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.
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.
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.”
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