FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT
During the six Sundays of LENT we prepare to welcome Jesus
into our lives and into our world on the day of His Resurrection, which
is, of course, Easter Sunday.
Historically, Christians have focused on three ways to “make
use” of this Lenten time of preparation: Fasting, Almsgiving,
Recognizing our sins and asking for forgiveness. To have, what is
sometimes called “A Holy Lent,” all three of these opportunities for
growth need to be part of our lives during these six weeks.
So, a word about fasting and almsgiving. Traditionally, “fasting”
meant to give up something – often food. That’s why Catholics, for
example, didn’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent; more recently,
“fasting” has sometimes been a euphemism for “going on a diet” –
Lent is as good a time as any to try to lose a few pounds! Other ways
of “fasting” during Lent could mean giving up Facebook or Instagram
or limiting our time online. But “fasting” might also look like giving
up some of our time to visit an elderly neighbour or family member.
Whatever way we might be attracted to fasting, if we do it with our
minds and hearts open to Jesus, we will receive rich blessings which
we make us better prepared to receive Him at Easter.
Almsgiving is not really about giving money to a church –
though that can be a good way to give some of our resources to
others. Traditionally, almsgiving has been more about using our
resources to make the lives of other people less difficult. Almsgiving
might include giving a donation of money to the Union Gospel
Mission here in Vancouver. But it could just as easily be us getting up
early to help cook breakfast at a soup kitchen in our community.
Almsgiving is about giving something that is important to us – money,
time, or other tangible things – to other people to help make their
lives fuller. And ideally, almsgiving means that the people who
receive our “alms” don’t even know that we’ve been the givers.
Almsgiving is not about “me” getting credit – it’s about others being
recognized as God’s beautiful children.
Having thought for a bit about fasting and almsgiving, now I’d
like to invite you so to focus with me on recognizing our sins. This is
a bit scary because most of the time I want to pretend that I’m a much
better person than I actually am. I will spend a lot of my energy
working pretty hard to ignore and or hide my sins. But Lent gives me
a time when I can open myself to the love, compassion, and
forgiveness of God. Join me, in these next few weeks, so that we can,
together, experience more completely the joy of God’s love as we
acknowledge our sins.
In tonight’s first reading from Deuteronomy we heard that God
hears the cries of people who are treated harshly and are afflicted by
hard labour. When people are oppressed (26:7), God listens and then
God brings them out of their oppression (26:8).
And in Psalm 91 we heard about God’s deliverance and
protection for people who are in trouble. In this Psalm God goes so
far as to say that God will rescue and honour those who are in
trouble, and that in the end God will satisfy those folks by showing
them God’s salvation.
Reading those words from Scripture, I thought about all the
people in our world and, especially, in our country who have been
treated harshly, who have been afflicted by hard labour, and who have
cried out to God. Sadly, my thoughts were filled with images of
children from so many First Nations, of adults working underpaid jobs
whose families came to North America as slaves, and so, so many
more.
Surely, my sin – OUR sin – touches the lives of these and large
groups of others.
Two weeks ago, as the month of February was ending, so, too,
did Black History Month come to a close. Somewhat like Lent, Black
History Month provides us a more “concentrated” period of time
when we, as Canadians, can think about the contributions to our
country that have been made by people who trace their heritage from
Africa. But in conjunction with Lent, Black History Month also gives
us a chance to think about the sin of racism that continues to afflict
us as Canadians and as Christians.
In 2018 many of us were excited to see a new Bank of Canada
note – the $10 bill. It was unusual for several reasons: The first time
a Canadian banknote was oriented vertically, rather than horizontally.
The first time that a Canadian woman was featured on a Canadian bill
– the Queen being sort of Canadian though certainly Head of State.
And perhaps most importantly, Viola Desmond who is the Canadian
woman on the new $10 bill – a BLACK Canadian woman.
Born in 1914 in Halifax, Viola Desmond spent virtually her entire
life in Nova Scotia – aside from some time in New York where she
studied cosmetology because in her native Province she was told that
black people could not be admitted to their cosmetology schools.
After training Viola Desmond opened both a Beauty Salon and the
Desmond School of Beauty Culture. Her car broke down in Sydney,
Nova Scotia, while she was on a business trip, and to pass the time
while she waited overnight for the garage to complete its work, Ms
Desmond went to the local movie theatre. When she bought her
ticket, she was told that she could not buy one for the first floor, but
had to purchase the balcony ticket which was one cent cheaper than
the first floor tickets. While Nova Scotia did not have laws enforcing
segregation in movie theatres, the custom was for the first floor to be
exclusively for white people, while black customers were relegated to
the balcony. Ms Desmond, because she was nearsighted, needed to
sit nearer the screen, and not seeing any signs to the contrary, she
sat in the first floor seating area. An usher told her she had to move,
but when she refused, the police were called, and Viola Desmond was
arrested, spending 12 hours in jail. Later she was convicted of tax
evasion – over one cent. She died when she was 50 and is buried in
Halifax.
Viola Desmond’s story shows us that immediately after the
Second World War, racial discrimination was present in movie
theatres, police forces, and even in Canadian courts.
Eighteen months ago Gio and I were sitting at Blenz having tea
with a charming couple from the Interior who had recently moved to
Vancouver. The husband had spent his career as an EMT who helped
countless individuals in some of the scariest life situations they
would ever face. His stories and insights were fascinating to me.
Later in the conversation, he told us that he had stopped voting for
one of the federal political parties because someone in that party’s
leadership had said that Canada was, and continues to be, a racist
country. And I said nothing. I just sat there. We said our goodbyes
shortly after that last exchange.
While the man and his wife are entitled to their opinion, I was a
coward in that moment. I believe that any honest examination of Viola
Desmond’s story shows that racism has long been part of our history.
A quick google brought me to this official Government of Canada web
page on which the first sentence read, “Black people are
overrepresented in Canada’s criminal justice system as both victims
and people accused or convicted of crime.” And that suggests that
racism, as it affects Canadians of African heritage, is still an issue
with which we need to grapple.
SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT — MARCH 16, 2025
Lent is, as you know, a time set aside to help us prepare for the
Resurrection of Jesus at Easter. Through the centuries Christians
have used Lent to prepare for the Lord’s Resurrection by Fasting and
Almsgiving, and by recognizing our sins – so that we can ask God to
forgive us. Last Sunday we talked briefly about Viola Desmond and
the sin of racism – particularly racism which labels people of African
heritage as somehow ‘less than’ – and which continues to afflict
Canadian life.
Tonight, the readings from Genesis, Psalm 27, and even the
Gospel of Luke, point us in a slightly different direction: To the
Patriarch Abram God promises LAND. “I am the Lord who brought
you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.”
(15:7) “…the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your
descendants, I give this land….” (15:18). And the Psalmist, in verse
13, affirms his conviction that he “shall see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.”
Reflecting on these words during Lent, the degradation that
humankind has perpetrated on the land, the earth, throughout the
whole earth has consumed me. I am sinful in many ways, but one of
the most destructive ways that I, and my fellow human beings, have
sinned is the exploitation and debasement of the natural order. This land, which is,
according to Scripture, one of God’s great gifts to us, has been and
continues to be despoiled. God entrusted a covenant to us and an
important part of that covenant is our responsibility to care for the
land that God has given.
As a child growing up in Texas, I remember driving down
highways and throwing trash out the window without so much as a
thought about what would happen to those plastic candy wrappers.
As an adult I have revelled in my really nice car which sucked down
litres and litres of petroleum products so that I wouldn’t have to be
inconvenienced by taking public transport. And as a person of
affluence, I have gladly received income from giant corporations
which make their money from extracting resources from this land
which God entrusted to us.
Surely, during this Lent I need to be aware of my participation in
the sin of failing to care for the earth which God gave to our
foreparents as a sign of Divine Goodness. I must ask God to forgive me for my wastefulness and for my indifference to the well-being of
the planet. Lent gives me an opportunity to beg God to remove the
selfishness and self- centeredness which inform so many of my choices about how I spend my money, and about how I support political parties, and about how I
use my time and energy. I can and must become a better steward of
the land which God has given to me and to us all.
But also, in the reading from Luke’s Gospel, chapter 13, we hear
Jesus talk poignantly and sadly about a city, a nation, and a people
“that kills the prophets and stones the prophets who are sent” (v. 34)
by God to deliver God’s Word and to arouse those who listen.
I, personally, have never picked up a stone to throw at anybody
– much less somebody whom I knew to be a prophet, nor have I killed
any person physically. So, do Jesus’ Words apply to me?
Yes, indeed, they do!
While I am so very grateful to be a Canadian citizen – particularly
at this fraught and unimaginable time when we are being threatened
by those we had thought of as allies – precisely as a Canadian – a
white, privileged, male Canadian – I bear responsibility for stoning,
killing, imprisoning, stealing, and disrespecting generations of people
who have for centuries and millennia been stewards and keepers of the land on
which our country exists.
Not only did God give us the land as a sign of Divine generosity,
but God also gave entire nations as custodians of that land. In their
languages and cultures, the many First Nations, Metis, and Inuit,
whose land has been stolen and occupied, have long held Wisdom
about how to live in harmony with the land and the seas and the air.
But rather than listening to and learning from these Elders whose
nations and communities were here on this land long before any of
our forebears arrived, we have refused to learn their languages, to
adopt their ways, or even to recognize their existence as children of
the Divine Spirit Who was Incarnate in Jesus.
Gary Bailie, a member of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation, who lives
in Whitehorse, is a mentor for young people in Yukon. Mr Bailie
founded a cross-country skiing organization that provides, free of
charge, weekly opportunities for those who come, to connect to the land and to their spirituality. A recent CBC story quotes Mr Bailie: “I see spirituality in everything. I see it in the animals, I see it in the land, in all the trees, in all the things that go on amongst them all… I feel like I’m part of it – I feel
like I’m home. I feel like I belong there.” For so many who see the
earth is a source of minerals to be extracted, Mr Bailie speaks a kind
of Wisdom that we all need to hear.
Some years ago, a member of Christ Alive who has Indigenous
heritage, suggested to Pastor Michel that we should include a “land
acknowledgement” as part of our regular worship. I’ll always be
grateful to Donna for making that recommendation and to Pastor
Michel for accepting it. Surely, our recognition that we live, work,
play, rest, love, and worship on land that has been cared for by
Indigenous people for thousands of years is important. But is the
land acknowledgement alone enough? I don’t really think so.
Perhaps we, as a community, and each of us personally, need to pray
about other ways that we can move closer to the goal of
Reconciliation.
During this Lent I must recognize myself as standing among
those to whom Jesus spoke in the 13 th chapter of Luke: As a citizen
of that city and that country which kills the prophets, the Wisdom-
bearers in our midst. By being so wrapped up in my own little gay
world, my own narrow Christianity, my own family – in those ways and more, I am
contributing to the refusal to recognize that God has sent prophets
and Wise women and Wise men to help me learn to care for the land,
to live in harmony with the world.
I, literally, did nothing when Maxwell Johnson and his 12-year-
old granddaughter Tori-Anne were handcuffed by police while they
were trying to open a bank account at the Burrard Street branch of
BMO in Vancouver in 2020. The two are members of the Heiltsuk
Nation in Bella Bella, BC; they had all the necessary government
issued identification required to open a bank account. But because
bank employees didn’t properly understand what Status cards are,
they called police who handcuffed them Mr Johnson and his 12-year-
old granddaughter. As the Heiltsuk Nation Chief Counsellor said to
CBC, “I had an ache in my heart when I was reading” about what happened to this family. The Chief Counsellor continued, calling “the authorities was really alarming, and its systemic racism, it’s institutionalized racism. We have a long road ahead of us as a country.” (CBC, Nov 23, 2020)
I was embarrassed by the incident. I was upset about what
happened to this man and his granddaughter. But aside from a
conversation with Gio about it, I did nothing. I could have gone to my
own bank and asked about their policies and procedures that they
have in place so that something similar won’t happen in their
establishment. I could have made a financial donation to a charity in
Vancouver that works with Indigenous clients. I could have changed
my bank to First Nations Bank of Canada which is 80% owned and
operated by Indigenous people or to one of the other First Nation-
owned financial institutions in our country.
Instead, I did nothing. By not responding to what happened to
Mr. Maxwell and his granddaughter, Tori-Anne, I joined the crowd who
were listening to Jesus, but who did nothing when the Lord indicted
them for the crime of killing the prophets. My silence and inaction in
this and in so many situations are evidence that I need Lent more
than ever. I need to be forgiven for not caring for the land which God
has given us and for not respecting and celebrating the First Nations
that are Wisdom-bearers about how better to care for the gift of this
land.
Forgive me…. Forgive us, Lord. Make us ready to receive your
Resurrected Son at Easter!
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
At the end of tonight’s service, we will have reached the halfway point, more or less, in our Lenten journey toward the Resurrection of Jesus at Easter. As millions of Christians before us have done, we are trying to prepare ourselves to receive the Resurrected Lord through fasting, almsgiving, and by acknowledging our sins, so that we can ask God to forgive us.
On the first Sunday of Lent, we heard God say to the ancient Hebrew people in Deuteronomy that the cries of those who are treated harshly, who are afflicted, and who are made to work in unjust situations are precious to God, and that God will answer their cries. On the second Sunday of Lent, Jesus warned the people of Jerusalem, and us, to beware of the temptation to kill prophets who make us uncomfortable and who challenge our assumptions about the way the world ‘should’ be.
Tonight, on this third Sunday of Lent, in the first reading from the 55th chapter of Isaiah, God tells us exactly why injustice and oppression – and especially the ways we respond to that wickedness – are so important.
My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways, my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
We all have assumptions by which we live our lives; things like:
- “When I’m driving, I assume that a red light is telling me, and all the other drivers in my lane, to stop.”
- “I assume that people who are my friends will treat me with respect and kindness.”
- “I assume that I, and others, have to work hard in order to have security and stability.”
Such assumptions, and others like them, are generally necessary for society to function, and, on the whole, they’re not harmful, in fact they’re kind of necessary.
But we often have other, more hidden, assumptions that inform the way we operate in the world.
- “I assume that, if I’m following the rules of the road, then I have a right to get angry, shout, gesture, and curse (under my breath, of course, because I’m a Christian!) at drivers who are not following the rules!”
- “I assume that, because I work hard, people who don’t work hard in ways that I can see and understand, don’t deserve to have the privileges and ‘things’ that I have!”
But, in God’s Words from the 55th chapter of Isaiah, God explodes a lot of these “hidden” assumptions. God says clearly that our ways are NOT God’s ways. God makes plain that our thoughts are NOT God’s thoughts.
So, as Christians, preparing to receive the Risen Lord, we have to be open to the idea that many of our assumptions – which seem to work for us – are NOT the assumptions that God is calling us to embrace.
In our first reading tonight God invites EVERYONE WHO THRISTS to come to the water and drink (55:1). Regardless of the ‘moral’ status of the thirsty people, regardless of the political leanings of those who need a drink, regardless of the religion of those who are dying for water, God insists that they come right on and drink their fill. And God doesn’t give us a “veto” about who can and who can’t come for a cool, long drink of water.
But God goes farther in this same first verse of Isaiah, chapter 55: God invites “you who have no money” to come, ‘buy’ and eat! But if they have no money, how can they ‘buy,’ we might ask? God provides the answer in that same verse: “buy wine and milk without money and without price.” According to God as the Divine Word is revealed in the 55th chapter of Isaiah, buying and selling do not require money; in fact, there is no price at all attached to the “sale.”
Clearly God’s ways and thoughts are NOT ours!
Many of us have a viscerally negative reaction to “free hand-outs.” If you don’t work hard, like I have, then you don’t deserve to get something for nothing! That assumption has long been part of human society and culture. But in our materialistic, acquisitive, and capitalist economic system, “hand-outs” are JUST. NOT. DONE.
In verse 2 of chapter 55, God asks a probing question to us who have that assumption about “hand-outs:” “Why do you spend your money for that which … does not satisfy?” God nails me – at least – with that question. Since childhood I’ve yearned for “toys” – labouring under the mistaken conviction that if I can just get this NEW THING, I’ll be happy. But the lustre always wears off the new thing; the happiness of Christmas morning always passes into indifference about what had been, a few short hours before, the greatest possible toy. We become frustrated, angry, resentful when our new toys don’t satisfy; and when that pattern recurs, time and again, we slowly, but surely, become indifferent; we lose our “zest for life.” We’ve tried so hard to get all the toys we thought would make us happy, but since they never do, our anger becomes “stone cold” and our hearts close in upon themselves. Psychologists have a word for this: Anhedonia – the “lack of interest, enjoyment or pleasure from life’s experiences,” and they say it’s a mental illness. While I don’t disagree that it can and probably should be seen as a mental illness, at its base: It’s a spiritual problem. One that God diagnoses in chapter 55 of Isaiah. We spend our money and time and effort on things that do not satisfy.
But God understands our fascination with spending money for what doesn’t satisfy. And God gives us the solution to that yearning, and to the indifference, frustration, and resentment that well up inside us because those new things never fully satisfy us. That solution is generosity – giving without money, without cost. Giving as God gives – without expecting anything in return.
Far too often we turn away from those who are being oppressed. Too much of the time, we fall back upon our assumptions about the poor being at least partially responsible for their poverty which, in turn, seems to give us an excuse not to see, not to hear, not to respond to those who are suffering because of injustice, racism, exploitation, or cruelty. I think of the other people sitting in that theatre in Sydney, Nova Scotia, who saw Viola Desmond removed by police, they probably thought: “It’s not my problem, and besides, I can’t change the world.”
That kind of thinking – while comfortable and convenient for us because it seems to release us from any responsibility – is dangerous. In tonight’s Gospel, Luke chapter 13, verse 3, we hear the Lord Jesus give us a dire warning: “Jesus said, ‘No, I tell you, unless you repent, you shall all perish.’” If we really want to take advantage of this Lenten season, we have to listen to what Jesus says, and spend our remaining three weeks repenting for our sins.
Most of us can fairly easily – if uncomfortably – can name our own, personal sins. But, as we have talked about in the prior couple of weeks, my own sin includes, racism lurking inside many of my assumptions, carelessness with how I take care of the earth, and how I respond when the prophets and Wisdom-bearers are denigrated and ignored.
That 3rd verse from chapter 13 of Luke, makes the point that how we respond to the cries of the poor will affect how all of us fare in the life to come. The Gospel of Luke was written in Greek and the verbs in verse 3 are plural. That means that, if Jesus had spoken English, and if Jesus had been from the American south, verse 3 might have sounded something like this, “I tell you all, unless y’all repent, you all will perish.”
Another way of saying this is that when we think of the three “tools” that Christians use during Lent to prepare for the celebration of Easter, that is, Fasting, Almsgiving and recognizing our sin – two are individual, while the third is collective. Fasting is a personal discipline, as is Almsgiving. Those two acts of preparation are between me and God – others don’t need to know about my Fasting or my Almsgiving.
But, recognizing, admitting, and seeking forgiveness for sin is a collective – a plural – undertaking. Remember “Southern” Jesus: “unless y’all repent, you all will perish.”
How you respond to the cries of those treated unjustly has an impact – not only on you and on those who are being unjustly treated – but your response has an impact on me. When I see YOU act with justice and compassion, I’m much more likely to seek out ways to be more just and compassionate myself.
But when you see me react with silence, avoidance and indifference to the hungry, thirsty, males and females being trafficked, victims of war, violence and abuse – then I am giving you “permission” to be just as silent and indifferent as I am. Sitting in silence when somebody says that racism is not part of Canadian life, my indifference and fear of being “disliked” give the people around me permission also to sit silence. Doing nothing when a man and his granddaughter, who are trying to open a bank account, are handcuffed because bank employees don’t understand the laws governing First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people, my laziness, my indifference, my sin give “cover” to those who might want to deny the harsh, genocidal reality that Residential Schools has imposed on Indigenous people for generations.
What I do affects you, and what you do affects me.
Lent is not a solitary journey. The Lenten path is one that we walk with friends, neighbours, fellow church-members, family, and co-workers. You have to confront me when I think and act as if my assumptions give me the right to judge, ignore, or deny others their rights. And I have to speak a prophetic Word that calls me and all of us to open our minds and hearts so that we will become more and more like the God Whose ways are not our ways and Whose thoughts are not our thoughts.
FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
So far in Lent we have been preparing for the Resurrection at Easter by fasting and almsgiving in ways that have seemed best for us personally. And as a community here at Christ Alive, we’ve reflected on some of the various places that we, as parts of the larger community, are aAlicted by sin:
▪ In our racist attitudes,
▪ In our lack of care for the land which God has entrusted to us, ▪ In our willingness to ignore and even kill the prophetic voices who have tried to show us how better to live in harmony with the land, the sea, and the air, and
▪ In the assumptions which too often prevent us from recognizing that God’s ways are not our ways.
The readings for this 4th Sunday of Lent tell us how we can “come to our senses.” The Gospel of Luke, chapter 15, verse 17, says that the Prodigal Son came to his senses as he was feeding the pigs while he himself was starving. He knew, instinctively, that he had to return to his loving father and ask for forgiveness.
Lent gives us this same opportunity: To come to our senses and to recognize that the longing and the hunger we feel will only be satisfied when we return to our Loving Father. In addition, these readings for the fourth Sunday of Lent also tell us about the job that God gives us – after we’ve come to our senses.
Before we talk about the job, let’s think for a minute about Psalm 32 which we read responsively tonight.
According to verse 1 of this Psalm, happiness – true, lasting happiness – comes to us only when our transgressions – our sins – are forgiven. You probably hear – like I do – about so much UNhappiness in the world, what with wars, and homelessness, and opioid deaths, and financial stresses, and tariA tensions and so many things.
And right in front of us in verse 1 of Psalm 32 God is saying, “You will be happy when I forgive your sins.”
I don’t like admitting that I’m a sinner. I don’t feel comfortable admitting that racism infects me; I don’t like to have to say that I have supported companies and organizations that are demolishing the environment; I hate to say that I have been indiAerent to the tragedy of Residential Schools, and to the horror of the Murdered and Missing Indigenous women, and to the fact that the Neskantaga First Nation in northern Ontario has not had drinkable water from their taps in over 30 years; I am so embarrassed to admit that I am easily judgmental about people on welfare or even EI. But all of that is true about me. I am a sinner, and those are just some of my many sins.
Psalm 32 goes on to explain the source of so much of my own unhappiness – and I think, the unhappiness which pervades virtually the whole world:
(32: 2 and 3) “While I kept silent, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long, For day and night your hand, O God, was heavy upon me; my strength dried up.”
When the Prodigal Son was too ignorant or too proud to admit that he had messed up monumentally, he was starving and miserable. When I am too proud or too self-absorbed to admit that I am part of these collective sins, then I am unhappy, feeling helpless because I can’t “fix” the world’s problems, feeling hopeless because I don’t see a way out.
That helplessness and hopelessness are the symptoms of God’s hand being heavy upon me. And yes, my strength, my hope, even my faith dry up.
But Psalm 32, verse 5, clarifies what I need to do – what we all need to do: “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity…I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” Amazingly, remarkably, in spite of knowing all the sinfulness in my life and in our lives, the Psalmist says with joy: “You forgave the guilt of my sin!”
The reason that Lent is so important is that these six weeks give us plenty of time to make the same discovery that the Psalmist made: During Lent, God reaches out to us with power and love and forgiveness. Having heard all that we’ve done and all that we’ve left undone, God says to each of us individually and to us as a community, “I FORGIVE YOU!” No conditions, no second-thoughts, no reservations: I FORGIVE YOU.
That unhappiness, that helplessness that so many of us feel from time to time is, I think, one of the chief ways God has of reminding us to return to God, to admit our sins, and to receive Divine Grace and Goodness. It’s almost as though I should welcome the unhappiness and helplessness – if I’m thinking the way God thinks, rather than relying on my own assumptions – because when the helplessness threatens to bring me down, it’s really God’s very LOUD bell clanging in my heart and head, when God is practically shouting at me: I’M HERE; I’ILL HELP YOU; JUST LET ME FORGIVE YOU, AND THEN WE’LL GET ON WITH LIVING ABUNDANTLY!
As great as that message from Psalm 32 is, it’s not where the readings for this fourth Sunday of Lent leave us. There’s one more part of this Lenten business that we need to focus on:
After we admit our sins, after we ask for God’s forgiveness, after we open ourselves to God’s loving and forgiving ways, we are then given a job by God. We are to be God’s ambassadors, sharing this same good news to the people around us.
The 5th chapter of Second Corinthians tells us explicitly that God entrusts to us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19). Through us God – the very God Who created the universe – chooses to speak to human beings. In our words and in our actions, we cooperate, as it were, with God to reconcile the world to God. Our job is to share with others that God does not count their trespasses against them – just as God has not held our trespasses against us.
In order to be Christ’s ambassadors we need to be honest and humble. We can’t pretend that we’re sinless: We have to be willing to admit that we participate in all those sins which affect the world. We have to be willing to share that we ourselves have asked for God’s forgiveness and that God, amazingly, has given us the forgiveness that we so desperately we need.
This God-given job does not mean that we can act all holier-than though. We can’t prance around acting better than others – because we are just exactly the same as that young man who was feeding the pigs and starving when he came to his senses.
Being an ambassador for God doesn’t require us to give sermons or teach Sunday School. Remember that God’s ways are not our ways. So, instead of pretending to have the answers or acting like we are just slightly better than the people in the downtown East Side, our job as God’s ambassadors is admitting how needy each of us is; our job is to listen to people who are not listened to by bigshots; as God’s ambassadors our job is to care for folks who are lonely and unloved.
Being ambassadors for Christ requires that we move beyond our safe assumptions, to get outside our comfort zones. To answer honestly when an unhoused persons asks us why we are stopping to talk to them, “Because God loves me and because God loves you, so I need to get to know you a bit better.” To say when a friend tells a joke that has racist or disrespectful undertones, “I understand that you found that joke to be funny, but I can’t laugh because I really feel that God loves all of us – you, me and people of every race and language equally.” To fast from the constant gossiping or berating that fills so much of social media, Facebook, Insta, Tik-Tok, or X – instead, maybe just spending that time and energy quietly reflecting on the beauty of the land that God has entrusted to us. To give some money to an organization that helps to serve the needs of First Nations, Inuit, or Metis people.
Lent is great time to prepare for the Resurrection of Jesus whose ambassadors we are.
No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. John 3:5
FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT
For the last four weeks of Lent, we have been trying to prepare for the Resurrection at Easter by focusing on those areas of our lives – as individuals and as a community – that are marked by sin: Racism, degradation of the earth, cruelty to and disrespect for Indigenous people, insistence that God’s ways have to be like our ways, and the need to come to our senses and recognize that only God will satisfy the longing of our hearts.
We each and all certainly need to ask God for forgiveness for these sins and all the others which have torn at our own personal happiness and which have fractured and destroyed so much of the beauty, integrity and concern that could characterize our communities.
And true as the need for forgiveness is, the readings tonight, for the fifth Sunday of Lent, tell us to stop looking backward at all the messes we and others have made. In the 43rd chapter of Isaiah, verse 19, God says, “I am about to do a new thing!”
The Resurrection of Jesus, for which we prepare during Lent, is the “new thing” that God has done – and is doing, right now, right here! In Isaiah 43 we are told NOT to “remember the former things or – even – to consider the things of old (verse 18).” If we spend all our time and energy regretting our past sins, if we get so caught up in woulda coulda-shoulda, we will miss entirely the new things that God is doing in our midst.
Sure, we have to admit our past sins, and we have to ask for forgiveness for them. But once we ask, God rids us of those sins. They no longer have power over us. When we become FORGIVEN sinners, we ourselves become God’s “new thing.”
So, God is saying, please don’t waste your energy or your time regretting and blaming yourself or others. Put those past sins, that regret, the blame that we’re tempted to lay on family or friends or co-workers or random strangers – put all that on God’s shoulders. Let Jesus, Who carried his Cross to Calvary, carry all that with him so that it will die – and then be raised to new life.
Psalm 122 asks God to allow all those who sow with tears to reap with joy (verse 5). When we go about weeping because of our sins – as we should have been doing during these weeks of Lent – God says that – if we’ll just ask him – he’ll let us “come home with shouts of joy” (verse 6).
These Scriptures for the fifth Sunday of Lent are pointing us directly to Easter Sunday! Isaiah makes that invitation in poetic, beautiful language:
“I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Is 43:19) The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert (43:20).”
And if the wild animals, the jackals and ostriches will honour God, so shall we! God gives them, rivers in the desert, and to us who are God’s chosen people, God gives a cool, refreshing drink (43:20). Our sin will not strangle us, our transgressions will not afflict us to the point of death; no, God will come to our rescue, doing an entirely new thing – by offering us forgiveness and Resurrection.
In tonight’s second reading from the 3rd chapter of Philippians, St Paul makes a very similar point:
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead (verse 13).”
And of course, what lies ahead is Easter. That’s why Paul goes on, in the very next verse, to say, “I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus (verse 14).”
So, Lent is not a time of gloom and doom, not six weeks of wallowing in guilt and shame and remorse. It is, to be sure, a time to take honest ‘stock’ of our lives personally and of our lives as parts of a larger community. The honesty of that “stock taking” allows us acknowledge our sins and to ask the Father of Jesus to forgive us – for his Son’s sake. Not because we’re virtuous or generous or kind or good – but because Jesus, Who was and is the perfect incarnation of what being human and being Divine is, died for us and offered us forgiveness from the Cross.
Is racism still a sad part of our lives and of the life of our country? Yes. Do we continue to exploit the earth and all its goodness? Yes. Do we continue to ignore, humiliate, imprison and even kill the Indigenous prophets, wisdom-keepers and activists with whom we share the land? Yes. Do we insist that God behave in ways and think in ways that are like our own ways? Yes.
All of that is, sadly, true. While “things” might be somewhat better today than they were 100 years ago, that relative “betterness” doesn’t relieve us of our responsibility for the ongoing sinfulness which tears at our country, at our world, and at our very own lives.
That’s why we need Lent every year. So that we can stop and think and admit what’s really going on with each of us and with all of us.
But that’s why we also – desperately – need these readings from the fifth Sunday of Lent. These readings which tell us not to get stuck in the past. These readings which invite us to join the jackals and ostriches in honouring God. These readings which encourage us to come home with shouts of joy.
PALM / PASSION SUNDAY — APRIL 13 CHRIST ALIVE COMMUNITY CHURCH
Pastor Michel Amyotte
Palm/Passion Sunday – April 13, 2025
Welcome and Announcements
Pastor Michel:
Our service tonight has three main parts. In the first, we will remember the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and in the second, we will focus our attention on the Crucifixion of Jesus. The third part of our celebration is the Eucharist.
Land Acknowledgement
Pastor Michel:
We are grateful to acknowledge that we in Vancouver live, work, worship, love, rest, and play on the unceded, ancestral lands of the Coast Salish Peoples – Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam Nations Community:
We recognize that our actions must reflect our words, as we work together toward Reconciliation.
Pastor Michel:
We praise you, the Lord God of Israel! You came to the help of your people and have set them free.
Community:
You have shown the mercy promised to our ancestors and have remembered your holy covenant.
Pastor Michel:
By your tender mercy, you cause the bright dawn of salvation to rise on us,
Community:
To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Pastor Michel:
Jesus was in the form of God, but out of love for sinful humanity, he emptied himself and took the form of a slave; he was human, like us in all things but sin, and he became obedient to the point of death for our sakes. We turn to him, confessing our sins, and asking that God will forgive us so that we can bend the knee at the name of Jesus.
Community:
Our sovereign Redeemer, we join with the people of Jerusalem offering our own shouts of praise and celebration at your coming. Although we often welcome you, as did the multitude on Palm Sunday, we have not always understood what this means. We confess that we have also stood with the condemning crowd on Good Friday with our thoughts, words, and actions crying, “Crucify!” And like Peter, we have, at times, denied our relationship with you through our silence. We turn to you for help and forgiveness, gracious Savior, not because we deserve it, but because you are forgiving. Save us from our sinful ways, and restore us to a life of loyalty to you. Amen.
A silence is observed, giving each of us the opportunity to reflect on their particular shortcomings and the gift of God’s grace.
Pastor Michel:
People of God, God has highly exalted Jesus who invites us to share his glory with him. We are forgiven; we are made new; thanks be to God!
Community: Amen
Pastor Michel:
Let us pray. Loving, forgiving God, open our minds and hearts so that we will receive your divine Word as we hear and respond to the Word of Scripture. We pray in the name of Jesus.
Community: Amen
Part One: Jesus enters Jerusalem accompanied by crowds carrying Palm
Branches and chanting Hosana
Please join in singing “Hosanna., Loud Hosanna Sing!”
Author: Jennette Threlfall (1873)
- Hosanna, loud hosanna the little children sang; through pillared court and temple the lovely anthem rang. To Jesus, who had blessed them, close folded to his breast, the children sang their praises, the simplest and the best.
- From Olivet they followed mid an exultant crowd, the victory palm branch waving, and chanting clear and loud. The Lord of earth and heaven rode on in lowly state, nor scorned that little children should on his bidding wait.
- “Hosanna in the highest!’ That ancient song we sing, for Christ is our Redeemer, the Lord of heaven, our King. O may we ever praise him with heart and life and voice, and in his blissful presence eternally rejoice.
The reading for the Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem is taken from Luke, chapter 19, verses 28 to 40.
19:28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
19:29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples,
19:30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
19:31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.'”
19:32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them.
19:33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
19:34. They said, “The Lord needs it.”
19:35 Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.
19:36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.
19:37 Now as he was approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen,
19:38 saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
19:39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.”
19:40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
Pastor Michel:
Our response to the Words from Luke’s Gospel is taken from Psalm 118.
Pastor Michel:
O give thanks to God, for God is good; Community:
God’s steadfast love endures forever!
Let Israel say,
“God’s steadfast love endures forever.”
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them and give thanks to God.
This is the gate of God;
the righteous shall enter through it.
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is God’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that God has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Save us, we beseech you, O God!
O God, we beseech you, give us success!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God.
We bless you from the house of God.
The Sovereign is God,
and God has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God, I will extol you.
O give thanks to God, for God is good,
for God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Part Two: The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
Pastor Michel: On this next Friday during Holy Week, the Lord Jesus was Crucified, died, and was buried. We now listen to readings from the Bible. These will help us focus on those saving events throughout the coming week, so that we will be better prepared to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
ROBERT
The Prophet Isaiah, in chapter 50, verses 4 to 9, foretells that the Messiah will suffer.
50:4. The Lord GOD has given me a trained tongue, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens, wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.
50:5. The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I did not turn backward.
50:6. I gave my back to those who struck me and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.
50:7 The Lord GOD helps me; therefore, I have not been disgraced; therefore, I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
50:8 he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand in court together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. 50:9a It is the Lord GOD who helps me; who will declare me guilty?
Pastor Michel:
We respond to the Word from Isaiah the Prophet, by using verses from Psalm 31.
Pastor Michel: Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also.
Community: For my life is spent with sorrow and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away.
I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me.
I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.
For I hear the whispering of many– terror all around!– as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.
But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.
ROBERT
In his letter to the Philippians, chapter 2 verses 5 to 11, St Paul shows us the depth of the Lord’s love for us – in his willingness to take the form of a slave and to die for our sins.
2:5. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
2:6. who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
2:7. but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,
2:8. he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death– even death on a cross.
2:9. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,
2:10. so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
2:11. and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Pastor Michel: From the Gospel of Luke, chapter 22, verse 14 to chapter 23, verse 56, we hear of the Passion and Death of Jesus.
22:14 When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him.
22:15 He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,
22:16 for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
22:17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves,
22:18 for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
22:19 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
22:20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
22:21 But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table.
22:22 For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!”
22:23 Then they began to ask one another, which one of them it could be who would do this.
22:24 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest.
22:25 But he said to them, “The kings of the gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors.
22:26 But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest and the leader like one who serves.
22:27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
PAUSE and a brief reflection – A
RUTH
22:28 “You are those who have stood by me in my trials,
22:29 and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom,
22:30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
22:31 “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat,
22:32 but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail, and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
22:33 And he said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!”
22:34 Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day until you have denied three times that you know me.”
22:35 He said to them, “When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “No, not a thing.”
22:36 He said to them, “But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one.
22:37 For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, ‘And he was counted among the lawless,’ and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.”
22:38 They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” He replied, “It is enough.”
22:39 He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him.
22:40 When he reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”
22:41 Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed,
22:42 “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me, yet not my will but yours be done.”
22:43 Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength.
22:44 In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.
PAUSE and a brief reflection – B
SUZANNE
22:45 When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief,
22:46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”
22:47 While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him,
22:48. but Jesus said to him, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?”
22:49 When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?”
22:50 Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear
22:51 But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.
PAUSE and a brief reflection – C
RUTH
22:52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit?
22:53 When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour and the power of darkness!”
22:54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance.
22:55 When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.
22:56 Then a female servant, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.”
22:57. But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”
22:58 A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”
22:59 Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, “Surely this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
22:60. But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed.
22:61. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.”
22:62. And he went out and wept bitterly.
22:63 Now the men who were holding Jesus began to mock him and beat him;
22:64. they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it who struck you?”
22:65. They kept heaping many other insults on him.
22:66. When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council.
22:67. They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe;
22:68. and if I question you, you will not answer.
22:69. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
22:70. All of them asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?” He said to them, “You say that I am.”
22:71. Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!”
23:1. Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate.
23:2. They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man inciting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.”
23:3. Then Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He answered, “You say so.”
23:4. Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation against this man.”
23:5. But they were insistent and said, “He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.”
23:6. When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.
23:7. And when he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.
23:8. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign.
23:9. He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer.
23:10. The chief priests and the scribes stood by vehemently accusing him.
23:11. Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him and sent him back to Pilate.
23:12. That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies.
23:13. Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people
23:14. and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people, and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him.
23:15. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death.
23:16. I will therefore have him flogged and release him.”
23:18. Then they all shouted out together, “Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!”
23:19 (This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city and for murder.)
23:20. Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again,
23:21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!”
23:22. A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.”
23:23. But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified, and their voices prevailed.
PAUSE and a brief reflection – D
Pastor Michel
23:24 So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted.
23:25. He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.
23:26. As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
23:27. A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him.
23:28 But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
23:29. For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’
23:30. Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’
23:31. For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
23:32. Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.
23:33. When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
23:34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing.
PAUSE and a brief reflection – E
SUZANNE
23:35 And the people stood by watching, but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!”
23:36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine
23:37. and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
23:38T. here was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
23:39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
23:40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
23:41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”
23:42. Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.”
23:43. He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
23:44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,
23:45. while the sun’s light failed, and the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
23:46 Then Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last.
PAUSE and a brief reflection – F
Pastor Michel
23:47 When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.”
23:48. And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts.
23:49 But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things.
23:50. Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph who, though a member of the council,
23:51 had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God.
23:52. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
23:53. Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid.
23:54. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.
23:55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid.
23:56. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
SILENCE
Please join in singing, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”
TUNE: Hamburg
- When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.
- Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast save in the death of Christ, my God! All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them through his blood.
- See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?
- Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.
Pastor Michel: We pray now for the world, for believers, for our families and friends, for those who most need our prayers, and we pray for ourselves.
Pastor Michel: Almighty God, we are continually amazed at how you turn the world upside down. For a Savior of the world, we would have chosen a powerful prince,
Community: But you chose a carpenter’s son born under questionable circumstances.
For disciples to help Jesus through his ministry, we would have chosen well connected, wealthy people of the upper class to bankroll the operation,
But you chose fishermen, a tax collector, and other such outcasts.
For a grand entrance into Jerusalem, we would have chosen a white Stallion,
But you chose a donkey.
When riding high in the polls on Palm Sunday, we would have chosen to stay there as long as we could,
But you chose to clear the temple.
For a place of coronation, we would have chosen a palace with a wonderfully decorated royal throne,
But you chose a cross.
For those whom we would want to have included in the kingdom of God, we would have chosen those who look and sound like we do,
But you chose the world.
You are invited to lift up in prayers people and situations that are on your hearts and minds.
PAUSE
Pastor Michel: For people to show the love and grace extended to us in
Jesus Christ, we would have chosen somebody else,
Community: But you chose each of us. Use us today. Amen.
OFFERTORY AND PRAYER — Your offerings and tithes are greatly appreciated.
Part Three: The Eucharist
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, which is in heaven, hallowed be your name; your kingdom come; your will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
PREPARATION PRAYER FOR COMMUNION
Pastor Michel: Lord of goodness and salvation, your Son on the night before he died, yearned to share a meal with his disciples before he suffered. Unite us to him as celebrate his presence in our community tonight.
Community: Amen.
Pastor Michel: Since our community gathers from all parts of our country, we are prevented from joining together as a community to receive physically the elements of Bread and Wine. So, I invite you to pray with me in these words.
My dear Jesus, I believe that you are present in our community. I believe that you are present in the Word from Scripture which has been proclaimed. And I believe that you are present in the elements of Bread and Wine, just as surely as I believe that you are present in the least of my sisters and brothers. I love you above all things, and I desire to receive you more completely into my soul, mind, and body. Since I cannot, at this moment, join with all my brothers and sisters to receive you in the Sacrament of your Body and Blood, I ask you to come spiritually into our hearts and lives. And I ask you to allow me to recognize you in the poor, the troublesome, and those closest to me. Never let me be separated from you! Amen
Let us express our gratitude as we join our voices singing holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might,
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.
Heav’n and earth are full, full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest, Hosanna in the highest.
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
DISTRIBUTION
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Pastor Michel: Holy God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for the gift of his body and blood, and for the opportunity to hear your Word and to be with your people. Send us out from our worship to praise your name in all that we do and say, and to serve our sisters and brothers as Jesus has done.
We ask it, Father, in the name of Jesus.
Community: Amen.
Please join in singing our closing hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty.”
- Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
- Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea. Cherubim and seraphim, falling down before thee, Who was and is and evermore shall be.
- Holy, Holy, Holy! though the darkness hide thee,
Though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see, Only thou art holy; there is none beside thee, Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.
- Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea; Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.
Final Blessing
Pastor Michel: May God, whose arms were spread wide on the Cross to embrace the whole world, help us this week to take up the cross and to follow him in service, compassion, and love. And may God’s blessing – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – descend upon you and fill you with grace.
Community: Amen and amen!
We thank you for your gifts, and should you wish to forward your offering, you may send it to:
Christ Alive Church, 204 – 2570 Hemlock St., Vancouver, BC V6H 2V4
You may also contribute to the work of our church via an e-transfer. Use the church email address christalivecommunitychurch@gmail.com and your donation will go directly into our church account.
If you have any question or comment, please feel free to call me at 778 228 7956
Christ Alive Community Church 