The Gathering
Opening Hymn - Hallelujah
Leader: In many and various ways God spoke of old to
our fathers by the prophets,
All: but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.
Christ the Life of all the
Living,
Christ,
the death of death our foe,
Christ,
yourself for me once giving
To
the darkest depths of woe:
Through
your suff’ring, death and merit
Life
eternal I inherit.
Thousand,
thousand thanks are due,
Dearest Jesus, unto you.
Leader: No one has
ever seen God
All: The
only Son, who is in the bosom of the father, he has made God known.
Leader: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full
of grace and truth.
All: We
have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the father.
Leader: Therefore we
must pay close attention to what we have heard.
All It
was declared at the first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who
heard him
Leader While God himself also bore witness by signs
and wonders and various miracles
All and
by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his own will
Leader Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great
a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so
closely,
All and let us run with perseverance the
race that is set before us
Leader: Looking
unto Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith
All For
the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and
is seated at the right hand of the throne of God
Lord, you suffered great affliction
And you bore it patiently,
Even death by crucifixion,
Fully to atone for me.
Thus you chose to be tormented
That my doom should be
prevented
Thousand, thousand thanks are
due,
Dearest Jesus, unto you
Leader These are my words which I spoke to you while
I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and
the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled
All: We
are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to
those who obey him
Leader When we cry ``Abba Father,`` it is the Spirit
himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children of God
All and
if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ
Leader This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached
throughout the whole world, as a testimony all nations.
All We
are witnesses to these things and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to
those who obey him
Leader You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses.
All We
are witnesses to all that he did. They
put him to death by hanging him on a tree:
Leader but God raised him up on the third day and
made him manifest,
All not
to all people, but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses.
Christ, the faithful Witness,
sharing
Living words from God above:
Christ, yourself the Word
declaring
All the wonders of God`s love:
Let your Word, rich fruit now
bearing,
Be the seed of my declaring.
Grant, O Lord, that I may too
Faithful witness bear for you
Prayer of the day
Almighty and everlasting God – we find in you the deepest
love that we can imagine. From you comes
the water that wells up to eternal life.
You watch over and protect your people.
As we come before you this day help us to let go of all our fears and
our worries and to take upon ourselves the mind that you want us to have. Grant that our prayer may rise to thee. Lead us God, and by your grace, we shall
follow and praise your name both now and forevermore. Amen.
A reading from the Book of Isaiah 53:4-6
Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Psalmody from
Psalm 22
Leader: God
cancelled the record of our debts by nailing it to the cross.
All: O
Lord, don’t stay away from me! Come
quickly to my rescue! Save me form the
sword; form these dogs. Rescue me from
these lions; I am helpless before these wild bulls.
Leader: God
cancelled the record of our debts by nailing it to the cross.
All: All
my bones can be seen. My enemies look at
me and stare. They gamble for my clothes
and divide them among themselves.
Leader: God
cancelled the record of our debts by nailing it to the cross.
All: A
gang of evil men is around me; like a pack of dogs they close in on me; they
pierced my hands and my feet.
Leader: God
cancelled the record of our debts by nailing it to the cross.
A reading from the First Letter of Peter 4:12-19
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And
“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?”
Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.
Theme Hymn - Were You There (ELW #353)
Silent Witness…what testimony would be given if things could speak?
The Nail
**This sermon is a
dialogue between two persons and is from the “Silent Witness” series.**
Excuse me! I wonder if you could give me just a few minutes of your time. (Here I go again. First I was talking with a thorn, then a robe; now I’m trying to talk to an old nail. But that is the assignment.) Excuse me. I understand that you witnessed some unusual happenings concerning the one they call Jesus of Nazareth; Is that true? Would you mind telling us your impressions of what tool place? Just relax, and tell the people what you recall.
It wasn’t easy, becoming me.
How do you mean?
Oh, to you I’m just a nail. But I started out as a bunch of dust pressed into a rock and held together by a common bond. There was a lot of heat applied until I melted. Then I was poured into a mold – that’s how I got my shape.
That’s a rather exciting background. Its beginning is almost as old as time itself; and then it involves a lot of human ingenuity: mining and smelting and molding and shaping…
After all of that, we nails just get piled up with others of our kind in a box or barrel. Then we wait…and wait and wait…until someone needs us.
Now you’re making it sound kind of boring.
Being a nail can be very boring. All of that waiting until I’m needed. Waiting until someone picks me from all the rest. Even then, when I’m finally used, I’ll just stay where I am for as long as I last, holding two pieces of wood together. Booooooring! But don’t be fooled. Nails dream dreams too, exciting dreams.
Dreams?
I had hoped to be used in some important way. Maybe I’d be in on the construction of a fine building, maybe even a palace or at least a monument of some sort…or more likely a cow stall. Did you realize that nails aren’t well respected?
No, I guess I‘d never thought about it.
Let’s face it, we’re cold and hard, especially hard-headed when we’re doing our job. People bad-mouth us by saying that someone is “as hard as nails.” (I’m not sure if that’s an insult or a compliment, now that I think about it.) They talk about being so angry that they could “spit nails!” (Now that’s just plain disgusting!) I guess I can’t blame them, though. It’s awkward to admit that in order to be useful I have to be hit on the head by a hammer. (I guess some people are like that too; you need to get their attention or motivate them to be what they’re intended to be.) But that’s enough about me. You want to hear about what I witnessed that awesome day…or was it an awful day?
If you don’t mind. We really would like to hear about that unusual day…from your vantage point.
Well, I was just resting on the pile with the other nails when a soldier came over and reached into the box and grabbed three of us. He wasn’t particular which ones of us he grabbed; see, I’m not special – any nail could have done it. But my hopes were high for a few moments. I thought I was going to finally be used in an important way.
Important?
After all, it was a government official who needed me and my two associates.
I see.
My dream was shattered quickly, though. As soon as my head was out of the box, I could see that there was a horrible event taking place. It was what they called a crucifixion, a legal killing of criminals. I guessed that they needed us to hold a cross together.
I imagine you were a bit disappointed.
I was crushed. I was a broken nail; all of my hopes seemed shattered. Being part of a crucifixion wasn’t the worst of it, though.
Oh?
It got even worse than I could have imagined. I found out that I wasn’t going to hold two pieces of wood together to form a cross. No, I was to hold a human being to the cross! That’s how it was done, you see: the criminals were nailed to the cross. I heard the crowd shouting and yelling. “Crucify him,” they yelled. Some cried and screamed, “He’s guilty of no crime! He’s innocent! You can’t kill an innocent man!” That really made me feel uneasy. What if he was innocent? I’d be helping injustice to be done! That thought caused my whole being to feel as though it could crumble into a pile of rust and turn to dust again.
That must have been frightening. Tell us more.
The time came all too soon. I had complained about not being used for years, remember, and now I’m complaining about being used too soon! Anyway, a soldier came and picked me up roughly in his hand. He carried me over to a cross lying on the ground. There was a man lying on the cross, his arms outstretched, his eyes looking up into the sky. He didn’t look like a criminal. “What if he really was innocent?” I thought. Before I could think twice, my point was pushed against the palm of the man’s hand. That was a most peculiar moment.
Can you tell us how you felt right then – I mean, realizing that instead of being pounded into wood, as nails usually are, you were about to be pounded into human flesh?
It’s hard to explain what I felt, and it’s probably even harder to believe.
Please try, anyway.
When my point touched his open hand (I thought that was odd: his hand was wide open, as if it was inviting a nail to hold it to the cross – it wasn’t clenched in ager; it was open and relaxed)…Well, as I started to say, when I touched his hand, some peculiar feelings went through me. For one thing, I felt as though this hand had enough power in it to resist any nail if it wanted to. There seemed to be strength beyond description, strength that could cause me to bend in submission if that’s what he wanted to do. In addition to that strength, there was a softness – not weakness, mind you; I do know the difference – a softness which felt to me as though it must be what human beings call “love.” There was a warmth there, almost as invitation to touch him, and even to be driven through his hand into the rough wood of the cross.
Strength...and softness.
That was odd enough. But there was something else. My eyes aren’t very good, you see (sure, we nails use our heads, but we aren’t known for good eyesight)…Anyway, I didn’t recognize the man lying there, and yet there was something familiar about him.
Familiar?
I couldn’t place it at first. Then, it hit me (no pun intended). This hand felt very much like one I had felt before. You see, years ago I was in the nail box of a carpenter – that’s right, waiting to be used by him. Well, his son, who worked with him and seemed to be learning the trade, reached into the box one day and pulled me out. Just as he was about to strike me with the hammer, someone acme up to him and told him news about a prophet – John Somebody – who was baptizing people nearby. The carpenter’s son put me back in the box and said something very confusing.
Confusing?
He said, “It’s time to be about my Father’s business.” Then he left the shop and headed out toward the wilderness.
And you found that confusing?
Why would he say he was going to be about his father’s business and then leave his father’s shop – his business – and head across country? Oh, how should I know? I’m just a nail with a hard head and no brain.
Can we get back to the story?
Back to that horrible day, poised over that open hand at the cross. To make a long story short…(Actually, the story is short, only about three hours long; but it seemed like years at the time)…
As you started to say…
As I started to say, just then a heavy hammer struck me on the head, and drove me into that warm, open, powerfully soft hand. I broke no bones as I passed through (that seemed unusual too, but hasn’t this whole incident been very unusual?) I held him to the cross through the whole ordeal, until his body was removed. He died quickly, and that was it.
Well, what happened then? I mean, we know what happened to him, but what happened to you? Your story can’t end there.
I was pulled from the cross and from his lifeless hand and tossed aside.
That’s all? That’s it?
The weather and time are taking their toll on me. I don’t mind. I began as dust and I’m returning to dust. That makes me content. The best news is that it isn’t my fault that that loving, innocent man was held to the cross. In fact, it’s your fault! Your sins nailed him there…but it was his love for you that kept him there. And the result is that now he promises that even though you came from dust too, and will return to dust also, you have the promise of eternal life with him in a place where there are no crucifixions, no inhumane acts of hatred and injustice, only the warmth that I felt briefly twice in my life. I knew he was filled with love and power; I felt it. But aren’t you glad he let his love (and me) hold him to the cross?...Well, that’s the way I witness what happened that day. I’ll never forget it. By the way, I hope you won’t need to be hit on the head with a heavy hammer in order to be used by him or motivated to remember this event. After all, it all happened for you. And if you think he did it because he loves you…
Yes?
Well, you’ve hit the nail right on the head!
Thank you. Thank you for telling us what you witnessed at that awesome event. How blessed you were to tough the hand of Jesus!
How blessed you are that he has touched your hearts!
Hymn - Saviour
when in Dust to You (ELW #601)
Apostles’ Creed
Let us confess the
faith of our baptism, as we say the Apostles’ Creed:
I
believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator
of heaven and earth.
I
believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who
was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born
of the virgin Mary,
suffered
under Pontius Pilate,
was
crucified, died, and was buried;
he
descended to the dead.*
On
the third day he rose again;
he
ascended into heaven,
he
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and
he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I
believe in the Holy Spirit,
the
holy catholic church,
the
communion of saints,
the
forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayer
Leader: Lord Jesus, we are hard headed creatures, eager
for recognition and determined to have our own way.
All: We
confess that by our won hard headedness we are at fault. We well deserve the hammer blows of
everlasting wrath, for it is we who nailed you to the cross.
Leader: But it was your strong love for us that held
you there. By that strong love forgive
our sins, we pray
All: Remove
from us all that is hard and bitter, all that would hurt and pierce and injure.
Leader: By the power of your Holy Spirit mold us anew into
your own image
All: Fill
us with your own love.
Leader And send us then to be about our Father’s
business, content with the tasks You have set before us, however commonplace
they seem,
All: but
striving always, even so, to be devoted instruments by which you bind together
all that has been torn apart.
Leader: So make us faithful witnesses
All: that
we and all your children everywhere may be united in proclaiming your abiding, soul-reviving, never ending
love.
Leader: All this we pray in your dear name, and as you,
O Lord, have taught us to
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our
daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time
of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the
power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
Offering Hymn - Lenten Lands by Steve Bell
The Great Thanksgiving
The Invitation
He was always the guest.
In the homes of Peter and Jarius, Martha and Mary, Joanna and Susanna,
he was always the guest.
At the meal tables of the wealthy where he pled the case of the poor, he was always the guest.
Upsetting polite company, befriending isolated people, welcoming the stranger, he was always the guest.
But here, at this table, he is the host.
Those who wish to serve him must first be served by him, those who want to follow him must first be fed by him, those who would wash his feet must first let him make them clean.
For this is the table where God intends us to be
nourished; this is the time when Christ can make us new.
So come, you who
hunger and thirst for a deeper faith, for a better life, for a fairer world.
Jesus Christ who has sat at our tables, now invites us to be guests at his table.
Hymn – Eat This Bread (ELW #472)
The Story
What we do here, we do in imitation of what Christ
did. To his followers in every age Jesus
gave us an example and command rooted in the experience he shared with his
disciples in an upstairs room in Jerusalem.
Reader:
On the night on which we he was betrayed, and as they
were sitting at a meal, Jesus took a piece of bread and broke it. He gave it to his disciples saying, “This is
my body. It is broken for you. Do this to remember me.” Later, after they had eaten, he took a cup of
wine and said, “This cup is the new relationship with God made possible because
of my death. Drink this all of you, to
remember me.”
Presider:
So, now we do as Jesus did. We take this bread and this wine, the produce
of the earth and fruit of human labour.
In these, Jesus has promised to be present; through these, Christ can make us whole.
Eucharistic Prayer
Presider Let
us Pray
The
Lord be with you
All And also with you
Presider Lift up your hearts.
All We lift them to the
Lord
Presider Let
us give thanks to the Lord our God
All It is right to give
our thanks and praise
Presider It is indeed right, for you made us, and before us, you made the world we inhabit, and before the world, you made the eternal home in which, through Christ, we have a place.
All that is spectacular,
all that is plain have their origin in you; all that is lovely, all who are
loving point to you as their fulfillment.
And grateful as
we are for the world we know and the universe beyond our knowing, we particularly
praise you, whom eternity cannot contain, for coming to earth and entering time
in Jesus.
For his life
which informs our living, for his compassion which changes our hearts, for his
clear speaking which contradicts our harmless generalities, for his disturbing
presence, his innocent suffering, his fearless dying, his rising to life
breathing forgiveness. We praise you and we worship him.
Here too our
gratitude rises for the promise of the Holy Spirit, who even yet, even now,
confronts us with your claims and attracts us to your goodness.
Therefore we
gladly join our voices to the son of the church on earth and in heaven:
Sanctus Holy,
Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your
glory. Hosanna in the highest
Benedictus Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest
Presider And now, lest we believe that our
praise alone fulfils your purpose we fall silent and remember him who came
because words weren’t enough.
Setting our
wisdom, our will, our words aside, emptying our hearts, and bringing nothing in
our hands, we yearn for the healing, the holding, the accepting, the forgiving
which Christ alone can offer
Silence
Merciful God, send now, in
kindness, your Holy Spirit to settle on this bread and wine and fill them with
the fullness of Jesus.
And let that same Spirit rest
on us, converting us from the patterns of this passing world, until we conform
to the shape of him whose food we now share.
Amen
Fraction (Taking and breaking bread)
Among friends gathered around
a table, Jesus took bread, and broke it, and said, “This is my body – broken
for you.”
(Holding up a cup of wine)
Later he took a cup of wine
and said “This is the new relationship with God made possible because of my
death. Take it, all of you, to remember
me.”
Jesus , firstborn of Mary
All Have mercy on us
Jesus
Saviour of the world
All Have mercy on us
Jesus,
monarch of heaven
All Have mercy on us
He who has suffered for our
injustices is now present in this bread. He whose body was hung on a cross is now
offered to us in this cup.
So take this bread and this
wine. In them God comes to us so that we
may come to God.
The sharing of the bread and the wine
The Peace
Leader: Please Stand
Christ
who has nourished us, is our peace.
Strangers and friends, male
and female, old and young, he has broken down the barriers to bind us to him
and to each other. Having tasted his
goodness, let us share his peace.
The peace of the Lord be
always with you.
All And Also with you
Concluding Prayer
Leader Let
us pray
In gratitude, in deep
gratitude for this moment, this meal, these people, we give ourselves to you.
Take us out to live as changed people because we have shared the Living Bread
and cannot remain the same.
Ask much of us, expect much
from us, enable much by us, encourage many through us.
So, Lord, may we live to your glory, both as inhabitants of earth and citizens of the commonwealth of heaven. Amen
Closing Blessing
As we go now
from this moment,
as we leave
behind our time together.
May we walk
with one another,
may we help
each other on the way.
As we go now
from this moment,
as we go into
the future together.
May we
treasure one another,
may we realize
how precious we are.
May we realize
how precious we are.
May we realize
how precious we are.
Sending Hymn - Jesus Keep Me
Near the Cross (ELW #335)
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