5th Week of Lent, Saturday, Apr 4th

Ezekiel 37:21-28 / John 11:45-56 

Jesus does remarkable things: Many people put their trust in him.

There’s a scene in My Fair Lady in which Eliza Doolittle grows weary of Freddy’s daily letters, telling her how much he loves her. In a burst of frustration, she begins to sing the song “Show Me.” In the song she says she’s sick of words. She’s sick of all this talk of stars “burning above.” “If there’s really any love burning in your heart, show me.” (adapted). Jesus had done everything he could do to show the Jews his love for them. Some Jews eventually saw it and “began to believe in him”; many others did not.

COVID Prayer 10 – Pray for Healing

Lord our God, you alone are worthy of honour, glory, and praise. With You, we can overcome every storm—including the global impact COVID-19 is having on our world.

5th Week of Lent, Friday, Apr 3rd

Jeremiah 20:10-13 / John 10:31-42 

The Jews rebuke Jesus: “You, a man, are making yourself God.”

One night the Philadelphia Orchestra, under the baton of Leopold Stokowski, was performing a Beethoven overture. In it, a part for a trumpet is played offstage. When the time came for the offstage trumpet, there was no sound. Stokowski was furious. Again, the time came for the offstage trumpet. Again, there was only silence. After the overture ended, Stokowski stormed off the stage to find the trumpet player. There he was, his arms pinned to his side by a burly security guard who said, “This nut was trying to play his horn while your concert was going on out there.”

5th Week of Lent, Thursday, Apr 2nd

Genesis 17:3-9 / John 8:51-59 

Jesus speaks about himself: “Before Abraham came to be, I AM.”

The unusual verbal formula “I AM” without a predicate is found often in John (e.g., 6:20; 8:24, 28, 58). It is also found in the synoptics (e.g., Mark 14:62, Matthew 14:27). The formula is the same one that Yahweh used to identify himself in a solemn, revelatory way in the Old Testament (e.g., Exodus 3:6,14; 20:2). Use of the formula places Jesus on a par with Yahweh himself.

Palm Sunday A - Liturgical Prayers

I.  BLESSING OF PALMS AND PROCESSION

Introduction by the Celebrant

A. Jerusalem: Place Of Suffering And Of TriumphWe know from the school of life that not every day is a day of joy and bliss: there are also gloomy days of suffering, of disappointments and failure. But today, on Palm Sunday “of the Lord’s Passion,” we are told in no uncertain terms that this was the freely accepted lot of no less than Jesus himself. First, we see him acclaimed in a small triumph, but then we hear how he is led to his death. One week from now, on Easter Sunday, we will hear it clearly and emphatically stated that his death led to the triumph of his own resurrection; we will also hear of the forgiveness and life he brings us. We unite ourselves with Our Lord in his triumph and in his suffering and death and we pray that he will make our life and death as acceptable and meaningful as his.

5th Week of Lent, Wednesday, Apr 1st

Daniel 3:14-20, 24-25, 28 / John 8:31-42 

Jesus talks about his teaching: “Keep my word and you will know the truth.”

It has been said that some truths can be verified as being truthful only by living them out. Jesus has something like this in mind when he says in today’s reading: “If you live according to my teaching ... then you will know the truth.” In other words, the truth of what Jesus says will be discovered in the process of living it out. For example, by forgiving your enemy, you discover this is the right thing to do. By praying for those who wrong you, you discover this is the right thing to do. By not passing judgment on your neighbor, you discover this is the right thing to do.

Palm Sunday 2020

The iron stove glows red with fire,

Restrains the heat that I desire.

When I approach to warm my hands,

Respect is what the fire demands.

Too close, my skin begins to smart.

Too far, the cold creeps round my heart.

COVID Prayer 8: Treacherous Paths of Life

Dear Lord, our God,

You have shown through our life experiences that there was no rain that had not stopped, there was no flood that had not receded, there was no cyclone that had not eased, there was no night that had not brought a dawn, there was no war that had not ended and there was no pain that had not reduced. You’re the Lord of our dark nights, rainy or snowy days and the stony and thorny paths. But you have always led us beyond the pains, stones, thorns and dark nights. You have always held and supported us when our feet stumbled and trembled on the treacherous paths in life. Lead us onward these days with the hope and trust in you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

5th Week of Lent, Tuesday, Mar 31st

Numbers 21:4-9 / John 8:21-30

Jesus warns the Pharisees: “Where I am going, you cannot come.”

When Jesus said, “Where I am going you cannot come,” the Pharisees wondered if he was planning to take his own life. Rabbis held that people who took their life went to the deepest part of the nether world. This shows how terribly the Pharisees had misread Jesus and how far from the truth they were. What Jesus actually meant was that he was returning to his Father in heaven. Spiritual blindness is a terrible sin. It implies a deliberate closing of one’s eyes to the truth. This seems to have been the situation of the Pharisees. This is why Jesus told the Pharisees, “You will die in your sins.”

COVID: Prayer 6 – For Our Leaders

Dear Lord,

We are at a tricky, confused, complicated and yet a risky time of our lives. The leaders of our country and our state need to take accurate, well-informed and judicious decisions for the good of its citizens. Give us, O God, leaders whose hearts are large enough to match the breadth of our own souls and give us hearts broad enough to follow leaders of vision and wisdom.