The Gathering
Welcome
Hymn O Sacred Head Now Wounded (ELW #351)
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
Heartless scoffers did surround you,
Treating you with shameful scorn
And with piercing thorns they
crowned you.
All disgrace, Lord, you have
borne
That as yours you might now own
me
And with heav’nly glory crown
me.
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
Loving God, we call upon you as we journey to the cross, we ask that you give us strength for the journey, faith to do your work and trust in your saving grace. Help us on our Lenten journey to remain your faithful servants, dedicated to the call you have given us through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
First Lesson Isaiah
52:13-15
See, my servant shall prosper;
he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high.
Just as there were many who were astonished at him
—so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of mortals—
so he shall startle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.
Psalmody from
Psalm 22
Leader: You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of
the Lord, a royal diadem in the hand of your God
All: My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me? I
have cried desperately for help, but still it does not come. During the day I call to you, my God, but you
do not answer; I call at night, but get no rest.
Leader: But you are enthroned as the Holy One, the one
whom Israel praises.
All: Our
ancestors put their trust in you; they trusted you, and you saved them. They called to you and escaped from danger;
they trusted you and were not disappointed.
Leader: You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
Second Lesson 1
Peter 1:3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to 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 believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Theme Hymn Were
You There (ELW #353)
Silent Witness…what testimony would be given if things
could speak?
The
Thorn
**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. I feel a little silly talking to a thorn; yet, if we are to have a complete picture of what happened here, we can’t overlook any sources. I understand that you witnessed some unusual happenings concerning the one called Jesus of Nazareth; is that true? Would you mind telling us your impressions of what took place? Just relax and tell the people what you recall.
Hi! Er, I mean, hello. I’m really not used to this idea of talking, especially in front of people. But since I have been asked to give you some information about myself and how I happened to witness the death of Jesus…
Please try…
Well, it was terrible! I just can’t imagine how humans could treat another human being that way.
Just relate the incidents, please, without editorial comment. Perhaps you could begin by telling us about yourself.
I’m sorry, I’m getting ahead of my story. Well, I am definitely not considered to be popular. In fact, I am often considered to be “a pain”. The only time people seem to want to find me is so that they can cut me down and burn me. The general opinion is that I, and my kind, are worthless and have no real purpose for living.
Come now, we all have some purpose. We weren’t created just to “be.” We were given live for a…well, for a purpose.
I have to confess that according to the standards of others I am not what you’d call “desirable.” There are other plants which have a beauty that I wish I had. They are fragrant and pleasing to the sense. I just kind of stick out like the proverbial “sore thumb.” I’m bare, grow every which way, and look like a haystack in a tornado. To add insult to injury, I’m not useful either.
Useful?
I don’t make the countryside look pretty. I’m not even good food for the animals. In fact, the animals try to avoid me. I often cause them pain and possible infection; what good is that? I am worthless! No one cares about me! People take my name in vain, if they speak of me at all. When someone wants to describe a person as being ugly, they call him “a thorn among the roses.” Or if someone has a nagging problem, they say that they have “a thorn in the flesh.” Now, with that kind of image, how can I be expected to consider myself worth anything at all? Wouldn’t you be depressed too?
My, you really are down, aren’t you? But please, just tell us what happened.
Oh, I’m sorry. Let me start from the beginning….I was just hanging around on the vine, cutting the gentle breeze as it blew by me, when I noticed some soldiers coming across the field toward e. I saw them draw their sword as they got closer. “Oh, no! This is it,” I thought. “Today is the last day of what used to be the rest of my life!” I was right. They hacked and chopped and cut many of the vines down. The branch I was on was one of those cut and carried back to the barracks. I was surprised they hadn’t just set fire to us out in the field; that’s what people usually did. “They have something special in mind,” I thought.
Something special?
The next thing I remember was that someone was taking the branches that held us and was twisting them into a circle. We were being woven and wrapped in and out, and I was getting dizzy. What really struck me as peculiar was that we thorns were actually working together for a change, instead of each one pointing and going its own way. We were still a bit disorganized, but at least we formed a circle.
Was anything said while this was taking place?
As the men were working, I heard one of them say that they were making a crown. I looked around and saw no one making anything that looked like what I understood a fine crown to be, with jewels and gold and a beautiful shape. The closest thing to a crown shape was…wait a minute! You don’t think that they were shaping us into a circle in order to make a crown out of us so-called mean and ugly thorns, do you? Now that’s a sharp one! But that’s exactly what they were doing. I figured they’d been in the hot sun too long, but they were serious. They were shaping us into a crown!
What happened then?
When they finished, the soldiers took their primitive attempt at crown making and carried us into a courtyard. Wow! Can you imagine what it was like to be going through all of this? Here I am – a crude, rough, despised thorn – being made into a crown and taken right into the middle of the most important government building in the city. Now that’s something to make you sit up and take notice!
What did you notice?
I stretched as far as I could to get a good look at what was going on. It was hard for me to see since I h ad ended up on the bottom of the crown, pointing down. That’s always the case: on the bottom and aimed in the wrong direction. That’s the story of my life. Oh well, at least I was part of a crown. (I need to learn to look for the good news instead of always finding the bad news and then feeling sorry for myself, I guess.)
But what did you see when they carried you in?
I was able to see a large crowd gathered in the courtyard. My guess was that some king, or governor, or prince, or somebody really important was going to be crowned with this – I mean with us…now, wait a minute! Don’t you find this a bit unusual?
It’s more than “unusual”; it’s bizarre. But please, go on.
The soldiers carried us into the very centre of the courtyard. All eyes were on us. I couldn’t see anyone who looked like a king or prince. In fact, the only one who even caught my attention was an itinerant preacher who was on trial for blasphemy. I had heard those making the crown say they though he was innocent, but that he didn’t stand a chance of getting a fair trial. They said he needed to be “taken care of” – whatever that meant. Anyway, we were brought over to the “preacher” and as we got closer, I had a strange feeling come over me. I can’t explain it, but I know I felt it. Here I had been cut down, twisted, and bent, and I should be getting weaker and weaker since my roots were back there in the field. But I was feeling stronger and better instead of weaker and worse.
How do explain that?
I haven’t understood any of this so far, so why try now? Two soldiers took us carefully in their hands and held us high for all to see. Some other soldiers put a very fine robe on the accused preacher, and they all laughed and jeered him. Would you believe? Some even spat on him! I mean to tell you, people hate us thorns, but noone ever spat on me! Then the soldiers holding us moved us toward the head of the man on trial. As they began to set us on his head, I couldn’t help but think that they really needed to be careful.
Careful?
After all, if they set us down too hard, they might scratch and hurt him.
Oh.
Now remember, I’m on the bottom of the crown and I could see us getting closer and closer to his scalp. I wished I had some brakes or could slow us down so we wouldn’t hit his head hard and hurt him…I got a glimpse of his eyes as we were being lifted by his face.
His eyes?
They showed a love and caring that me want to care about him and…well, if a thorn could…love him. The least I could do was try not to hurt him. But I had no control over the situation. The men brutally shoved us onto the head of the innocent victim. We thorns were pushed into his scalp with a sense of hatred and ridicule, driving the crown deeper and deeper. How could they do this? How could men be so cruel to another man? I could understand being cruel to a thornbush, or a thorn, but why be so cruel to someone who showed only love in her eyes? In that split instant when I was forced into his forehead, I went through more emotions than any thorn has ever experienced. After the initial horror and disgust I felt towards those who used me in this inhumane way, I went through a change of feelings, a change in character and being.
I’m not really sure I know what you mean.
I told you how horrible it was to realize that I was inflicting pain on that innocent man, and how I had personally hurt him and caused him to bleed?
Yes?
And yet, it’s impossible to describe what else I felt…but let me try. As the crown was being pushed on his head – remember now, I was on the bottom of the crown; I was one of the first thorns to touch his flesh – at that instant there was a feeling that shot through me that is beyond anything I had ever felt before. There was a sense of life and living that surpassed even being attached to my roots in the field. It was a different and new life flowing around me. It caused me to feel warm and soft….Now imagine that! A harsh, rigid thorn feeling warm and soft! It wasn’t my natural me; it was beyond the natural me. It was something that came from him to me. Here I was inflicting pain on him, and he was causing warmth, love, and peace of mind to flow into me at the same time. How illogical!
How bizarre!
How wonderful! He returned love for pain. He gave warmth in a blizzard of hatred. He poured out his blood of suffering in order to warm a worthless thorn like me. What kind of man was this? He was not like the other men, and he caused me to be unlike the other thorns. How blessed I have been to be able to touch the flesh of such a special person! How thankful I am that I was separated from my former roots in order to be used to serve him. How thankful I am that my natural sharpness, stiffness, and worthlessness were transformed into warmth, comfort, softness, and immeasurable value by him. I didn’t deserve any of these gifts.
[pause]
Yes?
Well, that’s what happened. At least that’s the way I witnessed it. But I can’t tell you all of this without making one last comment.
Please! We’re anxious to hear what you have to say.
I envy you humans! Oh, don’t get me wrong; I’m thankful and content with my role…but oh, how blessed you are! I know now that the same blood that spilled onto me has washed all of you and changes all of you who will simply receive your undeserved gift. How blessed are you that you are invited to live with him…forever! Imagine an eternity to experience what I had for just a few moments! You see, he did all of that, and let it all happen, for you! If a thorn could pray, I’d pray that you would discover that and never forget it.
Thank you for your testimony!
Oh, by the way: if you find these changes difficult to believe, let me ask you one question:
Have you ever noticed
that some thorn bushes have roses on them?
Hymn Saviour
when in Dust to You (ELW #601) verse 1, 3, 4
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 have pierced You
All: By
our actions and our attitudes we brought You shame and untold agony
Leader Yet even in our sin, You let your precious
blood be shed, that we might now be washed and clean
All Lord, by that holy washing change us
now, we pray.
Leader Remove from us all that is hard and bitter,
all that would hurt and destroy
All and fill us with the warmth of Your
own love
Leader And let your Holy Spirit so empower and direct us that we may never willingly
bring shame or pain on anyone, or You
All: Help
us to see Your holy purpose in the things that we must suffer and endure, and
give us grace to serve You there in all we are and do
Leader And make us faithful witnesses to this, Your
dying, ever-living love
All: that
all your children everywhere may strive together to proclaim that you alone are
King and live as those in whom you live and rule
Leader All this we pray in Your strong name and as
You, Lord, have taught us to:
Lord’s Prayer
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.
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 – God So Loved
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