The Fifth Sunday in Lent
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Prelude, Welcome, and Information Hymn #597 My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less |
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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 126 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb. May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy. Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves. |
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The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray. Eternal God, your kingdom has broken into our troubled world through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son. Help us to hear your word and obey it, and bring your saving love to fruition in our lives, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. |
Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah
Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.
The Word of the Lord
Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14
A reading from the Philippians
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Verse:
Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3: 13-14)
Gospel Reading: John 12:1-8
A reading from the Gospel of John
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon (added at the end of the document)
Hymn #338 Beneath the Cross of Jesus
Thanks and Offertory
Prayers of the Church:
St. Paul tells us that God is lord of both the living and the dead and God’s mercy is never ending. With that in mind, we offer our prayers for the world, the church, and for all people according to their needs.
[Short pause]
God of life, help us to see you as the giver of life here and now and in our future with you. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God of life, be with us as we press on to the gift of the fullness of grace. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God of life, may we in your grace both worship you and care for your people all around us. Help us all to follow your will and way. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God of life, grant peace to our homes and our town. Help us to be instruments of your mercy and remember those in need around us. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God of life, grant peace to the people of Ukraine and Russia and to the people of Iraq. Grant wisdom and a true concern for justice and peace to the leaders and negotiators. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God of life, continue to watch over your people’s health. Bless doctors, nurses, medical technicians, first responders, and all who work for the good of the community. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God of life, look with favor on all who minister in the name of your Son. Bless the congregation of Trinity, London, and their pastoral team, Pastor Steve Johnston and Sister Jean Widmeyer. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
God of life, all life, health, and blessing comes from you. Hear the prayers we keep in our hearts… * … Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
{*Rose Gotzmeister, Gail Mauer, Bill Ungar, Deb Kirschner, Pr. Bob Zimmerman}
May our prayers rise to you like the perfume with which Mary anointed Jesus’ feet. In that, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your love and grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn #685 Take My Life, That I May Be
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 & Benediction
O God, for our redemption you gave your only Son to suffer death on the cross, and by his glorious resurrection you delivered us from the power of death. Make us die every day to sin so that we may rise to live with Christ forever; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Hymn #618 Guide Me Ever, Great Redeemer
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.
Go in peace. Walk humbly with God. Thanks be to God.
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Services for the next few months will be on YouTube and accessible from an email link or our church Facebook page, except for the following:
April 10 Saxonia Hall (Palm Sunday), 11:00am
April 15 Church (Good Friday), 11:00am
April 17 Church (Easter Sunday), 11:00am
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Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair.
· We might see the action of Mary, Lazarus and Martha’s sister, as a very strange one. First of all, we don’t do much anointing today. That whole thing might be odd. Second, the use of so much perfume is out of the ordinary, both for action and for the expense. Thirdly, in Jesus’ time, kings were anointed and anointed on the head. Only the dead were anointed on the feet, which is why Jesus said She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. And surely no one would wipe up the oil with their hair.
· Preparing for death in this way would be both unusual and shocking. Since we are on the other side of this event in time and since we know the end of the story as well, we might pass over the actions of Mary at this dinner as just some odd behavior. Seeing it as a preparation for the death of Jesus that was to come very shortly puts it into a different light.
· Look at the roles of each member of Lazarus’ household in this. Lazarus, the one whom Jesus raised is at table with him. Martha is serving the meal; she’s the one Jesus said was “worried and distracted about many things.” (Luke 10:41) Mary, who is said to have chosen the “better part” anoints Jesus and does so in a very intimate and shocking way. Her act is extravagant to the point where it is noticed by the apostles. Judas remarks that the money could be better used to take care of the poor, although the Gospel writer chalks that remark up to Judas wanting to line his own pockets. It could be said that those unable to see this as it is are those whose hearts are bent on evil.
· Without denying the truth of the use of the value of the perfume, the Gospel story has another use for the incident. It is an act of worship with a precious substance used by a truly grateful disciple. After all her brother was raised from the dead; how do you say “thank you” for something like that? Yes, the action is extravagant and how it is done is shocking. After all a woman touched Jesus and even used her hair to dry his feet. Society at the time forbad this. The humility shown in this act is beyond extravagant and even shocking, but this is not the first time such an extraordinary thing was done to worship God. Abraham intended to sacrifice his son and David danced shamelessly before the Arc of the Covenant as it entered Jerusalem. Mary forgot herself and did what she did out of love for Jesus, the one who raised her brother from death. Jesus accepted it because he knew his actions and words could lead to his death. (In John’s Gospel, he knows what is coming and is “processing” to what is to come in Jerusalem.) He is also opening his disciples' eyes to the idea that generosity can take different shapes.
· In a very real way, this anointing prepared Jesus for his death. It took place Six days before the Passover when Jesus was to give his life. This surrender of his life goes far beyond the cost of telling the truth to power. By submitting to death, Jesus destroyed the power of death. That is what our observance of Holy Week, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday are about. The anointing was a wild thing to do and it was the right thing to do, although it could only be seen that way by looking back.
· When we gather for worship, even if we gather like this – around a computer screen – we are doing a strange and extravagant thing. Good Friday and Easter take us even further into the mystery of what we are doing and into the mystery of what God has done for us. Let’s listen carefully and allow it to enter our hearts and define our actions. Then our lives will be a powerful perfume before our God. Then we might really pray the words of today’s Psalm: The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair.
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