ you have shown us your grace.
Forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.
[Silent prayer … the word of grace ]

3.
…
God of love, we give you the lives we have tried to live.
We confess that we are not God;
we have not created our lives perfectly as you would.
We give you our lives,
that you might take them,
and that we may be reborn in your Spirit.
Here, God, are the lives we give you:
receive them with love, forgive us,
and create us anew, by your grace.

Listening Prayer

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

1.
Womb of God, hold us in your love.
Womb of God, birth us in your love.
Breath of God, live in us in love.
Light of God, shine in us with love.

2.
Light of God,
shine in my heart
and transfigure my darkness,
that I may become your light,
radiant with your presence.
Amen.

Readings

Psalm 121 (a paraphrase)

I look up at these mountains I must cross.
         Who will help me through?
Our help comes from God,
         who made these mountains, and knows them.
God will not let your foot slip,
         but will be watchful every step.
The One who holds all of us close
         will not lose interest or get distracted.
The Holy One holds you close,
         and is your shade in the hot sun.
Neither the brutal heat nor the biting cold
         will hurt us in the arms of the Beloved.
The Loving One will guard you from all evil,
         and will keep your life.
God will hold in loving hands
         our traveling and our resting,
         each moment, now and always.

Poetry

Born again

         Nicodemus said to him,
         “How can anyone be born after having grown old?
                  —John 3.4

I’m sorry. There is no how.
There is no jump, leap, crawl,
climb, push or swim.
There is only allow.

Being born again
isn’t something you can do.
It’s something your mother does
for you.

Breathing in and out
you descend into that dark tomb
that only when you enter
is a womb.

Much you can’t save,
you must shed to fit,
surrender to become
a fracturing seed
like broken bread.
What you leave behind in the grave.

Dying is your only choice,
surrendering your only how.
The rest is gift and mystery,
and God’s work, not yours.
There is only allow.

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.]

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 Mystery, we give you our thanks and praise.
In the swirling darkness you created light.
You create us as children of light.
You called Sarai and Abram and they followed you.
In the unknown you accompany us and lead us to new life.
in the deep night of oppression and injustice you set us free.
From the chains of our sin you set us free.
You call us to be born again in your love.
Moment by moment, breath by breath, again and again,
you birth us in love—new people, a new Creation.
Therefore with all Creation we sing your praise.

            [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 and fed the hungry
so we might know the fullness of life.
He is a vessel of infinite life,
and so we come to feast on his 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,
born anew in your love, shining with the light of your love,
serving others in the strength 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.] You have received us in love, so that we might die and rise in you. Born anew by your grace, we go into the world to love and serve 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.] You so loved the world that you gave us your Son; and we have received him, and he has become part of our hearts, and we are part of his Body. Send us into the world, borne by the wind of your Spirit, to love you and serve you by loving and serving others, in the name of Christ and the power of your Spirit. 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.] You have spoken to us in [bread and in] scripture. Speak to us now in our daily lives. Send us into the world, listening for your voice and radiant with your love. Bless us, that we may walk in the light, in the name of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Always New (Tune: Gift of Love/ Water is Wide)

O God, you make me always new.
Each breath I breathe is life from you,
a gift of love that sets me free.
Beloved, breathe new life in me.

O Christ, you call me to new birth
like God’s creation of the earth,
to leave the things I’m fastened on
and walk into the rising dawn.

O loving Spirit, live in me.
Forgive my sin and set me free.
Give me new birth, life from above,
that I may live in your deep love.

Communion Song (Tune: O Love, How Deep)

O Love, how deep, that you would give
your life to us so we may live,
to raise us up to life from death
and birth us new with every breath.

You call us to your table here,
to feast on love and know you near.
We give our gifts, our lives to you—
with you to die and be made new.

Communion Song (Tune: Gift of Love/ Water is Wide)

O God, our Love, we come to you,
to die and rise, and live anew.
Our hearts are weak; our souls near dead.
Revive us with your wine and bread.

Forgive our sin, and heal and bless:
our only life your life in us.
We bring our gifts, in love made one.
Grant us your grace. Your will be done.

I Wait for Your Will – (Original song)
A dialogue between soloist (verses) and congregation (refrain).

(Refrain) I wait for your will, I wait for your will, I wait for you will O God.
Verses:
All I desire to control I let go and place into your hands, my God.
Heal and protect and provide. Hear me and stay by my side, my God.
You are my wisdom and strength. I will do your will alone, my God.

Into the Light (Original song)

God, I come into the light of your mercy and grace:
may I receive your forgiveness, your loving embrace.
You know my brokenness better than I, and my sin.
You love me perfectly, setting me free once again.

All of myself I now humbly bring into your light:
wash me, renew me, forgive me and set me aright.
God, I surrender myself to your life-giving love:
may I be born by your Spirit, anew, from above.

God, you have loved us so much that you even would give
Jesus, your Son, the Beloved, so that we would live.
Help us to live so we bring your good news into sight.
Help us to trust in your grace and come into the light.

Spirit Wind – (Tune: What Wondrous Love)

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul,
what wondrous love is this, O my soul!
That you who made the earth with love would give us birth
and by your Spirit’s breath lead us on, lead us on,
and by your Spirit’s breath make us whole.

Great Spirit, may the wind of your love freely blow,
oh, let your wind of love freely blow,
and guide us in your grace in every time and place,
to bear your love and peace as we go, as we go.
Oh, let the winds of love freely blow!

As we are born anew from above, from above,
God, send us out to serve in your love.
And may we freely go wherever your winds blow,
though how we do not know, in your love, in your love,
wherever your winds blow, in your love.

Lent 1

February 22, 2026

Lectionary Texts

Genesis 2. 15-17, 3.1-7. Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil—not the tree of life.

Psalm 32. When we hide our sin it eats away at us; but when we confess it, God forgives us.

Romans 5. 12-19. Paul says that death rules over us because of our sin (since we are cut off from God, who is the source of life). But in Christ we are reconnected to God, and so we are given the gift of life. So just as our sin began with Adam, our salvation begins in Christ.

Matthew 4. 1-11. Jesus, in solitude in the desert, faces his temptations.

Preaching Thoughts

Lent is a time of repentance, of examining our brokenness and seeking healing. The political conflict in the US right now calls us to take seriously that our sins are both individual and communal. As the powerful assault democracy, promote white supremacy and sow division among the people, it is imperative that we face the nature of evil on both levels. In the United Methodist baptismal vows we promise to “accept the power God gives [us] to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.” Lent invites us to be honest that the worst evil we see in the world comes from energies that are in our own hearts. We can neither blame ourselves for the state of the world, nor blame others. We are all in this.

The clearest image of Lent is that we are going with Jesus toward the cross. For Jesus and his followers the cross was not some pious metaphor suitable to wear in 24-carat jewelry. The cross was the suffering, intimidation and even death imposed by a system that ruled by force. The parallel between the Roman Empire and the current administration is stark. Stephen Miller, the President’s deputy advisor and chief ideologue, is on record saying, “We live in a world that is governed by strength, force and power.” There is no respect for wisdom, compassion, the greater good, or the will of the people. Just power. This is exactly what the cross is: the power of the State to enforce its will on its citizens. This is what killed Jesus. The powerful have only what power is given to them. How have we participated in that? To repent at the foot of the cross is both to oppose that power and also to recognize its roots in our own hearts. The Lenten journey is one of both protest and confession. We turn to Jesus to heal that part of ourselves that has created this.

Genesis
The traditional interpretation is: “Adam and Eve disobeyed God and the punishment is death. Everyone inherits Original Sin and its death sentence—from which Jesus saves us.” That’s nice and neat but runs a little shallow for me. I’m wary of that story for a few reasons. One is that it characterizes our relationship with God in terms of God’s demands and our obedience or disobedience, rather than God’s grace no matter how we respond. Another is that what’s “original” about sin is not, despite what Paul says, that it’s Adam’s fault (oh, wait; he blamed it on Eve, so it’s her fault); no, we can’t blame it on anybody. It’s not Adam, or Satan, but our own distrust of God’s grace. (See comments on Romans below for more about original sin.)

Another problem is that the story as presented, especially at the beginning of Lent, makes it sound like sin is the problem that Jesus came to solve. (He came to show us how to love, not destroy sin. “The lamb of God who takes way the sin of the world doesn’t eliminate sin: he engenders trust.) That story easily slides into the idea that Christianity completes Judaism, which is false and hurtful. (And also non Jesus-like. He was a Jew, remember.) Blaming Adam too easily leads to blaming Jews, and blaming women—and if anything, blaming is our sin. So I look for other meaning in the story than pinning original sin on Adam & Eve.

Maybe this story is about sin and the “fall.” But maybe it’s not a “fall” at all, but a rising: evolution, a growth. It’s about humans becoming human instead of just really smart animals. There is no disobedience, no rift between humans and God. In fact maybe there’s a coming together: Eve and Adam join God in making moral choices, in discerning between good and evil. Maybe God was not prohibiting eating the fruit, just making the threshold hard to cross, warning them that there’d be no going back. (And, really, God was exaggerating: on the day they ate of it they didn’t die.) Now, with God, they live in a world of responsibility, not instinct.

Animals just do what their kind of animals do. If you’re a beaver you build dams. If you’re a bear you hibernate but if you’re a crane you migrate. You never choose not to do that. But Eve takes the radical step of making a choice. Animals eat the food they do because it seems good to eat. Eve chooses the fruit because it makes her wise. This is a small step for a woman, a giant leap for humankind. Now Eve and Adam are “like God” in that now they discern. They make moral choices. God was not commanding them not to eat, but warning them about death: there’s a connection between being moral and being mortal. You’re not just a stomach (and a womb) providing for itself: you’re choosing, knowing your finiteness, conscious of the work, aware of pain. You’re responsible for your life, partly because you’re aware of death. (There was already death in Eden; even if all the animals were vegan, they couldn’t eat a plant without killing it.) This is a story about becoming moral beings, and the baggage that comes with that.

But let’s also consider that the story does describe a rift in our relationship with God. Especially when we tell this story at the beginning of Lent, and also in the great historical sweep in the old King’s College Christians service of lessons and carols, we imply that this is the foundational image, the defining moment, and therefore “The Reason Jesus Came.” But note that this story is never referred to again in the Hebrew Bible. It’s not all that definitive. It doesn’t denote an “original sin” or a change in human nature, or a change in the relationship between God and us. But it is about our distrust of God. Yet even that is a mixed bag. In good Jewish rabbinic style Eve questioned the law. That’s not a bad thing. It’s just that Adam and Eve distrusted God. They thought they needed more than what God had offered them. (Maybe the mistake is eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil instead of the tree of life)

Our sin, the break in our relationship with God, isn’t about disobedience as much as distrust. Rather than receive life from God, we imagine we are able to judge good and evil on our own. We think we’re as wise as God. We don’t need God. We sever our relationship: it’s not just that we break a rule, but that we break trust. That’s where the trouble is. The Serpent is not some sneaky devil slithering around trying to make us do bad things. It’s all the voices that urge us to distrust God, and to think we can do this without grace, and that there’s ever anything more important than love. Where are the serpents in your life?

is a mixed bag. In good Jewish rabbinic style Eve questioned the law. That’s not a bad thing. In fact she exercises discernment in seeing “that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise” (3.6). Good on you, Eve!

But obviously the story is also about a failure, a breakage. I think the mistake is eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (and instead of the tree of life!). Rather than receive life from God, we imagine we are able to judge good and evil on our own. We think we’re as wise as God. We don’t need God. We sever our relationship: it’s not just that we break a rule, but that we break trust. That’s where the trouble is. The Serpent is not some sneaky devil slithering around trying to make us do bad things. It’s all the voices that urge us to distrust God, and to think we can do this without grace, and that there’s ever anything more important than love. Where are the serpents in your life?

Still, God is gracious, providing clothing for the people who are now ashamed. The results of Adam & Eve’s offense is not exactly punishment but the outcome of their broken relationship with God and Creation: birth and life will involve pain and hard physical labor. We will live always in the throes of trying to both realize and ignore the truth that we are dust, and to dust we shall return.

God drives Adam and Eve from the garden not as punishment, but so they won’t try to eat of the tree of life (that’s what the angel guards in v. 24). We can’t just get life from a vending machine. We have to receive it daily, moment by moment, breath by breath, from God, in relationship with God, in the world, not in some Eden-bubble. And that’s what Lent is about: not beating ourselves up for being disobedient, but learning to trust.

Romans
Paul, who was trained as a religious lawyer, uses legal language of “trespass, judgment, condemnation and justification” to talk about our relationship with God. These are metaphors, not a literal reality. God is not enforcing laws and administering punishment. God is Love. Love, as Paul himself reminds us, makes no demands; it “does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful” (1 Cor. 13.5). Paul is getting at how in fact God’s grace sets us free from the legal restraints of demand-and-punishment; By God’s grace and forgiveness we are free to simply be God’s Beloved. Adam symbolizes the old way of thinking and living; Jesus offers us a new way of being. Death rules over us because of our sin (since we are cut off from God, who is the source of life). But in Christ we are reconnected to God, and so we are given the gift of life. So just as our sin began with Adam, our salvation begins in Christ. The key to Paul’s legal metaphor is the “free gift” of God’s grace. It doesn’t fit a legal framework, but springs us free!

When Paul says “sin came into the world through one man” this is metaphorical language. It doesn’t mean we inherit sin like a genetic disease or a house with a bad foundation. Sin is an aspect of human nature: a consequence of self-consciousness is the illusion of being an independent “self,” rather than part of God. This illusion of separateness is sin. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s just the downside of having an ego. But even as we cut ourselves off from God, God still stays connected. We are kids who run away and end up in jail; God is the parent who comes and rescues us and brings us home. Jesus is the one who shows up at the jail, who leads us out, who walks with us into our freedom, back into our belovedness.

Matthew
Jesus is not being tricked by some sneaky guy in a red suit. He’s facing his own inner temptations. And they’re the basic wants of the human ego: power, security, possessions, belonging, superiority—things we all crave. The temptations are graphic representations of the desires of the human ego—that part of our consciousness (that’s actually mostly subconscious) that keeps track of SELF. “Who am I? What’s me and what’s not-me? Where’s the boundary, and how do I keep it safe? What’s safe? How do I do what I need to do in the world? What power do I have? How do I belong in the world? Where do I fit in?” Each of us in our own way desire power: to affect the world around us, to turn stones into bread, to make things turn out the way we want. We desire security: safety, protection from harm, avoidance of pain, the fantasy of being able to make it through life unhurt, to fall off a cliff and be unharmed. We desire belonging: to fit in, to “own” our place, to be admired, to “possess” everything, to have all the kingdoms of the world.

These desires are not bad or evil. They’re part of the natural functioning of our egoic mind. Jesus experienced these things. Jesus’ triumph is not that he isn’t tempted, but that he knows he can only find security, power and belonging in God. Any effort to secure these for himself lead him away from God and away from authentic life. It’s as if he is back in the Garden and the serpent (within himself) says “You don’t need God,” and Jesus says, “Well, sometimes I sure feel that way, but it’s an illusion. I’m choosing God.” His replies to the devil say nothing about rules or “good and evil,” but about absolute trust and devotion to God. The victory is in choosing to trust God rather than blindly follow our egoic desires.

Note this: Satan presents the very temptations, disguised as promises, that Caesar does: prosperity, security, and domination. These are the same temptations disguised as promises offered by an authoritarian ruler. “All these things I will give you if you fall down and worship me.” Sound familiar? “I will bring prices down. I will keep you secure from all those dangerous foreigners. I will make this nation the greatest. Only I can provide these things.” An Emperor, or a President, who talks like this is “leading us into temptation,” uttering blasphemy, basically taking the place of God. Matthew is not only describing our inner struggle with the misleading threat/promises of our ego; he’s also describing our struggle with Empire and political domination—and making it clear that the most faithful response is to say “No.”

Lent is a season to confront how our desires for power, security, comfort, safety and belonging mislead us. And to continually practice turning again to God— turning now, in this moment, and again, and again, and again….

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Creator God, maker of earth and provider of life,
All: You are our bread, and our strength.
Loving Christ, willing to love at the cost of your life,
you are our courage and our hope.
Holy Spirit, you give us a world to serve for you.
You are our love, our belonging, and our calling. We worship you.

2.
Leader: God of life, we do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from your mouth
All: Feed us the Bread of Life, O God.
We do not need to test you; we only need to receive.
Help us God, to trust you deeply.
The things of this world and their splendor,
the pride and belonging promised by its kingdoms, are illusions.
We come to be shaped by your Word,
that we may serve you and you alone, in the name of Christ.
We thank you. We trust you. We worship you.

3.
Leader: Gentle God, we are searching.
All: We come out into the wilderness with Jesus to find you.
Loving Christ, we are tempted.
We come out into the wilderness with you to find our way.
Holy Spirit, we are yearning for life.
You lead us out into the wilderness to find life.
We come to worship, to be filled with your Spirit, and to be changed.
Grant us your blessing. Grant us your mercy. Grant us your grace. Amen.

4.
Leader: Eternal God, Fountain of Life, River of Blessing, we worship you.
All: We go with Jesus into the desert, and learn to thirst for you.
Humble Christ, Bread of Life, you journey toward the cross, steadfast in love and self-giving.
We walk with you in the shadows, and seek your hunger for justice.
Holy Spirit, Breath of Life, you sustain us in the wilderness as we journey toward freedom.
We walk in your strength, and draw our courage from you.
God of grace, receive us as we worship. Loving Christ, accompany us.
Holy Spirit, burn in us, and transform us by your grace. Amen.

5.
Leader: God is merciful and gracious,
        slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
All: God does not deal with us according tour sins,
        but forgives us and receives us as God’s beloved.
Come, let us walk in the light of God,
        that God may teach us God’s ways,
        and lead us in God’s paths.
Create a new heart in us, O God,
        and put within us a new and right spirit.
Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of mercy, as Jesus was led out into the desert in solitude for self-examination, lead us into a place of clarity and simplicity, that in this Lenten season we might see ourselves as you see us and open ourselves to your loving transformation. Speak to us, that we may hear, repent, and be changed. Amen.

2.
God of love, we are tempted by many things, many urges and voices and powers. Help us listen to you, trust you and serve you. As we hear your Word we return to you. Help us always to return to you, in the Spirit and the company of Christ. Amen.

3.
Loving God, Jesus went out into the wilderness to face his temptations. Help us go with him, to see ourselves clearly, to know your love for us, and to let ourselves be changed by your Spirit at work in us. We enter the desert silence to hear your grace. Jesus, help us listen. Amen.

4.
O God, our deliverer, you led Jesus in the wilderness, where he fasted and faced his temptations. Lead us now through the wild places in our own souls. Help us to know and to claim our deepest hunger for you. In the desert of silence, in the wilderness of our solitude, speak to us, God, for we are hungry for your Word and thirsty for your Spirit. Amen.

5.
God of Love, in the wilderness Jesus faced the temptations of Empire: prosperity, power, and security. They tempt us as well. We confess that the sin within us gives rise to the evils around us. So we draw near to Jesus, to confront the evils we have participated in, and to repent of our part in it. In this troubled world, God, we come to you, to heal those parts of us that have created this. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Into the dry places,
to the empty places,
to the fearful places
we come.
By your grace
we face where we are faint,
where we are broken,
and find there—there
in the wilderness
your grace,
our absolute belovedness.
Amen.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, we open ourselves in honesty to God.
God of love, help us to see ourselves with the eyes of love,
to see what is in us that is loving,
and what is not loving.
God, we recall when we have been in harmony with you, or with life, and we give thanks. [silent prayer…]
We recall when we have been out of harmony, and we seek your grace. [silent prayer…]
God of mercy, in Christ you have shown us your grace.
Forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.
…(Silent prayer … The word of grace)

2.
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
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.
We have failed to love, in what we have done and what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with all our heart, mind, soul and strength,
nor have we loved our neighbors as ourselves.
By the grace you show us in Christ,
gather us in your loving arms and have mercy on us;
heal us, forgive us, and perfect your love in us.
…(Silent prayer … The word of grace)

3.
Gracious God,
you love us so much more than we know,
more than our sin, which itself is more than we know.
Trusting in your grace,
we open our heart to you,
that we may see our self-centeredness,
and know your forgiveness.
Hold us in your gentle embrace,
that we may die and be reborn
in your perfect love.
Set us free by your grace
for we are broken, and we are beloved.

4.
…Gracious God, we confess our sin,
for our fears have overcome us,
and our desires have misled us,
and we have tried to live without you.
But you, and you alone, are our life.
Forgive our sin,
heal the desperation in our hearts,
and feed us with your Bread of Life,
that we may walk in your ways forever. Amen.

5.
God, we confess our hunger for power,
our fear of suffering and desire for security,
our desire to belong comfortably to the kingdoms of this world.
We confess that from these temptations
grow all the evil and injustice of the world.
Forgive our sin,
and replace our hunger and our fear and our selfishness
with trust in you.
Transform us, that we may not support, but resist
injustice and oppression, in the name and the spirit of Christ. Amen.

Readings

Psalm 32 — A Paraphrase
How blessed we are, that you forgive us so completely!
           When we’re honest, we know our sin,
           yet you treat us as if we have none.
When I tried to deny my brokenness
           the wound ate me up from within.
Then I got honest with myself.
           stopped trying to hide.
I confessed my waywardness to you,
           and you forgave me— you forgave me!
Therefore we have come to trust you deeply,
           and we offer prayer to you.
Even in this anxious flood
           the seething waters won’t reach us.
You are our hiding place, our safe place.
           You surround us with songs of deliverance.
Be glad in the Holy One and rejoice!
           Oh, sing for joy, you whose hearts have been saved!

Poetry

Temptations

What are your temptations?
Not sex and chocolate, OK?
Not beauty, not pleasure.

I mean the things that ruin you,
things that get in your way,
that lead you away from deep life.

What gets in the way of your perfect love?
What distorts your wisdom and vision?
What inhibits your kindness and courage?

Now. Remember when you fell in love?
You didn’t work at it, did you? It was a gift.
You bring the gift with you to the desert.

You’ll never vanquish your temptations.
You just have to remember the gift:
you already love God more than those things.

Eucharistic Prayer

1.
[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 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.

God, we give you thanks, for we live not by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from your mouth.
You create us in your image, claim us as your children,
and covenant with us to be our God.
In our hunger for life we stray, and seek blessing in fruitless places,
but you set us free from our inner demons and lead us back to life.
In our greed for power and yearning to belong we use other people,
but you judge the forces of injustice
and set all your children free from all that oppresses.
In hunger for your grace we turn to you, dependent,
and trusting in your grace we come, 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 name,and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
With courage he looked within; with clarity he saw himself;
with compassion he saw others, and loved them.
He fed and taught them; he gathered a community of grace and kinship;
and he established an empire of justice and mercy.
For resisting injustice he was crucified; but 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,
made clean by your Word, filled with your grace,
and set free to love, in the name of Christ.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.
______________

2.
[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 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.

Creator God, you provide abundantly for us:
earth and all living things, food and beauty,
love and forgiveness and life without cost.
You judge the forces of injustice,
set us free from all that oppresses,
and walk with us toward your new world.
Yet we are tempted to go away from you.
Jesus was tempted: “If you are the Son of God,
command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
But he relied on you alone, and proclaimed,
“One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
And so with all Creation we thank you for the Bread of Life.

            [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.
He loved and taught, healed the broken and fed the hungry.
For such love he was opposed, and was tempted to seek security:
“Throw yourself down and angels will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”
But he relied on you alone, and proclaimed,
“Do not put God to the test.”
And so he was crucified for the sake of love;
but on the third day 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:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us,
that we may be the Body of Christ, dead and raised
for service to you and to the world.
We are tempted to serve ourselves, as Jesus was tempted:
“The kingdoms of the world and their splendor I will give you.”
But he relied on you alone and proclaimed,
“Worship Yahweh your God, and serve only God.”
May this meal strengthen us to resist all temptation,
to repent and return to you, to rely on you alone,
and to proclaim your good news.
Bless us in this meal that we may serve you,
and serve the world for your sake.
All glory and honor is yours, loving and mighty God,
now and forever.

     [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 live not by bread alone but by your grace. Send us into the world, fed by your presence, to love all in the name and the 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.) May we trust in your abundant grace, and turn aside from every temptation, to serve you and serve the world in the name and Spirit of Christ.

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.) You have fed our deepest hunger; you have saved us and brought us to new life. Send us into the world now, to share the Bread of Life with all who are hungry, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

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.

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.