William H. Willimon - "Who Is This?" (March 31, 1996)
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Transcript
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Pastor | Dear friends, for five weeks of Lent, | 0:00 |
we have been preparing by works of charity | 0:03 | |
and self sacrifice, for the celebration | 0:07 | |
of our Lord's Paschal mystery. | 0:10 | |
Today we come together to begin this solemn celebration | 0:12 | |
in union with the whole Church throughout the world. | 0:16 | |
Christ entered in triumph into his own city, | 0:20 | |
to complete his work as our Messiah. | 0:23 | |
To suffer, to die, and arise again. | 0:26 | |
Let us remember with devotion this entry | 0:32 | |
which began his saving work, | 0:35 | |
and follow him with a lively faith, | 0:38 | |
united with him in his suffering on the cross. | 0:41 | |
May we share his resurrection and new life. | 0:44 | |
Minister | Let us pray. | 0:54 |
Almighty God, we pray you bless these branches | 0:58 | |
and make them holy. | 1:04 | |
Today we joyfully claim Jesus our Messiah and king. | 1:06 | |
May we reach, one day, the happiness | 1:11 | |
of the new and everlasting Jerusalem | 1:13 | |
by faithfully following him, who lives and reigns | 1:16 | |
forever and ever, Amen. | 1:20 | |
Preacher | Let us pray. | 1:27 |
Lord, increase the faith of your people, | 1:30 | |
and listen to our prayers. | 1:33 | |
Today we honor Christ, our triumphant king, | 1:35 | |
by carrying these branches. | 1:39 | |
May we honor you every day by living always in him, | 1:41 | |
for he is Lord, forever and ever, Amen. | 1:45 | |
Lector | A reading from chapter 11 of Mark's gospel. | 2:04 |
"When they were approaching Jerusalem, | 2:08 | |
at Bethphage in Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, | 2:11 | |
he sent two of his disciples, and said to them, | 2:15 | |
"Go into the village ahead of you, | 2:18 | |
"and immediately as you enter it, | 2:20 | |
"you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. | 2:23 | |
"Untie it, and bring it. | 2:28 | |
"If anyone says to you why are you doing this? | 2:31 | |
"Just say, the Lord needs it, | 2:35 | |
"and will send it back here immediately." | 2:37 | |
They went away and found a colt tied near a door, | 2:41 | |
outside in the street. | 2:45 | |
As they were untying it, | 2:47 | |
some of the bystanders said to them, | 2:49 | |
"What are you doing, untying the colt?" | 2:52 | |
They told them what Jesus had said, | 2:55 | |
and they allowed them to take it. | 2:58 | |
Then they brought the colt to Jesus | 3:01 | |
and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. | 3:03 | |
Many people spread their cloaks on the road, | 3:07 | |
and others spread leafy branches | 3:10 | |
that they had cut in the fields. | 3:13 | |
Then those who went ahead and those who followed | 3:16 | |
were shouting Hosannah, blessed is the one who comes | 3:19 | |
in the name of the Lord. | 3:23 | |
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor, David. | 3:25 | |
Hosannah, in the highest heaven. | 3:29 | |
Then Jesus entered Jerusalem, and went into the temple. | 3:33 | |
And when he had looked around at everything, | 3:38 | |
as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the 12. | 3:41 | |
The word of the Lord. | 3:48 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 3:50 |
Pastor | Let us go forth in peace, | 3:58 |
praising Jesus our Messiah, as did the crowds | 4:00 | |
who welcomed him to Jerusalem. | 4:04 | |
(organ music) | 4:09 | |
(congregation sings) | 4:51 | |
- | Let us pray the prayer for illumination. | 12:36 |
All | Open our hearts an minds oh God, | 12:39 |
by the power of your Holy Spirit. | 12:42 | |
So that as Jesus led his disciples into Jerusalem, | 12:45 | |
we might follow him where he would lead us, Amen. | 12:50 | |
- | The Gospel reading is from Matthew chapter 21, | 12:58 |
verses one through 15. | 13:01 | |
When they had come near Jerusalem | 13:07 | |
and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, | 13:08 | |
Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, | 13:12 | |
"Go into the village ahead of you and immediately | 13:15 | |
"you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. | 13:18 | |
"Untie them and bring them to me. | 13:23 | |
"If anyone says anything to you, just say this. | 13:26 | |
"The Lord needs them, and he will send them immediately." | 13:30 | |
This took place to fulfill what had been spoken | 13:35 | |
through the prophet, saying, | 13:38 | |
"Tell the daughter of Zion, look your king is coming to you, | 13:40 | |
"humble and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, | 13:45 | |
"the foal of a donkey." | 13:48 | |
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. | 13:51 | |
They brought the donkey and the colt, | 13:55 | |
and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. | 13:58 | |
A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road | 14:02 | |
and others cut branches from the trees | 14:06 | |
and spread them on the road. | 14:09 | |
The crowd that went ahead of them, and that followed, | 14:11 | |
were shouting, Hosannah to the son of David, | 14:15 | |
blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. | 14:18 | |
Hosannah in the highest heaven. | 14:22 | |
When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, | 14:26 | |
asking, "Who is this?" | 14:29 | |
The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus | 14:32 | |
"from Nazareth in Galilee." | 14:36 | |
Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out | 14:40 | |
all who were selling and buying in the temple. | 14:42 | |
And he overturned the tables of the money changers, | 14:46 | |
and the seats of those who sold doves. | 14:49 | |
He said to them, "It is written, my house shall be called | 14:52 | |
"a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers." | 14:56 | |
The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, | 15:02 | |
and he cured them. | 15:05 | |
But when the chief priests and the scribes | 15:07 | |
saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children | 15:10 | |
crying out in the temple, Hosannah to the son of David, | 15:14 | |
they became angry. | 15:18 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 15:22 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 15:24 |
(organ music) | 15:55 | |
(choir sings) | 16:08 | |
- | The whole city was in turmoil. | 20:40 |
Everyone was asking "Who is this?" | 20:43 | |
One of the reasons why occasionally we go downtown | 20:50 | |
and we stand on the sidewalk with others for hours, | 20:53 | |
waiting for the parade to begin, is we want to get a glimpse | 20:59 | |
of someone famous. | 21:05 | |
At last the parade begins, and there are | 21:08 | |
the black limousines bearing dignitaries, and the bands, | 21:13 | |
and then, at last we get a glimpse of the President, | 21:17 | |
or Madonna, or whoever it is we've come down to see. | 21:23 | |
We've seen these people on TV, | 21:28 | |
we've seen them in the papers, | 21:31 | |
but we want to see them for ourselves, | 21:32 | |
we want to get a glimpse for ourselves. | 21:36 | |
I yet remember my glimpse of President Eisenhower, | 21:42 | |
zipping by in a black limousine, | 21:47 | |
waving disinterestedly to the crowd. | 21:49 | |
When he got through, I remember my mother asked, | 21:53 | |
"Well, what did you think?" | 21:56 | |
and I said, "He looks like our grocer." | 21:57 | |
He didn't look like a president. | 22:02 | |
Well everyone had turned out that day in Jerusalem, | 22:08 | |
Jesus, who had made quite a name for himself | 22:11 | |
in the hinterland, Jesus has at last come | 22:15 | |
to the capital city. | 22:19 | |
He always avoided coming to the big city, | 22:21 | |
but now he is come, and a huge throng has gathered there, | 22:25 | |
waving palms, and Matthew says one question | 22:30 | |
was on everybody's lips that day: | 22:35 | |
"Who is this?" | 22:40 | |
The crowd quickly comes to some conclusions about Jesus. | 22:44 | |
In the very next verse, answer is given | 22:50 | |
to their Palm Sunday parade question. | 22:53 | |
"This is the prophet, | 22:56 | |
Jesus of Nazareth." | 23:01 | |
The prophet, there you have it, Jesus is not primarily | 23:04 | |
a wonder worker of miracles, he is not some Bible quoting | 23:09 | |
rabbi, he is a prophet. | 23:13 | |
He is a speaker of God's truth. | 23:16 | |
That's what prophets do, they speak the truth of God to us. | 23:21 | |
And if they hailed him as prophet, I expect that day, | 23:28 | |
there were at least two predominant reactions | 23:31 | |
to that declaration. | 23:33 | |
If you were one of the little people, most people | 23:37 | |
in the world, you might have been excited, | 23:41 | |
because the prophets of Israel | 23:46 | |
were always on the side of the little people, | 23:48 | |
they always spoke up for those who had no voice. | 23:51 | |
They spoke against the injustices | 23:56 | |
of the rich and the powerful, that was prophets. | 23:58 | |
On the other hand, if you were rich and powerful, | 24:03 | |
like most of us here, | 24:05 | |
you might have viewed the entry of Jesus into town | 24:10 | |
with more than a little consternation. | 24:13 | |
Because the prophets of Israel were notoriously rough | 24:18 | |
on the idle rich and the politicians, and the powerful, | 24:22 | |
and particularly the clergy. | 24:28 | |
And you will note that some of that ambivalence | 24:32 | |
characterizes some of this service, | 24:33 | |
the music of this service, is it joyful, | 24:36 | |
or is it a bit discordant and threatening? | 24:39 | |
Well, if a prophet has come to us, it's hard to know. | 24:44 | |
Prophecy had about died out by the first century, | 24:48 | |
prophecy was rare. | 24:52 | |
And so if it is true that a prophet is at last among us, | 24:55 | |
it is going to be a hot time in this old town. | 24:59 | |
John the Baptist was hailed by his followers as a prophet. | 25:07 | |
He talked like a prophet. | 25:11 | |
When he preached, King Herod listened in | 25:14 | |
on one of his sermons in which he called the rich | 25:17 | |
and the clergy and the authorities, brood of vipers, | 25:20 | |
and King Herod murdered John. | 25:23 | |
'Cause prophets and the powerful never are close. | 25:28 | |
And maybe that's why prophecy is so rare. | 25:33 | |
Speakers of the truth, that's rare, | 25:35 | |
I can tell you as a pastor, it's lot easier to be a pastor | 25:38 | |
than to be a prophet. | 25:41 | |
You quickly learn, it's easier to flatter people in sermons | 25:43 | |
than try to stand up and speak God's truth. | 25:46 | |
Prophecy is rare in any age. | 25:51 | |
Reinhold Niebuhr as a young pastor said that | 25:55 | |
he always thought there were so many boring sermons, | 25:58 | |
and so many tame little preachers, | 26:02 | |
because preachers were afraid, they were afraid | 26:04 | |
to ruffle their congregation for fear they'd get fired. | 26:06 | |
And that's part of it. | 26:11 | |
But Niebuhr said as a young pastor, he quickly learned | 26:14 | |
that's not the whole story, no, when you're a pastor, | 26:17 | |
you learn to love these people, you participate | 26:20 | |
in their struggles, and Niebuhr said, | 26:24 | |
"There's so little prophecy, because it's tough | 26:27 | |
"to say unpleasant things to people you've learned to love." | 26:31 | |
And for whatever reason, | 26:40 | |
there's just not many prophets around, | 26:43 | |
and so they said, "Look, Jesus, a prophet!" | 26:47 | |
and the whole city was excited. | 26:50 | |
Who is this, a prophet, | 26:54 | |
and yet, as rare as prophets are, | 26:59 | |
as rare are sermons that tell the truth | 27:06 | |
and tell it straight, | 27:09 | |
even prophets are not enough. | 27:13 | |
Speaking the truth, that's always in short supply, | 27:20 | |
but even that is not enough. | 27:23 | |
Speaking the truth is tough, but doing the truth, | 27:28 | |
being the truth, that's even more rare. | 27:33 | |
You know this, aren't there Sundays around here | 27:38 | |
when church seems like an exercise in deep frustration? | 27:41 | |
You come here, I preach about what's right, | 27:48 | |
I tell you how to do right, I just fill the air with should, | 27:51 | |
ought, must, | 27:55 | |
but how do you move from talk | 27:59 | |
about what's right, to deeds that are right? | 28:01 | |
I remember a frustrated man greeting me at the door | 28:06 | |
at the end of one of my sermons, at a former church, | 28:09 | |
and he said, "You know, you're always telling us to | 28:12 | |
"go out there and do something, you don't ever tell us | 28:14 | |
"how to go out there and do anything." | 28:16 | |
And he was right, too much so called prophetic preaching, | 28:19 | |
is just a bunch of scolding, moralistic browbeating | 28:24 | |
burdensome shrewish rebuke, | 28:28 | |
about all the things that you do not do, but how to do? | 28:33 | |
Jesus complained about religious leaders of his day | 28:40 | |
that were always heaping up burdens on people's backs, | 28:43 | |
but they didn't do anything to relieve them of the burdens. | 28:46 | |
In a great moment of honesty in the middle | 28:52 | |
of his letter to the Romans, | 28:54 | |
Saint Paul complained about this gap. | 28:57 | |
This gap between knowing what we ought to do, | 29:02 | |
knowing the truth, and doing the truth, being the truth. | 29:06 | |
When are we preachers gonna ever learn that people | 29:11 | |
don't do good by just being told in sermons | 29:13 | |
that they ought to do good. | 29:18 | |
I'm saying, something more is needed even than prophecy. | 29:22 | |
As a pastor, some of my most frustrating moments | 29:31 | |
are when I realize how little power I have | 29:35 | |
to help somebody bridge that gap | 29:40 | |
between their noble intentions | 29:44 | |
and who they really are. | 29:48 | |
I sit there listening to somebody's struggles, | 29:50 | |
he wants to do better, but he can't. | 29:54 | |
And I as a pastor, I want to help him do better, | 29:56 | |
but I can't. | 30:00 | |
"The good that I would do, I can't," says Paul, | 30:04 | |
"Who will deliver me from this slavery to sin and death?" | 30:08 | |
Something more is needed, even than a prophet. | 30:16 | |
So when those crowds standing on the sidewalk that day | 30:23 | |
watching that Palm Sunday parade into Jerusalem, | 30:26 | |
when they hailed Jesus as a prophet, | 30:28 | |
a great speaker of the truth, | 30:31 | |
that at last a prophet of God was parading into town, | 30:35 | |
they celebrated. | 30:41 | |
But there wasn't much reason for celebration, | 30:44 | |
because something more is needed, even in prophecy. | 30:46 | |
And this is what Matthew says, | 30:52 | |
Jesus not only courageously, prophetically | 30:56 | |
spoke the truth, | 31:00 | |
he is truth. | 31:04 | |
He didn't just talk about God, | 31:09 | |
he is God. | 31:13 | |
In him, in this sometimes confusing, sometimes comforting, | 31:16 | |
often abrasive Jew from Nazareth in Galilee, | 31:20 | |
we claim that we have seen as much of God | 31:24 | |
as we ever hope to see. | 31:28 | |
If you stick around here this week, | 31:34 | |
you're gonna see where our attempts to be good end. | 31:37 | |
In just a few moments, you're gonna hear the whole story. | 31:44 | |
You're gonna find out where our good ends. | 31:50 | |
It's a place called Calvary, when we nail him to the wood. | 31:53 | |
We march up there, motivated | 31:58 | |
by our desire to follow the Bible, | 31:59 | |
to work justice, to do right, to preserve law and order. | 32:03 | |
To have peace in Galilee, | 32:07 | |
and it ends in the murder of Jesus. | 32:09 | |
You will note in our history that we never do more wrong | 32:13 | |
than those times when we set out to do our greatest good. | 32:17 | |
So much for our noble ideals. | 32:22 | |
Something more is needed, something more, | 32:25 | |
if we're gonna get close to God. | 32:29 | |
Matthew says Jesus walks | 32:35 | |
right down the streets of Jerusalem, | 32:36 | |
and where does he go? | 32:38 | |
He comes right down that aisle, | 32:40 | |
he walks right into the temple. | 32:41 | |
He walks right in toward the Holy of Holies. | 32:44 | |
And there he was not just a distinguished visiting prophet. | 32:50 | |
There he became an earthquake | 32:55 | |
that shook the temple to it's very foundations. | 32:57 | |
There, he doesn't just sit on a donkey there, | 33:02 | |
he takes charge, he overturns | 33:05 | |
the tables of the money changers. | 33:08 | |
He tells them that they have made a mockery | 33:10 | |
out of God's house. | 33:13 | |
He reaches out to the poor and the maimed and the lame. | 33:15 | |
Now those maligned money changers in the temple, | 33:21 | |
what were they doing in church? | 33:26 | |
They weren't just selling brochures to tourists | 33:29 | |
like we do here in the chapel. | 33:32 | |
What were they doing there? | 33:36 | |
Why would you wanna change money | 33:39 | |
in the middle of the temple? | 33:40 | |
They were there providing a religious service, | 33:44 | |
the temple is where you came | 33:47 | |
to offer your sacrifices to God, | 33:48 | |
you had to get your money changed, you had to buy | 33:51 | |
the doves that were offered, the lambs that were offered. | 33:53 | |
Somebody had to sell that, prepare it, bring it there, | 33:57 | |
change your money, they were offering a religious service. | 34:01 | |
These money changers were in there helping people | 34:04 | |
get close to God, they were helping them | 34:06 | |
to work out their sin, through sacrifice. | 34:08 | |
But here comes Jesus telling them they're out of business. | 34:15 | |
Kicking over their tables, telling the money changers | 34:19 | |
they're no longer needed. | 34:21 | |
Now there's gonna be another way to get close to God. | 34:24 | |
When Jesus entered on Palm Sunday, the crowds hailed him, | 34:29 | |
listen carefully, not only as prophet, | 34:34 | |
but they quickly moved to saying Hosannah, son of David. | 34:37 | |
Hosannah, they get it, they get that word Hosannah | 34:43 | |
from the Psalms, when the king would come up to the temple | 34:46 | |
to offer sacrifice for the nation every so often. | 34:49 | |
He would be preceded by a choir singing Hosannah, | 34:53 | |
Hosannah, the king is coming in. | 34:56 | |
Prophets often trouble kings. | 35:02 | |
Prophets often were a nuisance to kings, | 35:04 | |
but no prophet was ever king. | 35:07 | |
No wonder the Jerusalem political establishment | 35:11 | |
and king Herod and Pilate | 35:13 | |
and all their court chaplains shook. | 35:16 | |
'Cause it's one thing prophetically to preach to a king. | 35:19 | |
It's another for Jesus to swing in, | 35:25 | |
take charge, and be King. | 35:26 | |
To open up a kingdom to all those maimed and lame and blind, | 35:31 | |
who would be excluded from our kingdoms. | 35:34 | |
You notice that the choir did not sing today, | 35:40 | |
"Oh young and fearless prophet of ancient Galilee." | 35:42 | |
no, today the choir sang "Your banner wave on high, | 35:45 | |
the cross of Christ, your King." | 35:51 | |
And here is something for which to cheer. | 35:57 | |
Jerusalem came to the parade, thinking that they'd come | 36:01 | |
to get a glimpse of a prophet, a great spokesperson for God, | 36:04 | |
but before Palm Sunday ended, people were shouting | 36:09 | |
Hosannah, many saw God. | 36:12 | |
And I think that's why you're here this morning. | 36:17 | |
Even if you didn't know that's why you were here. | 36:20 | |
'Cause you need God. | 36:24 | |
You don't need any more advice. | 36:27 | |
You don't need any more sermonic scolding and berating, | 36:31 | |
and moralizing. You need God. | 36:34 | |
That's what you want to see, that's why you stand | 36:40 | |
on tiptoes, you want to get a glimpse. | 36:44 | |
Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers, | 36:49 | |
because now there was going to be new commerce | 36:51 | |
between us and the throne. | 36:53 | |
No longer do we need to busy ourselves with these | 36:58 | |
petty sacrifices, our puny little offerings | 37:01 | |
and our attempt to get close to God. | 37:04 | |
Because in the one who bounces into town | 37:07 | |
on the back of a donkey, God has gotten close to us. | 37:10 | |
Now he's gonna go to the throne on our behalf. | 37:15 | |
As our priest, our intercessor, | 37:20 | |
no, our Savior. | 37:23 | |
He shall do for us that which we | 37:28 | |
shall never do for ourselves. | 37:30 | |
And when he dies at the end of this week, | 37:35 | |
on the cross, Matthew says the whole world just heaved, | 37:38 | |
because he's about something big, cosmic, a kind of birth. | 37:46 | |
And when he dies at the end of this week, | 37:55 | |
Matthew says the veil in the temple | 37:59 | |
was ripped from top to bottom, | 38:03 | |
the veil separating the Holy of Holies from us, | 38:06 | |
because now there was gonna be no veil between us and God. | 38:12 | |
Now the veil has been torn, because in Jesus now, | 38:17 | |
nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ. | 38:22 | |
And that's why seeing him move in parade toward our city, | 38:29 | |
coming into our corrupted church, coming in, | 38:35 | |
moving toward us, moving towards you and your need. | 38:39 | |
We are moved with the crowd from asking, | 38:44 | |
"who is this, a prophet?" | 38:47 | |
To singing shout, "Hosannah in the highest, | 38:52 | |
blessed is he who comes in the name of God." | 38:57 | |
Minister | The Lord be with you. | 39:16 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 39:18 |
- | Let us pray. | 39:19 |
Oh mighty and ever living God, in your tender love | 39:28 | |
for the human race, you sent your son, our Savior, | 39:32 | |
Jesus Christ, to take upon himself our nature, | 39:37 | |
and to suffer death upon the cross. | 39:43 | |
As we crucified Christ, you crucified the sin, | 39:47 | |
violence, and brokenness of creation. | 39:53 | |
Through Christ the veil between you and us was torn | 39:59 | |
from top to bottom. | 40:03 | |
In him you bridged for all time the chasm | 40:07 | |
that divides us from you. | 40:10 | |
We shout Hosannahs for nothing can separate us | 40:14 | |
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. | 40:18 | |
For this and all your many mercies, | 40:23 | |
we give you thanks and praise, Lord in your mercy. | 40:26 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 40:32 |
- | Especially we thank you for the power of new life, | 40:35 |
not just the desire to be different, | 40:39 | |
but your transformative grace, | 40:42 | |
which has the power to make us different. | 40:44 | |
To recreate us, Lord give us courage to draw near to you, | 40:46 | |
so that we might receive your transformative power | 40:53 | |
of new life, Lord in your mercy. | 40:56 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 41:00 |
- | Almighty God, king of kings, | 41:03 |
remind us that the gift of creation, and re-creation | 41:06 | |
is not for us alone, but for all that you have made. | 41:11 | |
Free us of the tendency to privatize your grace, | 41:16 | |
enlarge our vision to see that you are doing | 41:20 | |
a great cosmic work, that it is your will to transform | 41:22 | |
the whole creation, so that it more closely reveals | 41:27 | |
your beauty and glory. | 41:31 | |
Lift our eyes, give us a glimpse of you, | 41:34 | |
so that we may see not only what is wrong | 41:39 | |
and broken in the world, | 41:41 | |
but what is desirable and possible | 41:44 | |
through your redeeming power. | 41:46 | |
Give us faith to believe that the world might be different | 41:50 | |
even as we might be different, and show us the role | 41:54 | |
that you would have us play, | 41:58 | |
as instruments of your grace. | 42:00 | |
Lord in your mercy. | 42:03 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 42:05 |
- | We pray especially for the nations of the earth | 42:08 |
and peace in the world, in the United States, | 42:10 | |
Israel and the Middle East, China and Taiwan, | 42:16 | |
Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia, | 42:22 | |
Liberia, Somalia and Rwanda. | 42:27 | |
Lead them and us in the ways of peace, Lord in your mercy. | 42:34 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 42:40 |
- | We pray for those who are sick and suffering, | 42:43 |
strengthen them in the work of recovery. | 42:46 | |
Restore to them the assurance of your unfailing mercy | 42:49 | |
in sickness and in health, | 42:52 | |
and renew those who care for them, | 42:55 | |
that they may both give and receive compassion | 42:57 | |
and a love that perseveres. | 43:00 | |
Lord in your mercy. | 43:04 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 43:06 |
- | We pray for our families and friends. | 43:08 |
We are grateful for all they are to us, | 43:11 | |
and the many ways they care for us. | 43:14 | |
We are bound together and our lives are enriched | 43:16 | |
because of it, we lift these up to you, | 43:19 | |
with heartfelt concern for their needs, | 43:22 | |
which we name before you in silence. | 43:24 | |
Lord, in your mercy. | 43:33 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 43:35 |
- | Lord, Christ, we are bold to offer these prayers to you, | 43:38 |
knowing that you are our priest | 43:41 | |
and our intercessor with God. | 43:44 | |
We offer them with confidence, | 43:47 | |
that you work all things for our good. | 43:49 | |
Thanks be to God, Amen. | 43:53 | |
With gladness, let us present the offerings | 43:58 | |
of our life and labor to the Lord. | 44:00 | |
(organ music) | 44:04 | |
(soloist sings) | 44:53 | |
(choir sings) | 45:33 | |
(organ music) | 47:55 | |
- | And he came out and went as was his custom, | 49:38 |
to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him, | 49:42 | |
and when they came to the place, he said to them, | 49:46 | |
pray, that you may not enter into temptation, | 49:50 | |
and he withdrew from them about a stone's throw | 49:54 | |
and knelt down and prayed, Father, if thou art willing, | 49:57 | |
remove this cup from me, nevertheless, not my will, | 50:02 | |
but thine be done, and being in a great agony, | 50:08 | |
he prayed more earnestly, and the sweat became like great | 50:13 | |
drops of blood, falling upon the ground. | 50:19 | |
And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples | 50:24 | |
and found them sleeping, and said to them, why do you sleep? | 50:28 | |
Rise, and pray that you may not enter into temptation. | 50:34 | |
And while he was still speaking, a crowd came. | 50:39 | |
And the man called Judas, one of the 12, was leading them. | 50:42 | |
He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said | 50:47 | |
"Judas, would you betray the son of man with a kiss?" | 50:51 | |
And when those who were about him saw what was to follow, | 50:58 | |
they said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? | 51:01 | |
And one of them stuck the slave of the High Priest | 51:03 | |
and cut off his ear. | 51:05 | |
But Jesus said, no more of this! | 51:07 | |
And he touched his ear, and healed him. | 51:09 | |
And then Jesus said to the chief priest, | 51:15 | |
and the guards of the temple and the elders | 51:17 | |
who had come out against him, have you come out | 51:19 | |
as against a robber, with clubs and swords? | 51:22 | |
Day after day I was with you in the temple | 51:26 | |
and you did not lay hands on me. | 51:28 | |
But this is your hour, and the hour of darkness. | 51:32 | |
Then they seized him, and they led him away | 51:38 | |
into the High Priest's home, | 51:41 | |
and Peter followed at some distance. | 51:44 | |
And when they had kindled a fire together in the courtyard | 51:47 | |
and sat down together, Peter sat among them. | 51:50 | |
And after a while a maid, seeing him in the light, | 51:57 | |
gazed at him and said, "You also were with him". | 52:01 | |
But Peter denied it and said, | 52:06 | |
"Woman, I do not know him", | 52:08 | |
and a little while later, someone else said, | 52:14 | |
"Certainly you are one of them". | 52:16 | |
But Peter said, "Man, I am not". | 52:19 | |
And then after the interval of about an hour, | 52:25 | |
someone else said, certainly this man was with him, | 52:28 | |
for he himself is a Galilean, and Peter said | 52:31 | |
"Man, I know not what you are saying", and immediately | 52:33 | |
while he was speaking, the cock crowed, | 52:36 | |
and the Lord turned and looked at Peter, | 52:41 | |
and Peter remembered the words of the Lord, | 52:45 | |
how he had said to him, | 52:47 | |
"Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times". | 52:50 | |
And Peter went out and wept bitterly. | 52:58 | |
Now the men who were holding Jesus beat him and mocked him, | 53:03 | |
they also blindfolded him and said, | 53:07 | |
"Prophesy, who is is that struck you?" | 53:08 | |
And they spoke all kinds of evil against him, reviling him, | 53:10 | |
and when day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, | 53:15 | |
both the chief priest and the scribes | 53:19 | |
gathered together and led him away to their council, | 53:21 | |
and said, "Tell us, are you the Christ then?" | 53:23 | |
And he said to them, | 53:31 | |
"If I tell you, you will not believe". | 53:33 | |
And if I ask you, you will not answer. | 53:39 | |
But behold, from now on you shall see the Son of man | 53:45 | |
seated at the right hand of the power of God, | 53:49 | |
and they said to him, "Are you the son of God then?" | 53:53 | |
And he answered, you say that I am. | 53:58 | |
And they said, what further testimony do we need? | 54:03 | |
We've heard him with our own lips! | 54:07 | |
And the whole company rose, and led him away to Pilate, | 54:09 | |
accusing him, saying, this man has perverted our nation, | 54:11 | |
forbidding us to pay tribute to Caesar, | 54:14 | |
and declaring himself as Christ, the king! | 54:16 | |
And Pilate said to him, | 54:20 | |
"Are you the King of the Jews?" | 54:24 | |
And Jesus said, you have said so, | 54:28 | |
and Pilate said to the Chief Priest and the multitudes, | 54:35 | |
I find no crime in this man. | 54:39 | |
But they were urgent, shouting, he stirs up the people | 54:42 | |
throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place! | 54:45 | |
And Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean, | 54:50 | |
and learning that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, | 54:54 | |
he sent him to Herod, who himself | 54:56 | |
was in Jerusalem at that time. | 54:58 | |
When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, | 55:01 | |
for he had longed to see Jesus, he had heard of him, | 55:05 | |
and hoped that he would do some sign or miracle. | 55:07 | |
He questioned Jesus at some length, | 55:11 | |
but Jesus made no answer, and the Chief Priest | 55:15 | |
and the scribes stood by, accusing him vehemently. | 55:20 | |
And so Herod and his soldiers mocked him | 55:25 | |
and treated him with contempt. | 55:29 | |
And arraying him in gorgeous apparel, | 55:32 | |
they sent him back to Pilate. | 55:35 | |
And Herod and Pilate became friends that very day. | 55:38 | |
And Pilate called together all the rulers of the people, | 55:42 | |
and the Chief Priest and said, "Behold, | 55:45 | |
"you brought me this man as one perverting your nation, | 55:47 | |
"and after examining him before you, | 55:50 | |
"I find him not guilty of the crimes you accuse him, | 55:52 | |
"and neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. | 55:55 | |
"Therefore I shall have him flogged and release him." | 55:57 | |
But they cried out, away with this man! | 56:04 | |
And release to us Barabbas, and Pilate addressed them again, | 56:06 | |
desiring to release Jesus and said, | 56:10 | |
"Why, what evil has he done?" | 56:12 | |
And they cried out, crucify him, crucify him! | 56:15 | |
The third time, Pilate addressed them, | 56:19 | |
Why, what evil has he done, | 56:21 | |
I find no crime in this man deserving death, | 56:23 | |
I will have him flogged and release him. | 56:25 | |
But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries | 56:28 | |
that he should be crucified! | 56:31 | |
And their voices prevailed, | 56:35 | |
and so Pilate gave sentence, | 56:40 | |
that their wish should be granted, | 56:44 | |
and he released to them the man who was held | 56:47 | |
for insurrection and murder, but the man called Jesus | 56:50 | |
he delivered up to their will, | 56:57 | |
and as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Syrene, | 57:02 | |
who was coming in from the country | 57:07 | |
to carry his cross behind him. | 57:08 | |
And they led out two others with him, | 57:12 | |
criminals, to be put to death. | 57:13 | |
And when they came to the place called The Skull, | 57:18 | |
they crucified him. | 57:22 | |
And the criminals also, one on his right, | 57:25 | |
and one on his left, and Jesus said, | 57:29 | |
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." | 57:35 | |
And they cast lots for his garments, | 57:41 | |
and the people stood by, watching, | 57:45 | |
but the Chief Priests scoffed and said, | 57:51 | |
"He saved others, let him save himself, | 57:53 | |
"if he is the Christ of God, the chosen one." | 57:55 | |
And the soldiers also mocked him, offering him vinegar | 57:59 | |
and saying, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself!" | 58:02 | |
And there was an inscription which read, | 58:07 | |
This is the King of the Jews. | 58:10 | |
And one of the criminals hanging there | 58:13 | |
railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? | 58:15 | |
"Save yourself and us!" | 58:18 | |
But the other rebuked him, saying, have you no fear of God? | 58:19 | |
Since you are under the same condemnation, | 58:24 | |
and we deservedly so, for we are reaping the rewards | 58:26 | |
of our deeds, but this man, this man has done nothing wrong, | 58:31 | |
and he said to him, "Jesus, remember me | 58:38 | |
"when you come into your kingdom." | 58:43 | |
And Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, | 58:47 | |
"today you will be with me in paradise." | 58:52 | |
It was about the sixth hour and darkness | 58:57 | |
covered the entire land, until the ninth hour, | 59:00 | |
when the sun failed, and the curtain of the temple | 59:05 | |
was torn in two. | 59:09 | |
Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice said, | 59:12 | |
"Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit." | 59:16 | |
And having said this, he breathed his last. | 59:22 | |
And the centurion, who had seen all that had taken place | 59:33 | |
when he heard this, he said, | 59:40 | |
"Certainly, this man was innocent." | 59:41 | |
And all the multitude who had come out to see the sight, | 59:48 | |
when they saw what had taken place, they returned home | 59:53 | |
beating their breasts. | 59:59 | |
And all his acquaintances and the women from Galilee | 1:00:02 | |
who had followed him, stood at some distance | 1:00:06 | |
and saw these things." | 1:00:12 | |
(organ music) | 1:00:34 | |
♪ I danced in the morning when the world was begun ♪ | 1:00:42 | |
♪ And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun ♪ | 1:00:47 | |
♪ And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth ♪ | 1:00:52 | |
♪ At Bethlehem I had my birth ♪ | 1:00:57 | |
♪ Dance then wherever you may be ♪ | 1:01:03 | |
♪ I'm the Lord of the dance said He ♪ | 1:01:08 | |
♪ And I'll lead you all wherever you may be ♪ | 1:01:12 | |
♪ And I'll lead you all in the dance said He ♪ | 1:01:17 | |
(organ music) | 1:01:23 | |
♪ I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame ♪ | 1:02:39 | |
♪ The holy people said it was a shame ♪ | 1:02:43 | |
♪ They whipped and they stripped and hang me on high ♪ | 1:02:48 | |
♪ And left me there on the cross to die ♪ | 1:02:53 | |
♪ Dance then wherever you may be ♪ | 1:02:58 | |
♪ I'm the Lord of the dance said He ♪ | 1:03:03 | |
♪ And I'll lead you all wherever you may be ♪ | 1:03:07 | |
♪ And I'll lead you all in the dance said He ♪ | 1:03:11 | |
(organ music) | 1:03:17 | |
♪ I danced for the Scribes and the Pharisees ♪ | 1:03:39 | |
♪ But they would not dance and they wouldn't follow me ♪ | 1:03:42 | |
♪ And I danced for the fishermen for James and John ♪ | 1:03:47 | |
♪ They came with me and the dance went on ♪ | 1:03:52 | |
♪ Dance then wherever you may be ♪ | 1:03:57 | |
♪ I'm the Lord of the dance said He ♪ | 1:04:02 | |
♪ And I'll lead you all wherever you may be ♪ | 1:04:07 | |
♪ And I'll lead you all in the dance said He ♪ | 1:04:12 | |
(organ music) | 1:04:18 | |
- | Please stand. | 1:05:32 |
And now go in peace and the God of peace go with you, Amen. | 1:05:37 | |
(organ music) | 1:05:46 |