The Fifth Sunday Of Lent
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Prelude, Welcome, and Information
Hymn
#6oo Out of the
Depths
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The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you
all.
And also with
you.
Psalm: Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your
ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
If you,
O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
So that
you may be revered.
I wait for
the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than
those who watch for the morning.
O Israel,
hope in the Lord!
For with
the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he
who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
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The Lord be with you. And
also with you.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, your Son came into the
world to free us all from sin and death. Breathe upon us the power of your
Spirit, that we may be raised to new life in Christ and serve you in
righteousness all our days, through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
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Reading:
Ezekiel 37:1-14
A reading from the prophet Ezekiel
The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the
spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was
full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in
the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these
bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me,
“Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of
the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will
cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you,
and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath
in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am
the Lord.” So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied,
suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to
its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon
them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he
said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath:
Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe
upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me,
and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast
multitude. Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of
Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off
completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the
Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your
graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And
you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you
up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you
shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I,
the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord.
The Word of the Lord
Reading:
Romans 8:6-11
A reading from the letter to the Romans
To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit
is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is
hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and
those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the
flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who
does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the
Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised
Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give
life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel
Verse:
I am the resurrection and
the life; whoever believes in me will never die. (John 11:25, 26)
Gospel Reading: John 11:1-45
A reading from the Gospel of John
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and
her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and
wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters
sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus
heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s
glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly,
though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard
that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he
was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea
again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying
to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there
not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble,
because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night
stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told
them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken
him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will
be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they
thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them
plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so
that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the
Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb
four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and
many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their
brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him,
while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been
here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will
give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will
rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the
resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection
and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will
live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you
believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the
Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” When she had said
this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The
Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up
quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but
was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with
her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They
followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep
there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet
and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping,
he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have
you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to
weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them
said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man
from dying?” Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was
a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the
stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there
is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I
not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So
they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank
you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said
this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you
sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus,
come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of
cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and
let him go.”
Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what
Jesus did, believed in him.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise
to you, O Christ.
Sermon
(added at the end of the document)
Hymn
#886 O, for a
Thousand Tongues to Sing
Thanks and Offertory
Prayers of the Church:
Gracious God, we know and trust that you always
heard your Son and that you always hear us when we pray. Hear these prayers
this day for your world, your church, and for your people according to their
needs.
Your Son
was much disturbed at the death of Lazarus. Grant comfort to all who mourn has
he did, we pray... Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Your Son
prayed that you would do what he asked. Help us to trust in the same way, we
pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Your Son
showed your concern for the lives of all people. Let our concern for those suffering
from the fire downtown reflect that same love and mercy, we pray... Lord, in
your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Your Son
shared the suffering of Martha and Mary. Be with all who suffer from the
earthquakes in Turkey, Syria, Peru, and Ecuador as well as all who work for
recovery, we pray... Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Your Son
commanded that Lazarus be released from his bindings. Release and grant peace to
Ukraine, Russia, Iran, and Afghanistan, and to all who suffer the terrors and
dangers of war anywhere, we pray… Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
Your Son
overcame death and disease. Bless with good health all who struggle with the
COVID-19 virus, the seasonal “flu”, and the RSV virus as well as who work for
healing in any way, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
Your Son showed the Good News in his words and deeds. Mindful of that we pray for the church of St. Peter in Zurich and their pastor, Pr. Nadine Schroeder-Kranz, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Your Son
said that you always hear him, so hear our prayers made in his name for those
we care for and for those who have asked for our prayers … * … we pray… Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer. {*Gail Mauer, Deb Kirschner, Rose Gotzmeister,
Rick Cerna, Rose Ungar
Gracious
God, as Lazarus was raised to life, raise us up as well. In your mercy, give us
what is best for us as we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Hymn #323 God Loved the World
The
Lord’s Prayer
Finally let
us pray for all things as our Lord would have us ask:
Our
Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven.
Give
us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against
us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For
thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the
glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Closing prayer
Giver of
life,
your Son has
destroyed the power of death
for all those
who believe in him.
Accept all we
offer you this day
and
strengthen us in faith and hope;
through Jesus Christ, the Lord of all the living.
Benediction & Sending
May the Lord
bless us and keep us.
May the
Lord’s face shine upon us with grace and mercy.
May the Lord
look upon us with favor and X give us peace.
Amen.
Hymn
#339 Christ the
Life of all the Living
Go in peace. Serve
the Lord. Thanks be to God.
W
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Upcoming Services for March,
April, & May:
(All services begin at 11:00am)
April 2 Holy Communion at St. John’s (Palm
Sunday) & Special
Congregational Meeting
April 7 Good Friday at St. John’s
April 9 Holy Communion at St. John’s (Easter
Sunday)
April 16 YouTube (Easter II)
April 23 Holy Communion at St. John’s (Easter
III)
April 30 YouTube (Easter IV)
May 7 Holy Communion at St. John’s (Easter
V)
May 14 YouTube (Easter VI)
May 21 (To be determined) (Easter VII)
May 28 (To be determined) (Pentecost Sunday)
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he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus,
come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of
cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and
let him go.”
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Can you
imagine this? There is so much going on here – both on a spiritual level and on
a basic human level. Jesus said to Martha: “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of
God?” and sure enough, Martha, Mary, the disciples, and everybody
there did see the glory of
God. A man is raised from death and returned to those who loved him. In his
second letter to the Corinthians, Paul says The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Cor. 15:26) Here is Jesus, shoulder deep in the struggle against the final enemy,
and showing his power over death. Can you imagine it?
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If you and I
were there, what would we be seeing and hearing? What would we feel? Here is the human view of the
incident. (Using our imagination to place ourselves in the Bible story is a
specific type of meditation from the spirituality of Ignatius of Loyola and
here it works well.)
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We’d see
Martha and Mary mourning and even taking Jesus to task for not showing up
earlier. Under these circumstances, wouldn’t people actually say that? After
all, Jesus was a close friend of the entire family.
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We’d see
Jesus deeply moved and even moved to tears. (When Jesus saw {Mary} weeping, and the Jews who came with her also
weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. … Jesus began to
weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”) Today, we
might say Jesus was broken hearted; the Scriptures move this sort of feelings
lower, down into the guts of the person. In fact, Jesus is so upset that he
cries without shame or excuse.
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When he calls
Lazarus from the grave, he doesn’t just say a few quiet words. Nor does he use
some “magic formula.” He calls Lazarus from the grave with a loud voice and
simple command, “Lazarus, come
out!” Lazarus comes out, bound hand and foot with his face covered
as the burial customs of the time and place required. Jesus says “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Death has been defeated and nothing binds the man but the bonds of love that
connected him to his sisters and to Jesus. Can you just imagine it?
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This is the
last of what John the Evangelist calls “the signs” in Jesus’ ministry. Signs
point the way for us as disciples and they point to Jesus. The point of power
that comes next is nothing less than the Crucifixion/Resurrection event we
celebrate during Holy Week and Easter. All these sign in John’s Gospel –
including turning water into wine, healing the man born blind, and multiplying
the loaves and fishes – point to what the beginning of John’s Gospel declares -
the Word became flesh and lived
among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only
son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
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It is we who,
through God’s grace, are raised from the dead and unbound. We are freed from
what binds our hands and feet and from what covers our eyes. In a way, we are
Lazarus and it is every one of us that Jesus cries over and calls by name from
death into life.
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Can you
imagine it? Can you believe it? Can you even hear it said “See how he loved
them!” And can you believe that?
…he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus,
come out!”
